Jupiter and the Moon are coming again! Are you ready? Don’t miss it this time

March 15, 2024: Mercury, bright Jupiter, and the waxing crescent moon are in the western sky after sunset. Mercury and Uranus appear in the same binocular field of view.

Image caption - July 17, 2020: Before sunrise, the crescent Moon appears with Venus near Aldebaran.

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Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:02 AM CT; Sunset, 6:58 PM CT. Please refer to local sources for specific sunrise and sunset times. These times are calculated by the Naval Observatory's MICA computer program.

Morning Sky: Mars, Venus, and Saturn

None of the bright planets are easily visible in the pre-sunrise sky. Three of them are hidden in the brighter sunlight.

Image caption - To mark the 20th anniversary of the space agency's Mars Express, the agency's High Definition Stereo Camera team has created a new spherical color aerial photo mosaic of Mars as it has never been seen before. The mosaic captures the colors and composition of the Martian surface in stunning detail. (Image credit: space agency)

Mars rises first 67 minutes before sunrise. After the November 2023 conjunction, it will appear to be extremely slow to emerge from the twilight into the darker morning sky. The hazy red planet can only be seen with binoculars 30 minutes before sunrise, about 6 degrees above the east-southeast.

Image Caption - Venus as seen from the Galileo spacecraft (NASA photo)

Venus will appear just above the horizon 25 minutes later, following Mars. This morning star is exceptionally bright, but only about 3 degrees above the horizon. It should be visible on a clear, uncluttered horizon.

Image Caption - Saturn (NASA)

Saturn is obscured by the bright morning light, rising just 22 minutes before the Sun.

The Evening Sky: Mercury

Image Caption - March 15, 2024: Mercury and Jupiter appear in the western sky shortly after sunset.

After sunset, the scene is completely different. Two bright planets, a fainter planet, and the moon can be seen.

Mercury will have the best night viewing time of the year. Mercury's setting time will be 5-6 minutes away from sunset each night, so Mercury will appear higher in the sky during the same period of time after nightfall.

The fast-moving planet appears about 5 degrees above the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset. Through the light haze on the horizon, the planet is bright enough not to require binoculars to see, although an optical aid can help with initial identification.

At this time, bright Jupiter is less than halfway to the upper left of Mercury and more than 30 degrees from Mercury's upper left. Lodestar can be found 12.3 degrees below and to the right of Jupiter. The new Moon, 33% bright, is about 30 degrees from Jupiter's upper left.

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Bright Jupiter and Crescent Moon

- One hour after sunset on March 15, 2024, you can observe bright Jupiter and the crescent moon in the western sky.

As the sky darkens, we can see more stars. At this time, the moon is bright enough to illuminate the ground and cast shadows. The moon will appear about 10° above Aldebaran. Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster form the letter "V", which is also the head of Taurus. You can use binoculars to observe the Pleiades star cluster.

On this evening, you can use binoculars to see both Jupiter and Uranus in the same field of view. Use the telescope to place Jupiter in the lower right corner of the field of view. The fainter, sapphire-like Uranus will appear in the upper left corner of the field of view. This star is located near 53 Ari. Rho Ari will appear in the triangle formed by these three stars.

As Jupiter moves eastward it passes through some of the stars in your field of view. A few nights ago it passed through O Ari. Every night you can watch it with binoculars as it moves toward σ Ari.

On the night of March 15, you can use binoculars to see Jupiter's four largest satellites, which are almost as bright as O and Sigma Ari.

Jupiter will set about 4 hours after sunset, and the Moon will not disappear in the western sky until nearly 7 hours after sunset.

Jupiter is the fifth planet in the solar system and the largest planet in the solar system. Its huge mass is even more than 2.5 times the total mass of other planets in the solar system. Compared with the sun, its mass is less than one thousandth of the sun. Jupiter's orbit is about 5.20 AU (778.5 × meters) from the sun. It takes about 11.86 Earth years to orbit the sun. From the earth, Jupiter is the brightest celestial body in the night sky after Venus and Mars. It has been observed in prehistoric times. Its name comes from Jupiter, a major god in Roman religion.

Mercury is the first and smallest planet in the Solar System. In English, it is named after the Roman god Mercurius, the god of commerce and communication and the messenger of the gods. Mercury is considered a terrestrial planet, with a surface gravity similar to that of Mars. Mercury's surface is heavily cratered due to billions of years of cumulative activity. Its largest crater, Calleris Planitia, has a diameter of 1,550 km (960 mi). This is almost one-third of the planet's diameter of 4,880 km (3,030 mi). Similar to the Moon, Mercury's surface has expansive cliffs formed by impact forces and some remnants of surface activity caused by radiation.

BY: Jeffrey L. Hunt

FY：Astronomical volunteer team

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