Jupiter will pass through opposition at 14:43 today. The planet will rise at sunset and transit at midnight, available for observation for the entire night. For the remainder of the year and much of the spring, the planet will shine brightly in the evening sky.
Category: Sky Events
Sky events
Full Moon
A penumbral lunar eclipse will be visible from western North America, across the Pacific to much of Asia. This is a fairly minor eclipse, with the Moon passing through the outer penumbral shadow of the Earth. A careful observer will note the light of the full Moon dimmed. As the Moon will not enter the darker umbral shadow the effects of this eclipse will not be obvious.
The Moon and Jupiter
Tonight the Moon will be about 7° away from Jupiter, a bright pair rising together in the eastern sky after sunset. Tomorrow, November 28th, will see the Moon east of Jupiter, but even closer, just under 5° away.
Venus and Saturn
Tomorrow morning, November 26th, will see a very close rendezvous of Venus and Saturn in the dawn. The two will be less than a degree apart, with a separation of only 40 arc-minutes. This will put both planets in the same low power telescopic view. The pair will rise about 04:30HST and be well up, nearly 30° above the horizon, at sunrise.
This is a mismatched pair, with Venus dominating the view at a brilliant -4.0 magnitude. Saturn will be far dimmer at 0.6 magnitude.
Venus and Saturn
Over the coming days, Venus and Saturn will rendezvous in the dawn. Already drawing close, the pair is separated by less than 4° this morning. Close approach will be on the morning of the 26th when the separation will be only 40 arc-minutes. The two will remain close for about a week, the separation having grown to over 4° on the morning of the 30th.
This is a mismatched pair, with Venus dominating the view at a brilliant -4.0 magnitude. Saturn will be far dimmer at 0.6 magnitude.
Mercury in the Dawn
Mercury is beginning its third and final dawn apparition of the year. Today the planet will be over 10° from the Sun, rising a little further each day until maximum elongation on December 4th. There will be a nice trio with the Moon and Venus around December 11th.
Mercury at Inferior Conjunction
Today the planet Mercury passes through inferior conjunction, passing between the Sun and the Earth. In a week or so the planet will again be visible in the dawn sky, climbing higher each day. Maximum elongation will occur December 4th.
The Moon and Mars
A thin crescent Moon will be about 5.5° from Mars tonight. The Moon will be a thin crescent, only 8% illuminated. The pair will be about the same elevation, 25° above the horizon at sunset.
New Moon
During this new moon a total solar eclipse will sweep across Northern Australia and the South Pacific, ending before reaching the west coast of South America. None of this eclipse will be visible from Hawai’i.
Saturn and the Moon
Tomorrow morning, November 12th, Saturn will join a very thin Moon in the dawn. The pair will be at about the same elevation, 15° above the horizon at sunrise and about 4.5° apart. The Moon will be very thin, only 2.3% illuminated. Above the pair a brilliant Venus will shine at about 30° elevation at sunrise.