When you want to see the stars, find someplace dark
Getting together
This evening the Moon and Jupiter will be close. The two will be visible in the sky throughout the day becoming a striking pair as the sky grows dark. The Moon will be 11% illuminated and about 6° from the bright planet at sunset.
Mercury should be visible 18° below Jupiter, a 1.3 magnitude object lower in the sunset glow.
Tomorrow morning, May 25th, will see a brilliant Venus paired with a crescent Moon. Look for the pair to rise about 03:30HST to be 30° above the horizon at sunrise. A 10% illuminated Moon will be a nice match for Venus shining brilliantly at -4.0 magnitude. Separation will be just over 2°.
Over the next few days Venus will swing quite close to Uranus. Today the pair is separated by 2°48′. This will decrease to 1°15′ on the 15th for the closest approach.
Much like the Venus and Neptune pair we saw last month, the pair is quite a mismatch… Uranus is a mere 5.1 magnitude while Venus is a brilliant -4.0. There will be two 4th magnitude stars to the north of the pair, δPsc and εPsc, but these will be about 4° away from Venus and should be easy to distinguish. Look for Neptune betwixt Venus and the stars.
Tonight the planet Saturn will be quite close to the Moon. The pair will rise about 18:20 HST and be well up in the east in the late evening. Look for 0.1 magnitude object just north of the Moon, there are no nearby stars bright enough to confuse for the planet. The Moon is full at 09:16HST tomorrow, just short of full for tonight’s pairing.
Observers in the islands will see the Moon pass less than 1° south of the planet during the early morning hours of the 14th. Observers in the southern hemisphere will be able to view an occultation if at the correct latitude, check a planetarium program for the view from your location.
Tonight the Moon will be close to Mars. The pair will be obvious at sunset, having risen mid-afternoon. Look for the bright planet just 3° north of the Moon. Just a month after opposition the planet is still quite bright, shining at magnitude -0.9 and notably orange in color. The star Spica is about the same magnitude and visible 15° east of the Moon.
This evening the Moon and Jupiter will be close. The two will be visible in the sky throughout the day becoming a striking pair as the sky grows dark. The Moon will be 23% illuminated and about 7° from the bright planet. Tomorrow night the pair will still be close, about 9.5° apart.
Tomorrow morning, April 25th, will see a brilliant Venus paired with a crescent Moon. Look for the pair to rise about 03:41HST to be 30° above the horizon at sunrise. A 15% illuminated Moon will be a nice match for Venus shining brilliantly at -4.1 magnitude. Separation will be about 4°.
The following morning, April 26th, will see the Moon much closer to the horizon, over 11° west of the planet.
Over the next few days Venus will swing quite close to Neptune. Today the pair is separated by 2°41′. This will decrease to 49′ on the 11th and remain close at 51′ on the 12th.
The pair is quite a mismatch… Neptune is a mere 7.9 magnitude while Venus is a brilliant -4.2, over 60,000 times brighter. The 4.8 magnitude star σAqr will be 1.5° southwest of the two, the only nearby object that can be confused for the planet.
Next month, on May 15th, Venus will pass about 1° from to Uranus for a similar oddball conjunction.
Tonight the Moon and Jupiter will be close. The Moon will rise first, at 10:56HST, most of an hour ahead of Jupiter, placing the two quite high in the sky at sunset. The Moon will be 39% illuminated and about 10° from the bright planet. Tomorrow night the pair will be much closer, about 6.5° apart.
Tomorrow morning, March 26th, will see a brilliant Venus paired with a crescent Moon. Look for the pair to rise about 03:48HST to be 32° above the horizon at sunrise. An 21% illuminated Moon will be a nice match for Venus shining brilliantly at -4.3 magnitude. Separation will be about 9°.
The following morning, March 27th, will see the pair even closer with the Moon 6° below Venus. Observant sky-watchers will note Mercury another 18° closer to the eastern horizon and the rising Sun.