This evening, and the next few evenings, will find Mercury, Venus and Jupiter in a tight triangle just above the sunset. The trio will be separated by less than 3° and will be well above the setting Sun, 14° at sunset, thus will remain in the sky for almost an hour after the Sun slides below the horizon.
Tonight will see Mercury and Venus even closer, separated by only 1°48′, tomorrow that will shrink to 1°26′ and 1°22′ on the 24th. The trio will all be quite bright, with Mercury shining around -1 magnitude, Jupiter at -2, and Venus around -4 magnitude. Keep watching as this trio will continue to be quite close through the end of the month.
Tonight will see a bright Moon just a few degrees from Saturn in the constellation Virgo. The Moon will be nearing full, about 94% illuminated and 4° south of Saturn.
Tonight the Moon will rendezvous with the bright star Spica in the constellation Virgo. The Moon is approaching full, just under 90% illuminated. Evening will see the two quite close, about 2° apart. As the night progresses this separation will diminish as the Moon slides just south of the star. For viewers in Hawai’i the minimum separation will be about 40′ around 2:00 in the morning with the star just 25′ from the Moon’s pole.
The Moon, Venus and Aldebaran join up for an evening conjunctionThe three brightest planets are about to join up for an evening dance set. Currently Mercury is rising clear of the Sun’s glare into the evening sky. There it will join Venus and Jupiter for a conjunction that will continue, with various partners, for over a month. The three dancers will be well matched for brightness, with Mercury shining around -1 magnitude, Jupiter at -2, and Venus around -4 magnitude.
On the evening of May 24th Venus and Mercury will be about 2° apart with Jupiter 4° above. Closest approach of the three will occur the evening of May 26th with the trio forming a neat triangle about 2° on a side. On the 28th Venus and Jupiter will be just over 1° apart. During the first few days of June, the planet Jupiter will bow out of the dance, exiting the stage into the Sun’s glare. Venus and Mercury will join up one more time for a few days after June 17th, with a close approach on the 19th and 20th with about 2° separation between the two. When Mercury also heads into the sunset this dance will end during the last days of June.
On the 9th and 10th of June the Moon will run across the stage, a very thin crescent around 2% illuminated and 6° south of the planets.
Much of the dance will take place about 15° above the sunset, high enough to be nicely visible, low enough that the glow of sunset will provide a colorful backdrop to light the stage.
The sunset is getting crowded. This evening will see a trio of the sky’s brightest objects low in the shades of sunset. Venus is still quite low, ony 10.3° from the Sun, shining brightly at -4 magnitude and rising higher each day. Well above Venus can be seen Jupiter, somewhat dimmer at -2 magnitude and 23° from the Sun.
In between the two a pretty crescent Moon is positioned, 4.4% illuminated and about 5° below Jupiter. Tomorrow night will see the Moon above and south of Jupiter with about 7° separation.
This is just the start of a sunset dance that will play out over the coming month. Stay tuned for Mercury to join Venus and Jupiter.
Tonight a bright Jupiter, shining at -2.1 magnitude, will be just under 5° from a pretty crescent Moon. Look for a 20% illuminated Moon with Jupiter just above. The pair will be 50° above the western horizon at sunset.
Tonight the Moon and Jupiter will be close. Look for the pair about 40° above the western horizon at sunset. The Moon will be about 13% illuminated and about 7° below a bight Jupiter. Tomorrow the Moon will have moved to the other side of Jupiter but will be even closer, a little under 5° separation at sunset.
Tomorrow morning, on April 8th, a thin crescent Moon will share the sky with Mercury. The pair will be separated by 8°41′ with the Moon further north. Both will be about rise within minutes of each other about 04:55HST and both will be about 16° above the horizon at sunrise. At magnitude 0.1 Mercury should be easy to spot, making a nice companion to a 3% illuminated Moon.
This evening will see the Moon and Jupiter quite close, about 2° apart at sunset. Look for the bright pair high in the western sky as the sky grows dark. The Moon will be about 36% illuminated and Jupiter will be quite bright at -2.2 magnitude.
Tomorrow morning, on March 10th, the Moon and Mercury will form a close pair. The Moon will be a very thin crescent, only 1.75% illuminated. Mercury will be only 2° below, shining at 2.7 magnitude. The pair will rise about 05:38HST, and will be 12° above the horizon at sunrise.
