Driftless Dark Skies: Jupiter and Mars and More

Graphic courtesy NASA Night Sky Network

Driftless Dark Skies: Jupiter and Mars and More (July 2024)

This month begins and ends with wonderful gatherings of planets, stars, and Crescent Moon for early risers. You can measure the distances between them by using the fist and fingers of your outstretched arm. Look east around 4am on July 1 to see the Waning Crescent Moon with reddish Mars two fingers below it. About two fists below and to the left of Mars is brighter Jupiter. Three fingers below Jupiter is the orange star Aldebaran. Aldebaran is one end of a v-shaped sprinkling of stars known as the Hyades. One fist above Jupiter is another star cluster known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. Bring along your binoculars for a better view of the clusters, Crescent Moon, and colors of the stars and planets. If you hold them steady enough, you might be able to glimpse some of the brighter moons of Jupiter.

By July 2, the Crescent Moon has waned a bit and moved to the left of Mars and much closer to the Pleiades. You should be able to see them together in binoculars. Look again on July 3 to see an even thinner Crescent Moon now to the left of Jupiter. As you watch before dawn the rest of the month, you can use your outstretched hand to measure the closing distance between Mars and Jupiter. On July 30, the two worlds are less than one fist apart with the Waning Crescent Moon, Hyades, and Pleiades nearby. You can cover them all with an outstretched hand!

As we move through August, watch as Mars and Jupiter get ever closer until they align the morning of August 14. They will be separated by ⅓ the width of your outstretched pinkie. It’s a great time to notice the difference in brightness and color between the two. Mars circles the Sun in just under two years and Jupiter circles in just under twelve years, so we get alignments like this about every 27 months. The last occurred May 2022 and the next occurs November 2026. Mars and Jupiter then move apart and are joined again by the Waning Crescent Moon on August 27 for another beautiful gathering. Hope you enjoy starting your mornings with skywatching. If not, planets return to the evening skies this fall and winter.

There are public astronomy programs at Wyalusing State Park on July 27, at Kickapoo Valley Reserve on July 5 & 19, and Universe in the Park programs at Yellowstone Lake SP on July 6, Governor Dodge SP on July 20, & Blue Mounds SP on July 27.

John Heasley is an astronomy educator and stargazer who enjoys connecting people with the cosmos. He volunteers with NASA/JPL as a Solar System Ambassador , with the International Dark-Sky Association as an Advocate, and the International Astronomical Union as a Dark Sky Ambassador. For more information about stargazing in southwest WI, like Driftless Stargazing LLC on Facebook and find out whenever there’s something awesome happening in the skies.