The planet Jupiter blazes near the moon from late night tonight until dawn Sunday. They rise in the east around or after midnight, though the precise time depends on where you live in your time zone. In North America, Jupiter rises first, then the waning crescent moon follows Jupiter into the sky. Venus, the most brilliant of planets, rises in the east in the wee hours before dawn. As seen from mid-northern latitudes, Jupiter and the moon will have climbed high in the southern sky by tomorrow’s dawn, and Venus will be pretty much on line with the moon and Jupiter in the eastern sky.
Tonight’s moon is a bit past its half-lit last quarter phase. The last quarter moon fell on Saturday, September 8, at precisely 13:15 (1:15 p.m.) Universal Time. In the central part of the U.S., that was 8:15 a.m. on September 8 Central Daylight Time.
Observers in the Southern Hemisphere will see Jupiter and the moon rather low down in theirnorthern sky at morning dawn, and Venus rather close to the northeast horizon. In contrast, we in the Northern Hemisphere will see Jupiter and the moon high in the southern sky or high overhead, and Venus fairly close to due east.
Jupiter will be an obvious bright object in the sky, from the time it rises until dawn tomorrow. If you have keen eyesight and a steady hand, you might even see one or more of Jupiter’s moons through binoculars. Look for the Jupiter by the waning moon after midnight and before dawn on September 9. And draw an imaginary line from Jupiter and past the moon to find the even brighter planet Venus in the eastern predawn and dawn sky.
If you’re a practiced sky watcher, you can try your luck at catching the lunar occultation of the dwarf planet Ceres with the telescope. Click here for more information.
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