Skywatch Line for Wednesday and Thursday, September 4 and 5, 2024, written by Alan French

This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Wednesday and Thursday, September 4 and 5, 2024, written by Alan French.

The Sun rises at 6:24 A.M. on Wednesday and sets at 7:24 P.M. On Thursday it rises at 6:25 and sets at 7:22. This Thursday has 19 minutes, 06 seconds less daylight than last Thursday.

The Moon was new Monday evening and a very young Moon sets soon after the Sun now. On Wednesday night there is a chance to see a very young Moon, but you will need an excellent view low to the west and clear skies. At 8:00 P.M. bright Venus will be just under 4 degrees above the western horizon. A slender, 3.2% illuminated young Moon will be just under 5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon and just under a degree above the horizon, a difficult target. (The geometry is better for folks farther south.) Binoculars may improve the chances of spotting the Moon, especially if conditions are less than ideal.
By Thursday night the Moon will be farther east of the Sun, higher, and the chances of spotting the slightly older Moon will have improved. At 8:00 P.M. the Moon, now 7.4% in sunlight, will be 3 ½ degrees above the western horizon and bright Venus will be almost 7 degrees to the Moon’s right.

Watch the Moon during the following nights as it moves higher into the western, evening sky and toward first quarter. It will reach fist quarter next Wednesday, September 11.

The morning sky now hosts the majority of planets. At 5:30 A.M., yellowish Saturn, at magnitude +0.6, is 12 ½ degrees above the west southwestern horizon, in the constellation Aquarius. Brilliant Jupiter is high in the southeast, shining at magnitude -2.3, 61 degrees above the horizon. Reddish Mars is magnitude +0.7 and 11 degrees to the lower left of Jupiter. Jupiter and Mars both lie in Taurus.

The final naked eye planet in the morning sky is Mercury, 6 degrees above the eastern horizon (azimuth 77.5 degrees) at 5:30 A.M. and at magnitude -0.3. Mercury is now at its greatest elongation west.
Uranus and Neptune are also now in the morning sky. With a proper star chart and good conditions, Uranus can sometimes be spotted by eye, but Neptune always requires optical aid. Uranus is now in Taurus and Neptune is in Pisces.