Sunday October 20, 2024

Bright Moon and Jupiter in the Winter Hexagon (wee hours to dawn)

Around mid-evening on Sunday, October 20, the bright, waning gibbous moon will rise in the east with brilliant Jupiter shining about 6 degrees to its southwest. The prominent star Elnath, which marks the northern horn tip of Taurus, the Bull, will sparkle just to the lower left (east) of the moon. The trio will shift into the southwestern sky by dawn. By then the moon will shine extremely close to Elnath. If you head outside between the wee hours and dawn, the bright ring of stars forming the gigantic Winter Hexagon asterism will surround Jupiter and the moon. Jupiter will spend the coming year wandering inside the hexagon, while the moon will pass through it monthly.


(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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