Heads up! Moon, Jupiter, Antares on May 4-5
Close-up of Jupiter's cloudtops as seen by Voyager 1. The red area - Jupiter's Great Red Spot seen for centuries through telescopes - is thought now to be a giant hurricane. (NASA image)
Friday, May 4, 2007.
About a month from now, the Earth will come closest to the planet Jupiter for all of 2007.
And Jupiter, in turn, will shine at its most brilliant in our sky during June. But you don’t need to wait until June to see the planet Jupiter. You can see it tonight. In the southern hemisphere, Jupiter will be up by early evening. North of the equator, it’ll peek above the southeastern horizon in mid to late evening.
Jupiter is always easy to spot, because it’s so bright. But it’s super easy tonight because it’ll be near the moon. As seen from across Earth tonight, stargazers will notice a ruddy star near Jupiter and the moon. This star is Antares, the brightest light in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. The moon, Jupiter and Antares will climb upward throughout the night tonight. They’ll reach their highest point in the wee hours after midnight, and they’ll shine in the southwest before dawn.
Jupiter’s rising tonight coincides with the Southern Cross shining at the most northerly latitude possible. At about 26 degrees north of the equator – the latitude of the southern parts of Florida and Texas – the Southern Cross stands upright on the southern horizon, just as Jupiter climbs above the horizon and first lights up the sky.
So look for Jupiter tonight. This blazing planet easily outshines the brightest stars of nighttime.
Our thanks today to Research Corporation, a foundation for the advancement of science.
- New images of the Jupiter system from the Pluto–bound Horizon spacecraft.
- Rising time of the moon and Jupiter – Old Farmer’s Almanac
- Rising time of the Southern Cross star Mimosa – US Naval Observatory
- Jupiter by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Antares, brightest star in Scorpius by David Darling
- Southern Cross from Hawaii
- Southern Cross photo by David Malin
On May evenings, the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross (the constellation Crux) reach their highest points in the sky in concert. At this magical hour, the Southern Cross can be seen as far north as southern Florida and Texas. We elaborate on a past May radio show entitled Sphere of Stars.
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You talk a big deal about Jupiter, the Moon and Antares to be visible now! How come I have been watching Jupiter and Antares for months in the dawn hours at the SW sky?. They are my companions in my daily run of 45 minutes every morning.
Hi Jorge! I’m glad you’ve been seeing Jupiter and Antares. Yes, they’ve been up in the predawn sky for some time. But we’re talking about them now because – in the next few days – the moon will be near them. For people who don’t know these objects, the moon can help in identifying them.
Thanks for commenting and keep looking up!
Deborah
I noticed a very brigth star at Northwest on Canadian (Toronto) sky. Anybody knows what it is?
Hi…where do we look for Omega centauri the star cluster….and wht time to look for it…..Thanks
Ray, are you seeing that bright “star” in the hours after sunset? If so, it’s not a star. It’s the planet Venus.
Jibran, we have a sky chart coming up on May 13 showing Omega Centauri in relationship to the star Spica in the constellation Virgo. How well you can see this cluster depends on your latitude on Earth … the farther south the better. But, at this time of year, you can look southward – below Spica – to spot it in the middle of the night. Here’s that chart, from Earth & Sky’s Skywatching Center.
thanks, i saw Jupiter right about the moon. i was sure it was a planet but didnt know which one, but after a quick trip to the internet and your helpful post, i have identified it. thanks