It’s been one exciting year for folks who like to gaze into the night sky, and we’ve still got a few more months to go before the end of 2024. To close out August, we’ll have a planet parade, featuring six planets, and a meteor shower. People looking for something else to do this week can also check out the moon hanging out with not one, but three different planets on three different days.
The three planets — Jupiter, Mars and Mercury — will be in conjunction with the moon over the last week of August. A conjunction is an astronomy term that describes when two planets or celestial bodies are close together in the night sky. Jupiter will go first, followed by Mars and then finally Mercury. It’ll be the second time this month that skygazers have been able to see Jupiter, Mars and the moon together in the night sky.
When can I see Jupiter, Mars and Mercury next to the moon?
If you missed seeing Jupiter cozying up to the moon this morning, you can check the night skies early Wednesday, Aug. 28, too: Mars and Jupiter will trade spots and it’ll be the red planet that sits closer to the moon.
Both the moon and Mars should rise around 1:30 a.m. local time in the eastern skies all across the US, where they’ll be visible all night. The two won’t be quite as close as Saturn and the moon were earlier this month, but they’ll still be pretty close. Jupiter will continue to be nearby as well.
On the morning of Sunday, Sept. 1, Mercury and the moon will be together in the sky for a couple of hours before sunrise. Mercury should rise around 6 a.m. local time and be right next to the moon. The moon will be nearly a new moon, so there’ll be only a sliver visible — that’s good news, though, because Mercury will be the hardest of the three planets to see with the naked eye, and a dimmer moon helps with that endeavor.
Will I need a telescope to see the planets close to the moon?
For Mars and Jupiter, you won’t need any magnification devices. Those two planets will be nice and bright in the sky, and since the moon will be a little less than half full, you should be able to pick them out easily once you know where to look. Because both planets and the moon will be pretty close to one another for a few days, you should be able to find all three once you find one.
For Mercury, it might be a different story. Technically, it’ll be bright enough to spot with the naked eye. However, we think having binoculars or a telescope may help out. Mercury isn’t the brightest planet in the night sky, especially just before sunrise, so we’ve seen conflicting reports about whether it’ll be visible, and we recommend having something to assist you, just in case.
If you need some help locating all the planets, Time and Date has a simple night sky tool that can help, and apps like Sky Tonight on Android and iOS can help as well.
Dr. Sarah Adams is a scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to all. Her articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
