Objects in your sky: Planets
by Dominic Ford
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The Moon is 18 days old, waning gibbous, and is approaching last quarter. From Cambridge, it is visible in the morning sky, becoming accessible at around 00:16, when it rises 10° above your south-eastern horizon. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 04:04, 25° above your southern horizon. It will be lost to dawn twilight at around 05:32, 24° above your southern horizon.
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Mercury is visible as a morning object, having recently passed greatest elongation west. From Cambridge, however, it is not observable – it will reach its highest point in the sky during daytime and is no higher than 1° above the horizon at dawn.
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Venus remains just about visible as a morning object, now well past greatest elongation west and returning closer to the Sun. From Cambridge, however, it is not observable – it will reach its highest point in the sky during daytime and is no higher than 6° above the horizon at dawn.
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Mars is currently an early evening object, now receding into evening twilight. From Cambridge, it will become visible at around 20:23 (EDT) as the dusk sky fades, 28° above your western horizon. It will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 38 minutes after the Sun at 23:11.
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Jupiter is currently visible as a morning object. From Cambridge, it is visible in the morning sky, becoming accessible at around 00:36, when it rises 7° above your south-eastern horizon. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 04:13, 24° above your southern horizon. It will be lost to dawn twilight at around 05:32, 22° above your southern horizon.
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Saturn is currently emerging from behind the Sun. From Cambridge, it is visible in the dawn sky, rising at 01:27 (EDT) – 4 hours and 25 minutes before the Sun – and reaching an altitude of 24° above the southern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 05:17.
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Uranus recently passed behind the Sun at solar conjunction. From Cambridge, it is not readily observable since it is very close to the Sun, at a separation of only 1° from it.
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Neptune recently passed behind the Sun at solar conjunction. From Cambridge, it is not observable – it will reach its highest point in the sky during daytime and is no higher than 3° above the horizon at dawn.
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