Saturday, April 20, 2024

Jupiter Passes Uranus (after dusk)

In the western evening sky on the evenings surrounding Saturday, April 20,
the very bright planet Jupiter will have a close conjunction with the much fainter planet Uranus. You will need the sky to darken to see Uranus' magnitude 5.8 blue-green spot in binoculars. Before Saturday, Uranus will
be positioned to Jupiter's upper right (or celestial northeast). At closest approach on Saturday, the duo will easily share the eyepiece in a backyard telescope, with Uranus positioned half a finger's width to the right (or
0.45 degrees to the celestial north) of Jupiter. Note that your telescope
will likely flip and/or mirror their arrangement. After Saturday, Jupiter
will climb higher than Uranus - but the pair will be settling into the
western twilight. Watch for comet 12P/Pons-Brooks positioned to the lower
left (or celestial south) of the two planets.

(Data courtesy Starry Night)
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