Falls 2015 Dazzling Morning Display!

Jupiter passed on the far side of the Sun less than a month ago, but it already has returned to view before dawn in the east sky. The giant planet rises about 80 minutes before our sun. Shining brightly, it stands out even in twilight below Venus and Mars. The three morning planets will undergo a spectacular series of conjunctions during October. A conjunction is a close grouping of celestial sky objects. Here is an evening shot I took showing the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the western sky on July 1, 2015.

Our sister planet Venus reaches its greatest brilliancy of the year September 21.  Mars lies to its lower left, glowing in a lovely orange color contrast. Meanwhile, Jupiter hugs the horizon 10° below Mars, the span of your closed fist held at arm’s length. Mercury joins the planetary trio in October’s morning sky for the most gorgeous planetary lineup of 2015. A crescent Moon briefly joins the crowd, jumping from one planet to the next in four consecutive days beginning on October 9^th.