Tonight

Jupiter and the moon, August 16, 17 and 18 mornings

Jupiter and the moon: Chart showing 3 half-lit moons shrinking and a dot labeled Jupiter.
Jupiter and the moon grow apart over the evenings of August 16, 17 and 18, 2022. Chart via John Jardine Goss / EarthSky.

Jupiter and the moon drift apart

As the waning gibbous moon approaches its 3rd quarter phase, it moves away from bright Jupiter on the mornings of August 16, 17 and 18, 2022. Jupiter is up by late evening now, and can be found in morning sky. But the moon will rise later each evening – and so moving away from Jupiter – as it makes a beeline toward Mars, which is bright and red and near Jupiter now in the morning sky.

The moon is also diminishing in brightness in our sky, as it heads from its full phase on August 11, to new moon on August 27.

Jupiter is currently in the constellation Cetus the Whale, which is not a member of the zodiac. But the king of planets sits right across the border from Pisces the Fishes. Jupiter crossed from Pisces into Cetus in June and will return to Pisces at the beginning of September, not long before its September 26 opposition.

Can you spot the Circlet of Pisces near Jupiter? Pisces represents two fish that are linked together. And the Circlet is a ring-shaped asterism denoting the Western Fish. Look for it in a dark sky.

And be sure to check Stellarium.org to see star charts for a specific view from your location, and time of night.

Bottom line: Jupiter and the moon grow farther apart in the sky as the moon’s lit face shrinks in size. Watch the moon recede from Jupiter on August 16, 17 and 18, 2022.

For more great observing events in the coming weeks, visit EarthSky’s night sky guide

Posted 
August 16, 2022
 in 
Tonight

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Kelly Kizer Whitt

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