Sky Archive Tonight

Moon and Jupiter April 2 and 3

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April 2, 2018

On April 2 and 3, 2018, watch for two very bright objects near each other late at night and before dawn breaks. They are the waning gibbous moon and king planet Jupiter. Two other planets – Mars and Saturn – are also nearby.

On April 2 and 3, as seen from the northern part of Earth’s globe, the moon and Jupiter can be found ascending in the southeast in late evening. From the southern part of the globe, the moon and Jupiter rise earlier. From the entire globe, after they rise, the moon and Jupiter are up for the remainder of the night.

Martin Marthadinata in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia caught the moon and Jupiter on April 3, 2018. From his location, he said, the moon rose at 7:53 p.m. local time.

Meanwhile, Mars and Saturn come up closer to the time of dawn. They’re not as bright as the moon and Jupiter, but they’ll be nearby. Their conjunction is the morning of April 2, when they’re separated by only about 1.3 degrees, about the width of your finger held at arm’s length. Every morning this week, Mars and Saturn will be close enough to fit into a single binocular field of view. By the morning of April 7, the moon will join up with Mars and Saturn. As seen from North America, the moon, Mars and Saturn should fit – or nearly fit – into a single binocular field of view.

Click here for recommended sky almanacs; they can give you the rising times of the sun, moon and planets in your sky.

Mars and Saturn are in conjunction on April 2, 2018. They’re in the morning sky, exceedingly noticeable for being bright and close together on our sky’s dome. To distinguish Mars from Saturn, look for red Mars to be a touch brighter than golden-colored Saturn. Read more.

The moon never stops moving in orbit around Earth and so – every morning this week – you’ll see the moon in a slightly different position with respect to Jupiter, Mars and Saturn. Here is the moon’s position with respect to Jupiter before dawn on April 3, 4, and 5, 2018, as seen from North America.

From North America, you have a good chance of viewing 3 worlds – the moon, Mars and Saturn – in a single binocular field on April 7.

Jupiter, the brightest starlike object in the morning sky, easily outshines Mars or Saturn. Even so, Mars and Saturn are still respectably bright, shining as brilliantly as 1st-magnitude stars, that is, the brightest stars in our sky.

By the way, Jupiter is not the sky’s brightest planet. That honor belongs to Venus, which shines much more brilliantly than Jupiter ever does. In early April 2018, Venus is low in your western sky just after sunset and soon follows the sun beneath the western horizon.

Day by day throughout April, Venus will set later after sunset, while – day by day – Jupiter will rise earlier.

By mid-April, Venus will be setting as Jupiter is rising (given a level horizon). Toward the month’s end, look for Venus and Jupiter to appear opposite one another for a brief while at dusk or nightfall.

In early April 2018, brilliant Venus – the sky’s brightest planet – is low in your western sky in evening twilight. Look soon after sunset, for Venus soon follows the sun beneath the western horizon.

Bottom line: The moon and brilliant Jupiter are close on April 2 and 3, 2018. Bright Mars and Saturn are nearby.

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April 2, 2018

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Sky Archive

Bruce McClure

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About the Author:

Bruce McClure served as lead writer for EarthSky's popular Tonight pages from 2004 to 2021, when he opted for a much-deserved retirement. He's a sundial aficionado, whose love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and sailing in the North Atlantic, where he earned his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. He also wrote and hosted public astronomy programs and planetarium programs in and around his home in upstate New York.