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April 2: Jupiter’s moons on display
Mercury reaches greatest western elongation, standing 28° from the Sun at 7 P.M. EDT this evening.
Now visible in the morning sky, the small planet glows at magnitude 0.4 and rises around 5:45 A.M. local daylight time. That doesn’t afford much time to see it, but early risers can spot it some 4° above the eastern horizon about half an hour before the Sun rises. Mercury is now in Aquarius and currently tracking eastward, or prograde, against the background stars.
Through a telescope, the planet’s disk spans 8” on the sky. It is roughly half-lit (49 percent) and its illumination will increase in the coming days as Mercury remains at roughly the same altitude above the horizon, while Mars and Saturn slowly rise to meet it in the morning sky. Currently, Mars is above the horizon half an hour before sunrise, but just barely — the Red Planet stands just 1° high at this time and is very faint at magnitude 1.3. You can try looking for it in binoculars or a telescope 9.1° northeast of Mercury (to Mercury’s lower left), but you will need a very clear horizon free of trees or buildings. Take care to put away any optics well before sunrise from your location, which may differ from the time given below.
Sunrise: 6:40 A.M.
Sunset: 7:27 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:29 P.M.
Moonset: 7:05 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (96%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
