Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, October 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 37 minutes, setting at 6:45, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:09. The Moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 11:41 this evening.

The fat crescent Moon and the planets Jupiter and Saturn will make a pretty triangle low in the southwestern sky tonight. Jupiter has been noticeably approaching Saturn the last few years. Their paths will appear to cross for us the evening of December 21st, the first day of winter. I won’t make any bets on it being clear that night, or any night around here in December. On the 21st of December they will be seen low in the southwest in twilight a third of the diameter of the Moon apart, and both be seen together in binoculars or low power telescope. The eye should resolve them, though Jupiter’s brightness compared to Saturn may make that difficult. Jupiter passes Saturn on average every 20 years.

The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Jupiter, Saturn, and Moon triangle as it will appear in the south at 8 pm in the eastern US. In the western US the Moon will slide closer to Saturn at the same local time. Created using Stellarium.