The moon and Jupiter steal the show after sunset on April 22

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On Wednesday evening (April 22), assuming your skies are reasonably clear, you can end your day by going outside and enjoying the view of a rendezvous of two of the brightest objects in the night sky: the moon and the planet Jupiter. About 45 minutes after sunset, the eye-catching celestial duo will be visible in the western sky, about two-thirds from the horizon to the point directly above (called the zenith).

The moon, which will be within a day of reaching its first quarter phase – 38% illuminated by the sun — will be located above and to the right of Jupiter, approximately 3 degrees.

To gauge the width of 3 degrees, your closed fist held at arm’s length measures about 10 degrees, so Jupiter and the moon will appear about “a third of a fist” apart.

Even without the Moon, Jupiter alone easily attracts attention; Currently, after Venus sets, it is the brightest “star” for the time it is above the horizon (it currently sets around 1:35 a.m. local time), first appearing high in the west during the early stages of twilight. Jupiter, circa magnitude -2.1, eclipses everything in the night sky except Venus and the moon. As dusk fades, it is soon joined by the bright winter stars in this part of the sky – stars that begin to seem out of season as the spring evenings warm.

Teaming up with the Gemini Twins

The most visible due to their proximity to the Moon and Jupiter are the yellowish colors. Pollux and white Beaverwhich mark the heads of the Gemini twins, positioned about 9 degrees above Jupiter and about 6.5 degrees above the Moon. In his classic guide to the constellations, The stars: a new way to see themauthor HA Rey wrote: “If the moon and a planet are close to Castor and Pollux, you have an impressive sight.”

And indeed, this gathering of the Moon and Jupiter with Castor and Pollux in the Wednesday evening sky will be quite eye-catching.

Striking views thanks to telescopes

In a telescope, Jupiter is a primary attraction; It is best observed in the early evening, when it is still high and its image is reasonably calm. It is still a very large belted ball showing tantalizing glimpses of detail. Certainly, he seems only three quarters bigger than when he opposed him in early January, but don’t let that stop you. The quirks of atmospheric observation, which can change from minute to minute, often determine more what a telescope will show on Jupiter than the apparent size of the planet. And its four bright moons are still performing well.

In fact, if you look at Jupiter with a small telescope or even binoculars held regularly on Wednesday evening, you will see three of the four satellites. Closest to Jupiter will be Io, while flanking the large planet at greater distances are Callisto (on the same side as Io) and Ganymede. Keep a close eye on Iohowever, because at 10:39 p.m. EDT it will disappear behind Jupiter. Then at 11:36 p.m. EDT, Europa will emerge from the eclipse, having been hidden in Jupiter’s shadow.

So on Wednesday, while you enjoy the view of Jupiter near our own satellite, keep in mind that with only slight optical assistance, up to four additional satellites are available. They look like small stars, although two of them are larger than our own moon and it is indeed possible to observe them changing position relative to each other from hour to hour and from night to night.

If you’re looking for a telescope or binoculars to observe the night sky, our guides for best binocular deals and the best telescope deals can help.

Joe Rao is an instructor and guest lecturer at New York University Hayden Planetarium. He writes on astronomy for Natural history review, Sky and telescope, The Old Farmer’s Almanac and other publications.