Jupiter, Saturn, Moon To Line Up Across Southern Sky This Month
(CBS Local) — Grab your telescope sky watchers, you are in store for a celestial treat this month.
For three nights between August 9 and August 11, Jupiter and Saturn, our solar system’s two largest planets, and the moon will be lined up side-by-side across the southern sky.
With Venus currently lost in the sun’s glare, Jupiter will be the brightest planet in the sky in August, according to EarthSky.org.
In this image provided by NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team, the planet Jupiter is pictured July 23, 2009 in Space. (Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team via Getty Images)
On Friday, the 9th, the waxing gibbous moon will appear just above and to the left of Jupiter while Saturn is farther to the left.
The next night, the moon will be directly between two gas giants in the southern sky.
On the 11th, the nearly full moon will be just to the right of Saturn, making it easier to find the planet’s rings with a telescope.
If the weather doesn’t cooperate those nights, you can still see Jupiter and Saturn in the southern sky in the coming weeks before they grow dimmer heading into autumn.