By: Joe Rao
Published: 04/20/2012 06:22 PM EDT on SPACE.com
Jupiter will end its brilliant year-long show on Sunday evening (April 22) by making a rendezvous with an exceedingly thin and very young crescent moon.
Indeed, the moon itself will appear so thin and low that it may be rather hard to detect in the sun’s afterglow. Jupiter will be even lower, appearing to sit about 3 degrees directly below the slender lunar sliver. (Your closed fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees across.)
The moon will be just 36 hours past its new phase, and will thus be just 2 percent illuminated. The moon and Jupiter will be setting about 1 1/2 hours after sunset on Sunday. The Jupiter sky map associated with this guide shows where to look Sunday to see the planet after sunset.
To enhance your chances of getting a good look at both the moon and the planet, make sure that your prospective viewing site has a very clear and unobstructed view toward the west-northwest part of the sky.
Thirty minutes after sunset, the moon will be no higher than 10 degrees above the horizon. And Jupiter, which will be nothing more than a bright, white dot against the twilight background, will lurk nearby, appearing just 3 degrees lower.
You can accentuate your chances of picking up both heavenly bodies by scanning around that part of the sky with a decent pair of binoculars or a small telescope. Once you sight them, getting a glimpse of the pair with your unaided eyes should be a bit easier.
After Sunday, you can pretty much say goodbye to Jupiter as an evening object, as it will be swallowed up by the sunset glow. The planet will be in conjunction with the sun on May 13 and will not reappear again until sometime in early June, when it will transition to the early morning sky.
However, the giant planet is destined to put on a nice showing in the predawn sky during early summer, being nicely positioned near the bright orange star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus (The Bull). And by then Venus will also have moved into the morning sky and will be nearby, making for an attractive celestial scene.
So for Jupiter, this is not goodbye but rather, "till we meet again this summer."
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.
Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Support HuffPost
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.
Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.
Would you join us to help keep our stories free for all? Your contribution of as little as $2 will go a long way.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you’ll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.