The Moon moves eastward relative to the background stars at an average rate of about 13° per day. This motion carries it to a position 4° to Jupiter’s upper right this evening.

The pretty pair will be on display from twilight until Jupiter sets around 9:30 p.m. local daylight time.

Of course, the giant planet remains a conspicuous object all week. It currently shines at magnitude –1.9 and dominates the southwestern sky after Venus sets.

Jupiter resides among the background stars of Libra the Scales; this evening, it lies 4° due east of Zubenelgenubi (Alpha [α] Librae). If you view the planet through a telescope, its disk spans 34" and displays spectacular cloud-top detail.



Plan observing targets for every night by catching up with Astronomy's The Sky This Week column.