Waning crescent moon meets Jupiter before dawn — SkimNews
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- The waning crescent moon will pass less than a degree north of Jupiter later this week, with about 10% of its visible surface illuminated when viewed from London at 5am on Tuesday
- The precise conjunction occurs at 7:11pm, after both objects have already set from the UK, making the pre-dawn hours the only UK viewing window
- The following morning offers a second chance to see the pairing, with the moon then positioned on the opposite side of Jupiter
- Mars is also visible in the same pre-dawn sky, identifiable by its red colour and lying in Gemini while the moon and Jupiter sit in neighbouring Cancer
- Southern Hemisphere observers can also see the moon-Jupiter pairing before dawn, with both objects generally appearing higher in the morning sky than from northern latitudes
Why it matters: Skywatchers willing to rise before 5am get a rare close pairing of the moon and Jupiter — the two will appear closer than a degree apart, tighter than the moon's own half-degree apparent width — giving casual observers a naked-eye astronomical highlight before the conjunction itself slips below the UK horizon.
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