On Wednesday, August 14, set your alarm clock for at least a few hours before sunrise. If you can see clearly to the east, you will be able to witness dazzling Jupiter forming an extremely unique and stunning “double planet” with Mars.
With respective magnitudes of -2.2 and +0.8, these two worlds will shine more brightly than Mars, with a brightness ratio of over 16 to 1. Nevertheless, despite their stark contrast in brightness, they ought to be visually striking.
It will appear as though Mars is hovering just above and to the left of Jupiter.
Jupiter positioned against a recognizable winter pattern
Silver-toned Jupiter and pumpkin-colored Mars are currently found in the middle of Taurus the Bull, halfway between the horns and about 8 degrees to the left of the Bull’s “angry eye,” the bright orange-hued star Aldebaran, which at this moment roughly matches up with Mars both in brightness and color. This zodiacal star pattern is usually high in our sky on frosty winter evenings.
After rising over the east-northeast horizon shortly before one in the morning local time, both planets will be in a position that makes them easy to see two hours later.
For the most part of 2024, the red planet has lazed around in the morning sky, never rising far above the eastern horizon by the crack of dawn. Eventually, though, it has moved far enough away from the sun to make itself easier to view in the predawn sky at a greater altitude. Additionally, the closer we approach to it, the brighter it is getting. It was 148.7 million miles (239.3 million kilometers) away at the beginning of August. That will be shortened by 15.8 million miles (25.4 million km) by the end of the month.
The planets will seem closest to one another in the late morning hours when viewed from the Eastern United States. They will only be separated by 18 arc minutes, or 0.3 degrees, at 10:55 a.m. EDT. That is only three-fifths of the moon’s apparent diameter. Nonetheless, the planets will still be rather near to one another—just 20 arc minutes will divide them—a few hours early, at the beginning of morning twilight. For viewers in the remaining contiguous United States, the planets will appear comparably near.
Rarity of the event
Following August 14, Mars will rapidly migrate eastward at a rate of nearly half a degree per day from Jupiter in the morning hours. They will be separated by about 8½ degrees by the end of the month.
Eleven more times since 2000 have seen Jupiter and Mars in conjunction, with Mars surpassing the slower Jupiter on average once every 26 to 27 months. They were together for the last time on May 29, 2022. They will run into each other again on Nov. 15, 2026, after Wednesday morning.
Even closer will be the Mars-Jupiter conjunction this year, which is expected to be exceptionally near, on the evening of December 1, 2033. That evening, the two planets will be just 12 arc minutes apart—a scant 0.2 degree separation!
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