It's a good time to rise early...

by Paul LeFevre

For those of you inclined to get up early, Jupiter, Saturn, and the near-crescent moon put on a nice show early this morning, and will again tomorrow.

At about 4:00 AM, Jupiter was high enough to be out of the horizon's swimming air. Callisto, Ganymeade, and Europa were strung out to the east of the big guy like a string of pearls, and Io had just emerged on the west from behind the planet -- I watched as it visibly got further out from the planet over the space of 30 minutes or so. Jupiter showed three very dark, easily resolved bands around his waist, with faint mottling near both the north and south poles. I thought I caught a glimpse of the red spot a couple of times, but never saw it long enough to really confirm it. Still, it was nice to see my old friend so high in the east, back to visit us again after his spring break.

Saturn was only about 10 degrees above the horizon, so the air between he and I was roiling quite a bit, and moments of good seeing were more rare than with Jupiter. Still, in moments of steadiness, a shadow from the rings across the surface was plainly visible, and occasional surface banding could be seen. Titan was shining brightly on his west flank. The rings appear to be at about a 25-degree inclination to us, just enough to make out bands on the ring system. Better views of Saturn will have to wait a few weeks until it gets higher in the morning sky, but I have missed seeing those lovely rings!

Finally, I played up and down along the terminator of the nearly-crescent moon, in between Saturn & Jupiter, to find nice long shadows on surface features -- lots of detail to be seen.

If you've missed our old friends the gas giants, it's a great time to rise early and look east!