Let’s try watching Jupiter and the thin Moon in the dawn sky.

Jupiter, which passed conjunction on September 26, shows itself in the eastern dawn sky. Before sunrise, about the time the sky starts to get light, Jupiter rises above the eastern horizon. At the beginning of the month, it is already getting light while Jupiter’s elevation is still low. But during the middle and end of the month Jupiter comes up progressively earlier before the Sun. Jupiter should stand out very well shining at -1.7 magnitude.

On October 28th, the very thin moon approaches Jupiter. On this day, the Moon is positioned a little above Jupiter. If you begin observing before the sky starts to get light, about an hour and a half before sunrise, the sky will be sufficiently dark so that you can enjoy the radiance of the Moon and Jupiter.

If you look closely at the Moon, you might be able to see “earthshine,” the light reflected from the Earth which causes the dark portion of the Moon to shine dimly.

The Moon and Jupiter are also close together on the 29th, but their relative positions are reversed; the Moon appears below Jupiter. The Moon becomes thinner, and its elevation becomes lower, so that seeing it is more difficult than on the 28th.