THIS MONTH’S PLANETS
The king of the Solar System will be the focus of many astronomers this spring
A t the start of our observing period Jupiter will be an ‘evening star’, dropping towards the west as darkness falls but still strikingly bright to the naked eye. You’ll find it beneath and a little to the right of the much-loved Pleiades star cluster and to the upper left of copper-hued and fainter Mercury. As March draws to a close Jupiter will be setting four hours after the Sun, giving you lots of time to enjoy seeing it shining in the deepening twilight.
By 1 April Jupiter will still be a bright evening star, but by then it will be low in the west after sunset and you’ll only have three hours to see it before it drops beneath the horizon. It will set a little earlier each evening – a little lower in the sky after every sunset – and by 17 April will be setting just two hours after the Sun. By then it will have moved into the constellation of Aries, but will still be strikingly bright to the naked eye, a fine sight as it shines above any trees or hills on your western skyline.