Time: 3:14 PM
Brief
This morning, we witness a fine encounter of Jupiter and the Moon. With a combination of Jupiter moving it its orbit and the Moon being affected by precession of the nodes, the two do not peak as closely as they have over the last two months. During the first two passes of Jupiter this summer, their orbits led to near-occultations seen in other parts of the country and world; while the two were both below the horizon and/or not dark enough to easily see Jupiter from here, we missed those. This time, despite being a little further separated, we get to see the Moon approach and pass Jupiter while both are both easily visible. It is still a fine sight, as these two images show. The first is the zoom-out, and the second a 2º field showing both (about 25x magnification). We can even see Jupiter's Moons barely visible at low magnifications, while the Moon's terminus moves fast during this phase of nearly 3rd (last quarter).
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Detailed
If a line is drawn from the center of the Moon to Jupiter, it would extend slightly over 1 degree. The time shown at the top and the images is precisely when the Moon is closest in separation to Jupiter this time. Since Jupiter's orbit is slightly inclined by a couple degrees with the ecliptic, and the Moon's is very much inclined in comparison by 5 1/2º, it means that the Moon will pass Jupiter a little further south each month to follow. As the Moon passes the stars of Taurus, it is a little further south each time, and this will continue for another few years. It will have near-occultations with Jupiter again in the upcoming years, yet it will mean that the Jupiter will have to be closer to the Moon's ascending node, currently several degrees away from it. By the time Jupiter gets closer to the node with its own revolution movement against the stars, the node will move--via precession--towards it as well.
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