Jupiter and Moon set as a pair

Event Date: October 5th
Time: 7:30 AM


Brief

  Today's time jump is only 9 hours from yesterday's journal entry's, as I now show the Moon and Jupiter paired a little closer than they were at 10:30 last night, on the rise.  As seen here, with the time above being about the latest that we can see Jupiter with the eye alone, the Moon has crept closer, and now a little less than 4º in angular separation from Jupiter.  I kept the orbits in, to show once again, how the node of the two is a little further west.  As a result of the Moon's orbit moving along the ecliptic very slowly, the node with it and Jupiter's orbit (not indicated) also very slowly changes.

Here is the morning viewing of the two.

click on image to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp.

Detailed

   One other thing that I will mention about the pair, is that even at this time of morning, they are still high in the sky, not setting until about 12:30.  Therefore, if you have even a small telescope, use this image to find Jupiter even during light hours.  Using the software and time bending to find when the Moon is closest, it can help find Jupiter as well.  If your telescope has a low f-ratio and therefore provides a big field with low eye-pieces, both the Moon and Jupiter can fit into the same field.  This means that Jupiter will only be magnified enough to maybe barely see its Moons during the hours of the morning that it is still dark enough to see them at 5th magnitude.  Either way, the pairing of the two in the daytime is fun to look at.
   As the next two weeks pass, the Moon will separate itself from Jupiter, as it wanes in phase towards new, waxes to full, and meets Jupiter again in about four weeks at nearly 3rd-quarter phase.  Monitor each time, where the Moon passes Jupiter during hours when both are visible.  Are the closest encounters further away, or smaller, using the angle measurements?