Two bright planets will approach each other in our evening sky during the next couple of weeks. They are Mars, and Saturn, which has adorned our evening sky since midwinter.
Both are now visible about one-third of the way up from the western horizon as darkness falls.
And as a bonus, located between these two planets is the bright star Regulus, in the constellation of Leo, the Lion. Yellow-white Saturn, shining sedately at magnitude +0.4, is located above and to the left of Regulus, while the much dimmer Mars appears below and to the right of Regulus. At magnitude +1.6, Mars has now fallen to the rank of second magnitude and appears only one-half as bright as Saturn. Regulus, meanwhile is roughly midway in brightness between the two planets.
On this scale of brightness, smaller numbers represent brighter objects.
If you watch the sky carefully through the next two weeks, you'll be able to take note of the changing positions of these two planets and nearby star, relative to each other.
On the evening of June 30, you'll see Mars just above and to the right of Regulus, while Saturn sits above and to the left; the trio will resemble an arrowhead that night with Saturn making the arrow's tip.
On the evening of July 1, Mars will appear perched almost directly above Regulus. The color contrast will be quite striking, especially in binoculars: Mars appears yellow-orange, while Regulus is bluish.
On July 5 looking low in the western sky about an hour after sundown, you'll see a waxing crescent moon, with Regulus, Mars and Saturn all oriented in a straight line in that order, from lower right to upper left. Mars will be situated almost exactly in between Regulus and Saturn. On the following night, the moon will have shifted eastward, forming a broad triangle with Regulus and Saturn, while Mars will have moved noticeably closer to Saturn.
During the evenings of July 9 through 11, watch how the faster-moving Mars closely interacts with the much slower Saturn. Despite the difference in brightness, they still should make for a rather eye-catching pair in the western twilight glow about an hour after sundown.
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