Overview
- Tonight’s waxing crescent, about 38% lit, sits roughly three degrees above very bright Jupiter at about magnitude -1.9 for an easy naked-eye pairing.
- Best viewing comes shortly after sunset for a few hours, since Jupiter is dropping lower each week and setting earlier through May.
- The meetup sits in Gemini near the twin stars Castor and Pollux, which makes the spot in the sky simple to find.
- Binoculars may show Jupiter’s four large moons, and a steadied smartphone in night mode can capture both the Moon and the planet.
- Night owls can also watch for Lyrid meteors before dawn, offering a bonus show in the same stretch of sky-watching.