Moon to line up with Jupiter, Venus, Mercury tonight: Here's best time to watch

Skywatchers across the globe can experience a rare skygazing opportunity as the crescent moon sets to align with three planets including Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury.

The planetary alignment will also see the moon accompanied by the Beehive star cluster that can be seen from most of North America, Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, and Australia. Nonetheless, the exact time to view this astronomical event will depend on your location.

Astronomers advise sky gazers to look west around 30 to 60 minutes after sunset.

Here’s the recommended viewing window by region:

• North America (Eastern): 8:00-8:45 PM ET
• North America (Central): 7:30-8:15 PM CT
• North America (Mountain): 7:00-7:45 PM MT
• North America (Pacific): 7:00-7:45 PT
• Europe (Western): 9:30-10:15 PM BST/CET
• Europe (Eastern): 8:30-9:15 PM EET
• Asia (East): 7:00-7:45 PM local time
• Australia: 6:00-6:45 PM local time

The moon can be spotted less than 5 degrees above and to the left of the Beehive Cluster. Jupiter will be about 20 degrees to the moon’s lower right, while Venus and Mercury form a diagonal line extending further down toward the horizon.

Officials state that Mercury will be hardest to spot as it will sit less than 5 degrees above the western horizon.

Neither a telescope nor any other instrument will be needed to view the planets and the moon. 

However, binoculars of 10x50 magnification should be sufficient to observe the bright stars in the Beehive Cluster. The moon will be at 36% illumination, but its craters will be easily seen on the terminator line.

As time goes by, the moon will move farther away from the Beehive Cluster until it sets before the next day breaks.