SCIENCE FILE : Star Tours

On Sunday evening, the moon is near the brilliant planet Jupiter (illustration on left). On the following evening, it is near Saturn. These two bright planets rise in the east before 10 p.m. and are visible the rest of the night. The angular separation between Jupiter and Saturn--13 degrees--is very nearly the amount the moon moves in one day in its monthly orbit around the Earth. If the moon is near Jupiter one night, it will be near Saturn the next. Jupiter and Saturn remain about 13 degrees apart for the rest of the year.

Source: John Mosley, Griffith Observatory