It is easy to forget the two giant planets of the solar system at the moment. Neither Jupiter nor Saturn are favourably placed, but for early risers they are both visible in the pre-dawn sky.
The chart shows the view looking southeast at 04.00 BST on 30 June, although the view will not charge markedly throughout this week. As the breaking dawn light fills the sky, few stars will be visible, but Jupiter and Saturn will be shining. Jupiter will be the brighter of the two, shining its white light off to the east. It is located in the constellation of Aries, the ram. Meanwhile, Saturn will be dimmer and yellow in colour off to the south-south-east. It is located in the constellation of Aquarius, the water bearer.
Because of their great distances from Earth, both planets move only slowly across the sky. As a result, they will now stay in these respective constellations for the rest of the year. Both planets will brighten slightly in the coming months as Earth is currently travelling towards them. From the southern hemisphere, the planets are both visible in fully dark skies. Around 04.00 local time, Saturn will be high in the north, and Jupiter low in the east.
