Past Moon-Planet Conjunctions 2023
From this article, you’ll learn when the planets passed near the Moon in our sky in 2023. For the upcoming conjunctions, read our other monthly-updated article.
Contents
May conjunctions
May 13: Moon near Saturn
On May 13, at 13:04 GMT (9:04 a.m. EDT), the 32%-illuminated Moon and Saturn (magnitude 1) shared the same right ascension. At that moment, the distance between the two bodies was 3°17'.
On the same day, at 15:26 GMT (11:26 a.m. EDT), the Moon and Saturn got the closest to each other at a distance of 2°59'. Both celestial bodies were in the constellation Aquarius. In the Northern Hemisphere, Saturn appeared above the horizon only a couple of hours before the Sun. In the Southern Hemisphere, the planet rose at about local midnight and was visible all night.
### May 17: Moon near Jupiter
On May 17, at 13:15 GMT (9:15 a.m. EDT), the conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter occurred. The apparent distance between the two bodies was 47'.
Earlier that day, at 12:40 GMT (8:40 a.m. EDT), the Moon passed Jupiter at a distance of 43′. The 6%-illuminated lunar disk was in the constellation Aries, and the planet shone in the constellation Pisces at a magnitude of -2.1. Jupiter was best observed before sunrise. Early risers might also have spotted Mercury (magnitude 1.7) hanging low above the horizon.
Observers from parts of the Americas and Europe had a chance to see the unique event called lunar occultation: Jupiter "hid" behind the Moon. Learn more details from our article about the 10 must-see celestial shows of 2023. We also showed what the scene looked like in the sky in our infographic.
May 18: Moon near Mercury
On May 18, at 01:34 GMT (May 17, 9:34 p.m. EDT), the Moon and Mercury (magnitude 1.6) shared the same right ascension. At that moment, the distance between the two bodies was 3°35'. Both celestial bodies lay in the constellation Aries. The conjunction occurred a day before the New Moon, so the 3%-illuminated lunar disk was almost invisible. Find Mercury in the predawn sky, as well as Jupiter, which also shone nearby at a magnitude of -2.1.
May 23: Moon near Venus
On May 23, at 12:08 GMT (8:08 a.m. EDT), the Moon and Venus will reach conjunction while being within 2°12' from each other. Later that day, at 12:37 GMT, the two bodies will get even closer. The apparent distance between them will be 2°11'.
Observe Venus (magnitude -4.3) and the 12%-illuminated Moon after sunset in the constellation Gemini. Castor (magnitude 1.6) and Pollux (magnitude 1.2) will add up to the scene, as well as Mars (magnitude 1.5) shining nearby. All the objects are bright enough to be spotted with the naked eye.
May 24: Moon near Mars
On May 24, the Moon will move away from Venus to Mars. At 17:32 GMT (1:32 p.m. EDT), the Moon will share the same right ascension with Mars. At 19:19 GMT (3:19 p.m. EDT), the two objects will come the closest to each other: the apparent distance between them will be 3°39'.
The 22%-illuminated Moon and Mars (magnitude 1.5) will be in the constellation Cancer. Observe them in the evening, as well as Venus (magnitude -4.3), which will shine in the neighboring constellation Gemini, forming a triangle with Castor (magnitude 1.6) and Pollux (magnitude 1.2).
April conjunctions
April 16: Moon near Saturn
On April 16, at 03:47 GMT (April 15, 11:37 p.m. EDT), the Moon and Saturn shared the same right ascension. At that moment, the distance between the two bodies was 3°29'.
Later that day, at 06:12 GMT (2:12 a.m. EDT), they will come even closer to each other, and the distance was reduced to 3°11'. Find the 22%-illuminated Moon and Saturn (magnitude 1) in the constellation Aquarius. The planet was bright enough to spot with the naked eye, but both objects were also observable through binoculars as well.
In the Southern Hemisphere, Saturn rose in the middle of the night, so observers from the southern latitudes had at least three hours before sunrise to enjoy the view. In the Northern Hemisphere, however, it appeared in the sky only an hour before the Sun and hung low above the horizon.
April 23: Moon near Venus
On April 23, at 12:31 GMT (8:31 a.m. EDT), the Moon passed within 1°17' from Venus. The lunar disk was 10%-illuminated, and the planet shined at a magnitude of -4.1, which was bright enough to be seen without optics.
At 13:03 GMT (9:03 a.m. EDT), the conjunction of the Moon and Venus occurred. By that moment, the celestial bodies moved away from each other a little, and the distance between them was 1°18'.
Venus was visible in the evening, after sunset. Observers had at least two hours to see the planet with the lunar crescent shining nearby. Both objects were in the constellation Taurus. By the way, the April Lyrids also reached their peak on the same night! See all the details on this celestial show here.
April 26: Moon near Mars
On April 26, at 02:18 GMT (April 25, 10:18 p.m. EDT), the Moon will meet Mars in the constellation Gemini. The apparent distance between the two objects will be 3°36'. The Moon will be 38%-illuminated, and Mars will shine at a magnitude of 1.3. In the evening, observe the lunar crescent passing through the triangle formed by Mars, Castor (magnitude 1.6), and Pollux (magnitude 1.2) – all visible to the naked eye.
March conjunctions
March 21: Moon near Neptune
On March 21, at 06:46 GMT (2:46 a.m. EDT), the Moon passed 2°6' from Neptune. Both objects were in the constellation Pisces. The event was hard to observe as the New Moon occurred on the same day, making our natural satellite unobservable. Moreover, both the Moon and Neptune rose and set almost simultaneously with the Sun, which outshined them.
March 22: Jupiter near Moon
On March 22, at 20:21 GMT (3:21 p.m, EST), the waxing crescent Moon (magnitude -8.3) passed only 0°28' from Jupiter (magnitude -2.0) in the constellation Pisces. This was their closest approach in 2023! Unfortunately, the Moon was 0.2% illuminated and wasn’t visible in the sky.
March 24: Venus near Moon
On March 24, at 10:27 GMT (06:27 a.m. EDT), the waxing crescent Moon (magnitude -10.1) and Venus (magnitude -4.0) shared the same right ascension in the constellation Aries.
Five minutes later, at 10:32 GMT (06:32 a.m. EDT), the Moon and Venus made the closest approach. The 13.2% illuminated lunar disk passed 0°06' south of the planet. This was also extremely close, so observers had a wonderful opportunity to capture images of Venus near the Moon! They were close enough to fit into the field of view of a telescope but were also visible to the naked eye or through binoculars.
Observers in parts of Asia and Africa saw the lunar disk pass in front of Venus, creating a lunar occultation. It was visible from China, India, Thailand, and others. See the full list of countries via the link.
March 25: Moon near Uranus
On March 25, at 00:38 GMT (March 24, 8:38 p.m. EDT), the Moon passed 1°24' from Uranus. The lunar disk was 18%-illuminated, and the planet was shining at a magnitude of 5.8. Binoculars were needed to spot the dim planet. Both objects were in the constellation Aries, as well as the bright planet Venus (magnitude -4), which shined near Uranus. The Pleiades (magnitude 1.2) were also close to the Moon in the constellation Taurus. This beautiful scene could be observed after sunset.
March 28: Mars near Moon
On March 28, at 13:04 GMT (09:04 a.m. EDT), the waxing crescent Moon (-11.7) and Mars (0.9) made the closest approach. They passed within 2°17' from each other in the constellation Gemini. They could be seen with the naked eye or through binoculars. A bit later, at 13:16 GMT (08:16 a.m. EST), the Moon and Mars shared the same right ascension creating a conjunction. On the same day, Mars was also part of a planetary alignment and shared the sky with Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, and Uranus. Find all the details in our dedicated article.
February conjunctions
February 22: Venus near Moon
On February 22, at 07:57 GMT (02:57 a.m. EST), Venus (magnitude -4.0) reached conjunction with the 2-day-old Moon (magnitude -7.8) in the constellation Pisces. The apparent distance between the two objects was 2°05'. It was too far to spot them at once via telescope, but the conjunction was still observable with the naked eye or binoculars.
Later this day, at 09:41 GMT (04:41 a.m. EST), the Moon and Venus made the closest approach, passing within 1°50' of each other. The Moon was 4.3% illuminated on this day. The duo was best visible in the Southern Hemisphere in the evening.
February 22: Jupiter near Moon
The same day, at 21:58 GMT (4:58 p.m. EST), the waxing crescent Moon (magnitude -10.2) reached conjunction with the brilliant Jupiter (magnitude -2.1). Our natural satellite was located in the constellation Cetus, and Jupiter joined it in the neighboring constellation Pisces. The objects were separated by 1.2°, which was too wide to fit within the field of view of a telescope. The conjunction could be seen with the naked eye, or with a pair of binoculars. Bright Venus (magnitude -3.9) also joined the celestial show, shining a little lower on the horizon.
Later, at 22:57 (5:57 p.m. EST), the Moon and Jupiter passed within 1°03' from each other, reaching their closest approach this month. Again, observers from the Southern Hemisphere had a better view. The Moon, Jupiter, and Venus could be seen all at once with the naked eye or binoculars. The planets remained close together for some time reaching conjunction on March 2.
Observers from parts of South America and Antarctica had a chance to see the Moon passing in front of Jupiter in the constellation Pisces. The event is called lunar occultation and can only be observed from certain parts of the world; the rest only saw the conjunction.
February 28: Mars near Moon
On February 28, at 04:11 GMT (on February 27, at 11:11 p.m. EST), the Moon made its closest approach to reddish Mars, passing within 1°03' of the planet. During the close approach, two celestial objects rose higher in the Northern Hemisphere and were visible in the evening.
Later that night, at 04:32 GMT (on February 27, at 11:32 p.m. EST), the waxing gibbous Moon (magnitude -11.4) passed within 1°04' of Mars and reached conjunction with the planet. The lunar disk was 59% illuminated, and the Red Planet shined at a magnitude of 0.4. Both objects were observable with the naked eye or a pair of binoculars in the constellation Taurus.
Observers from parts of Northern Europe and Greenland had a chance to see the Moon passing in front of Mars. The event is called lunar occultation and can only be observed from certain parts of the world; the rest only saw the conjunction.
January conjunctions
January 3: Mars near Moon
On January 3, at 19:35 GMT (02:35 p.m. EST), the waxing gibbous Moon (magnitude -12.2) passed within 0.6° of Mars. Our natural satellite will be 91% illuminated, and Mars, a month past opposition, shined as bright as -1.1. The objects were in the constellation Taurus. The fiery eye of the Bull and the Seven Sisters were also shining nearby.
Observers from parts of Africa and Maldives had a chance to see the Moon passing in front of Mars. The event is called lunar occultation and can only be observed from certain parts of the world; the rest only saw the conjunction.
January 23: Saturn and Venus near Moon
On January 23, at 07:22 GMT (02:22 a.m. EST), Saturn (magnitude 0.7) met the 2-day-old Moon (magnitude -6.9) in the constellation Capricornus. The apparent distance between the two objects was 3°49'. It was too far to spot them at once via telescope, but the conjunction was observable with the naked eye or binoculars.
Later this day, at 08:20 GMT (03:20 a.m. EST), the Moon passed near Venus (magnitude -3.9). The distance between the two bodies was 3°27', which was too far to fit within the field of view of a telescope. Luckily, they were bright enough to spot without any optical devices.
January 26: Jupiter near Moon
On January 26, at 02:00 GMT (on January 25, at 09:00 p.m. EST), the waxing crescent Moon (magnitude -11.2) was shining near bright Jupiter (magnitude -2.2) in the constellation Pisces. The distance between the two objects in the sky was 1.8°. It was too far to spot them at once via telescope, but the conjunction was observable with the naked eye or binoculars.
January 31: Mars near Moon
On January 31, at 04:24 GMT (on January 30, at 11:24 p.m. EST), the waxing gibbous Moon met Mars for the second time in a month. The Red Planet (magnitude -0.3) was shining at a distance of 0.1° from our natural satellite (magnitude -12.3). This was the year’s closest conjunction. The objects were bright enough to see with the naked eye. They could be found in the constellation Taurus.
Observers from parts of the Americas had a chance to see the Moon passing in front of Mars. The event is called lunar occultation and can only be observed from certain parts of the world; the rest saw the conjunction.
Wishing you clear skies and happy observations!
