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03/23/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets this week

March 23, 2011 Comments off

Wednesday, March 23rd.  The sun will rise at 7:40.  It’ll be up for 12 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 7:58.   The moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 1:28 tomorrow morning.

It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets for this week.  We are losing Jupiter low in the twilight It will set at 8:48 p.m. Now Mercury is actually easier to spot.  Higher than Jupiter, it will be visible in twilight and will set at 9:39.  My usual rule of thumb about spotting Mercury is that it will be easiest to spot about 45 minutes after sunset, which will be about 8:40 p.m..  The ringed planet Saturn will rise at 8:47 p.m. in the east southeast and will move due south at 2:36 a.m.  In telescopes Saturn shows its rings which are a year and a half along their seven and a half year opening.  Venus is brilliant in the morning sky and will rise at 6:22 a.m. in the east southeast. It is really a beautiful sight in the morning twilight.

* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.

Tuesday, March 22nd.  The sun will rise at 7:42.  It’ll be up for 12 hours and 14 minutes, setting at 7:57.   The moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 12:17 tomorrow morning.  |  We are a few days into spring.  And while the winter constellation of Orion and its cohorts hold forth in the southwestern sky the Big Dipper is sneaking up in the northeast.  At 9 p.m. the Big Dipper is standing on the tip of its handle in the northeastern sky.  The stars at the front of the bowl are at the top of Big Dipper now.  An imaginary line through them to the lower left will point to Polaris the North Star.  The Big Dipper never sets for us, in the north country.  It scrapes the northern horizon on autumn evenings, climbs the northeastern sky in the winter, is overhead, in spring, and descends in the northwest in summer.  The Big Dipper points to, well it leaks on Leo the Lion.  The bright star Arcturus, now rising in the east is found by following the curve of the handle.

* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Observing, Planets