Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Friday, February 10th.  The sun will rise at 7:50.  It’ll be up for 10 hours and 12 minutes, setting at 6:03.   The moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 9:52 this evening.

Sunday morning the moon will pass Saturn in our sky.  The ringed planet is just to the left of the bright blue-white star Spica in the constellation of Virgo.  Saturn and Spica rise around midnight now.  Saturn will be best seen in the evening this spring and early summer.  Its rings are still opening up from their edge on passage in 2009.  Saturn’s rings can be seen in any telescope with 20 power or over.  In fact in sturdily mounted binoculars, Saturn will appear not point-like as stars do but may appear somewhat oblong, due to its rings.  The rings are not solid, a fact that’s been known for a few centuries.  A solid disk would be tour asunder by the tidal forces on it by the difference in the gravitational forces across the rings.

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

Addendum

Saturn, Spica and the moon at 6 a.m. February 12, 2012. Created using Stellarium.