Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 17th.  The sun will rise at 8:00.  It’ll be up for 10 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 6:53.   The moon, 2 days past new, will set at 8:21 this evening.

Let’s see how many bright planets we can find this week.  At 8 p.m. Mars can be seen low in the southwest approaching another red star Antares, whose name means rival of Mars.  They will be closest in a few days. The moon will be nearby too.  Mars will set at 8:45.  The planetary action moves to later in the evening and the morning. Jupiter, will rise at 9:17 p.m. in the east northeast.  It is located in the constellation of Taurus.  It will transit or pass due south at 4:52 a.m.  The last bright planet of the night is the morning star Venus which will rise at 4:44 a.m. also in the east.  Venus is now below the hind end of Leo.  The planets Venus and Jupiter and the winter constellations are a great sight for early risers.  You can enjoy for a few more weeks without danger of frost bite.

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

Addendum

Mars, Antares, and the moon at 7:50 p.m. on October 17, 2012. Created using Stellarium.

The moon at this scale is over exposed.

The actual phase of the moon in the chart above. Created using Stellarium.

The morning sky.

The morning skies including Jupiter and Venus at 6 a.m. on October 18, 2012. Created using Stellarium.