Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Wednesday, February 20th.  The sun will rise at 7:34.  It’ll be up for 10 hours and 43 minutes, setting at 6:18.   The moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 4:43 tomorrow morning.

Let’s check out the planets for this week.  Mercury can still be seen low in the west southwest.  It will set at 7:50.  This is a good apparition of Mercury for us in the northern hemisphere.  Binoculars will help you locate it low in the sky.  Jupiter is located in the constellation of Taurus and moves from the high south to the southwest during the evening.  It will transit or pass due south at 6:59 p.m, and will set at 2:31 a.m.  Jupiter is a wonderful sight in telescopes with its cloud bands and its moons which change positions each night.  Saturn will be the next planet to rise at 12:07 a.m. in the east southeast.  It’s located in eastern Virgo. Saturn will pass due south at 5:17 a.m.  It will rise before midnight in a couple of days.

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

Addendum

Mercury low on the western horizon at 7:15 p.m. on February 20, 2013. Created using Stellarium 0.12.0.

Jupiter and the stars of winter at 9 p.m. on February 20, 2013. Created using Stellarium 0.12.0

Saturn and the coming stars of late spring and early summer at 6 a.m. on February 21, 2013. Created using Stellarium 0.12.0.