Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Monday, August 19th.  The sun rises at 6:50.  It’ll be up for 13 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 8:41.   The moon, 1 day before full, will set at 6:22 tomorrow morning.

Comet ISON is beginning to become visible from the earth after spending a few month’s behind the sun.  It has shown earlier this year that it had not been brightening as predicted, but soon will be visible for better measurements.  Tomorrow it the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will take its first image of ISON.  The Curiosity and Opportunity rovers will also soon take photo’s of Comet ISON in the martian sky.  When ISON becomes visible from Mercury, the MESSENGER spacecraft orbiting Mercury will get its chance.  All available instruments on earth and deployed in the solar system will track the comet to see how it evolves and to see if it will survive its brush with the sun’s corona to become a bright autumn comet.

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

Addendum

Hubble Space Telescope image of Comet ISON against a field of distant galaxies, April 30, 2013. Credit NASA.