Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Election Day, Tuesday, November 5th.  The sun will rise at 7:25.  It’ll be up for 9 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 5:25.   The moon, 2 days past new, will set at 7:23 this evening.

I’ve seen some observed brightness measurements of Comet ISON reported to the Minor Planet Center, which is the clearing house for all things asteroid and comet related, and Comet ISON is still fainter than predicted by a factor of two.  There was one report of someone spotting it with 10X50 binoculars.  From all the reports I’ve seen the comet’s nucleus is holding together, and there is great optimism that ISON will survive its close brush with the sun on Thanksgiving day.  Some astronomers think that the comet’s nucleus spin axis is currently pointed toward the sun.  After perihelion or closest approach to the sun, the opposite pole will be exposed showing fresh material to the sun for a brighter comet in December.

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

Addendum

Comets ISON and Encke and Mars at 6 a.m. from November 6 to 12, 2013. Created with Cartes du Ciel.

Closeup charts of comets ISON and Encke at 6 a.m. for November 6 through 12, 2013. Created using Cartes du Ciel.

Ephemeris for Monday, November 4th.  The sun will rise at 7:24.  It’ll be up for 10 hours and 2 minutes, setting at 5:26.   The moon, 1 day past new, will set at 6:28 this evening.

Yesterday was the peak of the Taurid meteor shower, it was lost in all the other news we had last week.  But the source of the Taurid meteor shower is Encke’s Comet.  Next to Halley’s Comet it’s that oldest known periodic comet with the designation 2P (Encke).  It has the shortest orbit of any known comet of 3.3 years.  It also happens that Encke is in the same part of the sky as Comet ISON, and currently outshines it, and if the magnitude projections are correct, and they often aren’t, especially for ISON, will outshine Comet ISON until November 19th, 9 days before ISON’s closest approach to the sun.  Both comets will seem to converge for a while.  In the last photograph I saw Encke didn’t have a tail, but had a large coma or head and a bright nuclear region.

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

Addendum

Mars, Comets ISON and Encke on the morning sky for the first part of November 2013. Created using Cartes du Ciel.  Click on image to enlarge.

The positions every three days also show the predicted magnitudes of the comets.  ISON appears to be a magnitude dimmer.  There is also a rogue position of the moon in the image.  I had to allow it to display Mars’ positions.