Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 9:30, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:04. The Moon, 4 days before full, will set at 4:22 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the bright planets. Jupiter is in the southwest as it gets dark in the evening. The bright blue-white star Spica, which pales in comparison to Jupiter, is seen left of it. In even the smallest telescopes Jupiter’s four largest moons can be seen. They shift positions night from to night and sometimes even as you watch. Jupiter will set at 1:25 a.m. Saturn can now be seen in the evening as twilight fades in the south, tonight it’s just left of the bright waxing gibbous Moon. Saturn’s rings are spectacular in telescopes. In the morning sky, brilliant Venus will rise at 3:36 a.m. and be visible until about quarter to 6 tomorrow morning. Mars and Mercury are too close to the direction of the Sun to be seen.

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

Addendum

Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon at 10:30 p.m., July 5, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

Jupiter and its four Galilean moons in tight to the planet as they might be seen in a telescope at 10:30 p.m,. July 5, 2017. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Project Pluto has the following events for the 5/6th:

Time is UT.  Events prior to 5 July 1:41 UT (9:41 p.m. EDT) and after 6 July 4:08 UT (12:08 a.m. EDT) will not be visible from Northern Michigan.  Data from Project Pluto:  https://www.projectpluto.com/jevent.htm#jul

I : Tra start: 5 Jul 2017 21:30
I : Sha start: 5 Jul 2017 22:46
II : Occ start: 5 Jul 2017 23:12
I : Tra end : 5 Jul 2017 23:41
I : Sha end : 6 Jul 2017 0:56
II : Occ end : 6 Jul 2017 1:41
II : Ecl start: 6 Jul 2017 1:46
III: Occ start: 6 Jul 2017 3:09
II : Ecl end : 6 Jul 2017 4:08
III: Occ end : 6 Jul 2017 5:44

Satellites: I = Io, II = Europa, and III = Ganymede
Ecl = Eclipse (In Jupiter’s shadow), Occ = Occultation (Moon behind the planet), Sha = Moon’s shadow crossing the face of the planet, Tra = Transit of the moon across the face of the planet

Saturn and its brightest moons overnight July 5/6, 2017. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The Moon as it would appear in binoculars at 10:30 p.m. July 5, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

Venus at 5 a.m. July 6, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

Venus as it might be seen through a telescope at 5 a.m. July 6, 2017. This is displayed at a larger scale/magnification than the Jupiter or Saturn images above. Created using Stellarium.

Planets at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on July 5, 2017. The night ends on the left with sunrise on July 6. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.