Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 26th. The Sun rises at 6:22. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 9:14. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 11:20 this evening.

Let’s take our weekly look at the bright planets. Jupiter is sinking in the west-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 from night to night. Jupiter will set at 12:06 a.m. Saturn can now be seen in the south as evening as twilight fades. The reddish star Antares is off to the right of Saturn. Saturn’s rings are spectacular in telescopes. Saturn will set at 3:17 a.m. In the morning sky, brilliant Venus will rise at 3:25 a.m. and be visible until about quarter to 6 tomorrow morning. Mars is in conjunction with the Sun today, that is it’s almost directly behind the Sun, For the last week and the next, no commands will be sent to the orbiters and rovers on Mars due to the radio interference of the Sun.

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

Addendum

Jupiter and Saturn with the southern summer constellations and the crescent Moon at 10:30 p.m., July 26, 2017. Created using Stellarium. Click on image to enlarge.

The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars showing also Earth shine at 10:30 p.m. July 26, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

Jupiter and its moons at 10:30 p.m. July 26, 2017. The Great Red Spot will cross the planet’s central meridian at 11:39 p.m. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Saturn and its brightest moons overnight July 26/27, 2017. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Venus with the stars of autumn at 5 a.m. July 27, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

Venus as it might be seen through a telescope at 5 a.m. July 27, 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 26, 2017. The night ends on the left with sunrise on July 27. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.