Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 9th. The Sun rises at 6:38. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 18 minutes, setting at 8:56. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 10:06 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 11:15 p.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. It will set at 2:20 a.m. In the morning sky, brilliant Venus will rise at 3:38 a.m. and be visible until about 6 tomorrow morning. Mars and Mercury are now too close to the Sun for us to see.

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

Addendum

Jupiter and Saturn at 10 p.m. August 9, 2017. Jupiter is slowly approaching Saturn in our skies and will pass Saturn on December 21, 2020, and every 20 years for the rest of this century. Created using Stellarium.  Click on the image to enlarge.

Jupiter and its moons at 10 p.m. August 9, 2017. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Saturn and its brightest moons overnight August 9/10, 2017. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The Moon and Venus at 5:30 a.m. August 10, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 5:30 p.m. August 10, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

Venus in a telescope on the morning of August 10, 2017. It is greatly enlarged here to show its phase. Created using Stellarium.

Planets at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on August 9, 2017. The night ends on the left with sunrise on August 10. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.