Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 6th. The Sun will rise at 8:04. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 5:02. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 8:43 this evening.

Let’s take our weekly look at the bright planets. Saturn and Mercury are very close together, but too low after sunset to spot from up North here. Mercury will set at 5:50, while Saturn will set 9 minutes later. While Uranus and Neptune are evening planets, they require binoculars or a telescope to spot. (This is beyond the scope of this program, which is geared to naked eye observing or easy things to find and observe with binoculars or a small telescope).   The morning sky is now host to three planets, though Venus, the brightest will rise close to sun will rise at 7:24 this morning. It’s way on the other side of the Sun, and it will pass behind the Sun in superior conjunction a month from today. At 7 this morning Jupiter is bright, low in the east-southeast, while Mars, the Red Planet is just left of the brighter star Spica, which has a bluish hue. They are higher than Jupiter and to the southeast. Mars will rise tomorrow morning at 4:03. Jupiter will rise more than an hour later at 5:14.

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

Addendum

Stellarium is unable to display Mercury or Saturn in twilight for tonight.

The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 9:30 p.m. December 6, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

Mars and Jupiter in the morning at 7 a.m. December 7, 2017. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Jupiter and moons on the mornings of December 6th and 7th, 2017. Ganymede and Europa will transit the planet on the 7th later in the morning and in the afternoon to be visible for folks west of here. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Planets at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on December 6, 2017. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 7th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.