Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 17th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 8:30, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:53. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 6:53 tomorrow morning.

Let’s look at the planets for this week. Mars will be in the western sky this evening, above the V-shaped stars of the face of Taurus the bull. It will set at 12:23 a.m. In the morning sky we have Jupiter, in Ophiuchus, which will rise tomorrow at 1:07 a.m. in the east-southeast. Saturn will be next to rise at 2:54 a.m., also in the east-southeast. It is in Sagittarius. Venus will rise at 5:56 a.m. again in the east-southeast. By 6:30 in the morning they will be strung out from the south down to the eastern horizon. Venus will remain in our morning sky, though more difficult to see until August when it passes behind the Sun to enter the evening sky. Tiny Mercury may be glimpsed a bit left and just below Venus in the bright twilight.

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

Addendum

Mars and the Moon tonight at 9:30 p.m. April 17, 2019. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

The waxing gibbous nearly full Moon at 9:30 p.m. April 17, 2019. Created using Stellarium.

Morning planets and Moon at 6:30 a.m. April 18, 2019. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Jupiter and Saturn with the same magnification at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow morning April 18, 2019. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Jupiter’s moon Io events earlier in the morning

Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on April 17, 2019. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 18th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.