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10/21/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 21st. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 40 minutes, setting at 6:47, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:08. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 10:39 this evening.
Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the south-southwestern sky at 9 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. Left and a bit above it will be the somewhat dimmer Saturn. They are closing slowly, so they will cross paths on December 21st and be in the same telescope field that evening. Jupiter will set first tonight at 11:28 with Saturn following at midnight. Off in the east-southeast at 9 pm will be Mars. Since the it was closest 15 days ago its distance is slowly increasing to 40.1 million miles (64.6 million km) away. Brilliant Venus will rise at 4:55 am in the east as it retreats slowly toward the Sun. It’s brilliant and looks like a tiny featureless gibbous moon in telescopes.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The evening planets and the Moon at 9 pm tonight, October 21, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The waxing crescent Moon tonight October 21, 2020 as it might appear in binoculars or a low power telescope. Created using Stellarium.
The morning planet Venus visible at 7 am October 22, 2020 with some of the stars of morning. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of October 21/22, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 9 pm; Mars, 11 pm; Venus, 7 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 38.01″; Saturn, 16.61″, rings, 38.69″. Mars, 21.57″, and Venus 13.75″. Mars also displays an enlargement showing surface detail. Mars was closest to the Earth this go-a-round on October 6. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on October 21, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on 22nd. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
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