11/04/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s find the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 4th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 1 minute, setting at 5:26, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:26. The Moon, half way from full to last quarter, will rise at 8:04 this evening.
Let’s find the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the southwestern sky at 8 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. Above and left 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 9:42 with Saturn following at 10:07. Off in the southeast at that hour will be Mars. Since the it was closest 29 days ago its distance has increased to 45.0 million miles (72.4 million kilometers) away. Mars will set at 5:04 tomorrow morning. Brilliant Venus will rise at 4:29 am in the east as it retreats slowly toward the Sun. Beginning to make a morning appearance now will be Mercury rising at 5:52 a.m. in the east.
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 8 pm, just before the Moon will rise, tonight, November 4, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The waning gibbous Moon as it might be seen in binoculars or a small telescope at 9 pm tonight November 4, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The morning planets Venus and Mercury visible tomorrow at 6:30 am, November 5, 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 November 4/5, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 8 pm; Mars, 10 pm; Venus, 6:30 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 36.55″; Saturn, 16.24″, rings, 37.83″. Mars, 19.34″, and Venus 12.87″. 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 November 4, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on 5th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
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