Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, August 19th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 8:41, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:51. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 4:11 tomorrow morning.

Tonight, Jupiter will be at opposition. That’s a shortcut term for Jupiter being opposite the Sun in our sky. At that time, Jupiter rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. It is also at its closest to us. It also officially becomes an evening planet, available in the evening for those of us with daytime jobs. In even small telescopes, Jupiter shows two dark bands. There’s more, but those two are the most prominent. Its four largest moons will be visible before 9:50 pm tonight, after that the innermost of the four, Io, will start to cross the face of Jupiter. It will leave Ganymede on Jupiter’s east side. On the west side will be the moon Europa, and farther out, Callisto. At 12:08 am, Io will reappear on the west side of Jupiter, joining Europa and Callisto. The moons do put on a show.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hr). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Jupiter’s Galilean moons at two times tonight, August 19th at 9:30 pm (01:30 on the 20th, UT) and 12:30 am (04:30 UT). From 9:50 pm to 12:08 am (01:50 – 04:08 UT), Io will pass in front of Jupiter and be practically invisible. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).