Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 40 minutes, setting at 8:07, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:25. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:31 tomorrow morning.

Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week. There are no bright planets in the evening sky, so the planet action shifts to the morning sky. All five naked-eye planets are there, though Jupiter and Mercury are too close to the Sun to be seen. Late winter and early spring mornings aren’t the best for spotting planets close to the Sun, since they tend to lie low in the southeastern sky. Venus, Mars, and Saturn will rise within 6 minutes of each other by 5:46. By 6:30, they will be low in the east-southeast with much dimmer Mars to the left of Venus, with Saturn between and a bit below them. Monday, April 4th Mars will appear closest to Saturn, scooting below the ringed planet that evening, so they will appear close together both Monday and Tuesday mornings.

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

Addendum

What the morning planets might appear as at 6:30 tomorrow morning, March 31, 2022. They may be brighter than they actually appear. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic views of the Venus and Saturn (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification, tomorrow morning at 6:30 am, March 31, 2022. I do not show planets less than 10 seconds of arc in diameter. Apparent diameters: Venus 23.52″, 55.0% illuminated; Saturn 15.78″, its rings 36.76″. Mars is not shown, its apparent diameter is 5.18″ and is 91.7% illuminated. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on March 30, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 31st. Notice that all the naked-eye planets are in the morning sky now, with the Moon still hanging out in the evening sky. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program.