Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 19th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 40 minutes, setting at 8:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:50. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 7:04 tomorrow morning.

Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Since I left you in February, Jupiter passed behind the Sun 8 days ago and moved to the morning side of the Sun. Though it will be more than a month before it is far enough from the Sun to be spotted before sunrise. Venus is our blazing Evening Star, seen in the west all evening. It will set shortly after midnight. It’s in Taurus, with the bright star Aldebaran below and left of it and the Pleiades below and right of it. Mars is above and left of Venus. Venus is closing the gap, but will never quite reach Mars while they are in the evening sky. The closest they will get is three and a half degrees or 7 moon diameters apart, but won’t cross paths until February of next year. In the morning sky, Saturn is now visible by 6 am in the east-southeast.

Addendum

Evening planets Venus and Mars among the bright stars of winter at 9:30 pm with Mercury about to set, April 19, 2023. Created using Stellarium.

Saturn in morning twilight at 6 am on April 20, 2023. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic Venus and Saturn (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. Apparent diameters: Venus 15.72″, and is 70.8% illuminated; Saturn 16.07″, its rings 37.43″. 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 April 19, 2023. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 20th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.