Home > Ephemeris Program, Observing, Planets > 05/03/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week

05/03/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week

May 3, 2023

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 3rd. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 8:49, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:28. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 5:56 tomorrow morning.

Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Venus is our blazing Evening Star, seen in the west all evening. It will set after midnight. The red planet Mars is in Gemini, below Pollux, left of Castor, the namesake stars of the twins. Mars is above and left of Venus by 24 degrees, or almost two and a half times the width of one’s fist held at arm’s length. Venus is closing the gap between them, 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, before Venus pulls back toward the Sun faster than Mars will. Saturn, low in the southeast by 6 am, is emerging from morning twilight, rising at 4:07 am. Both Jupiter and Mercury are too close to the direction of the Sun to be seen.

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

Venus and Mars among the setting winter stars

Venus and Mars among the setting winter stars tonight, at 10 pm, May 3rd, 2023. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium, Libreoffice Draw and GIMP.

Moon 2 days before full annotated

Moon 2 days before full, annotated for 10 pm, May 3, 2023. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.

Telescopic views of Venus and Saturn

Telescopic Venus and Saturn (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. Apparent diameters: Venus 17.43″ and is 65.2% illuminated; Saturn 16.39″, its rings 38.19″. Mars, too small to be represented here, is 5.30″ in diameter. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Planets and the Moon on a single night

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 3, 2023. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 4th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.

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