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05/31/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week

May 31, 2023 Comments off

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 31st. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 9:20 pm, and it will rise tomorrow at 6 am. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 4:19 am tomorrow.

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 has moved into Cancer, and is seen above and left of Venus by 12 degrees, or a bit more than 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. In the morning, Saturn will be visible low in the southeast at 5 am, rising at 2:28 am. Jupiter makes its morning appearance and is low in the east-northeast at that hour, rising at 4:27 am.

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 with the stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini at 10:30 pm tonight, May 31, 2023. By tomorrow night, Venus will pull up to be in line with Castor and Pollux. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might appear tonight t 10:30 pm, May 31, 2023, through binoculars or a small telescope. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
Jupiter and Saturn at 5 am tomorrow morning, June 1, 2023. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Venus, Saturn and Jupiter (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification at 10:30 pm for Venus and 5 am for Jupiter and Saturn. Apparent diameters: Venus 22.65″ and is 51.7% illuminated; Saturn 17.17″, its rings 39.99″; Jupiter 34.43″. Mars, too small to be represented here, is 4.68″ in diameter. 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 May 31, 2023. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the June 1st. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
Categories: Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing, Planets Tags: , , , , ,