Archive

Archive for January, 2026

Ephemeris: 01/16/2026 – Comparing Orion’s two brightest stars

January 16, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Friday, January 16th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 13 minutes, setting at 5:29, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:15. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:54 tomorrow morning.

Orion’s two brightest stars are kind of the same but different. Let me explain. Betelgeuse is a red giant star, extremely massive, maybe 14 to 19 times the sun’s mass. It is somewhere between 8 and 14 million years old, which compared to the sun is just a baby, except it is so massive that it is in the last million or so years of its life. Rigel is a bluish white and a bit more massive, about 21 times the mass of the sun, and maybe 8 million years old. It has used most of the hydrogen in its core, and is beginning to transition into its final years which is a few more millions of years. So it’s not as far along in its evolution as Betelgeuse and has not bloated out and turned red. Betelgeuse is 500 light years away, while Rigel is almost 900.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Orion's named stars
Orion’s named stars. Betelgeuse means “Armpit”. Bellatrix means “Female warrior”. The names of the belt stars refer to belt or girdle, Rigel refers to Orion’s foot. Saiph means sword, however Orion’s sword is the line of three stars below the belt stars. In binoculars, there’s more than three stars here. Around the second “star” of the sword is the Great Orion Nebula, barely visible here. Created using Stellarium.
Betelgeuse disk
This is the disk of the star Betelgeuse in Orion. It is not an image from an optical telescope, but of an image created in submillimeter microwaves by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. Color added for your viewing pleasure. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/E. O’Gorman/P. Kervella
Rigel A & B
Rigel with its companion star as photographed through a telescope. No attribution. Source: http://washedoutastronomy.com/content/urban-orion?page=1

Categories: Constellations, Observing, Stars Tags: , ,

Ephemeris: 01/15/2026 – Orion’s great cloud

January 15, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, January 15th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 12 minutes, setting at 5:28, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:15. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 7:09 tomorrow morning.

The brightest interstellar cloud visible in our skies is the Great Orion Nebula. The word nebula is from the Latin “nebulum” for cloud. The constellation of Orion is filled with nebulae, most of it are dim or dark. The Great Orion Nebula is in Orion’s sword. The sword is what looks like three stars that look dimmer than the three belt stars hanging from the belt. There are actually more than three stars here. Around the stars that appear as the center of the sword stars, to the eye, can be seen a haze in binoculars. A telescope with a wider aperture and low power can see detail in the cloud. With more magnification, a clutch of four baby stars can be spotted in the brightest part of the nebula. They light up the nebula and are called the Trapezium.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Orion is lousy with gas and dust. A regular star factory, or nursery. The red nebulae shows the predominance of hydrogen in here. The white nebulosity to the right of Rigel is the Witches Head nebula, probably the reflection of Rigel’s light off a dust cloud. Base image by Bernal Andreo, via Wikipedia.
The Great Orion Nebula
The Great Orion Nebula, the birthplace of stars, along with some dark dusty nebulae. Credit: Daniel Dall’Olmo
Inner part of the Great Orion Nebula. Image by Scott Anttila
Inner part of the Great Orion Nebula, including the four stars of the Trapezium. Image by Scott Anttila
Categories: Constellations, Deep Sky Object, Ephemeris Program, Nebulae Tags: ,

Ephemeris: 01/14/2026 – Only two naked-eye planets are visible this week, both in the evening

January 14, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 10 minutes, setting at 5:27, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:16. The Moon, halfway from last quarter to new, will rise at 6:14 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. Saturn is the brightest star-like object in the southwestern sky as soon as it gets dark. In a telescope Saturn sports a very thin ring, 1½ degrees from being edge on and is slowly opening. Jupiter is now officially an evening planet, rising before sunset. It’s seen in the evening to the right of Pollux in the pair Castor and Pollux, the bright stars of Gemini. Jupiter’s four brightest moons can be seen even in binoculars, and shift position night to night. Jupiter can still be seen in the morning sky. At 7 AM it will be low in the western sky. Venus, Mercury and Mars are too close to the direction of the Sun to be seen.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

This is a photograph of the Sun, Venus and Mars taken through the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory‘s (SOHO) C3 coronagraph last night.
This is a photograph of the Sun, Venus and Mars taken through the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory‘s (SOHO) C3 coronagraph last night at 7:54 PM or 0:54 today Universal Time. Venus and Mercury are heading to the left, while Mars is heading to the right. They are all beyond the Sun. Venus will be entering our evening sky, and should be visible in about a month. Mercury too should be visible in the evening twilight by mid-February. Mars will be moving into the morning sky and it will take several months before it will be visible then. Credit: NOAA/ESA.
Jupiter, and Saturn along with the zodiacal constellations, and the path of the Sun (ecliptic) in orange, in this panorama at 8 PM tonight, January 14, 2026.
Jupiter, and Saturn along with the zodiacal constellations, and the path of the Sun (ecliptic) in orange, in this panorama at 8 PM tonight, January 14, 2026. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon three days before last quarter as seen tomorrow morning, January 15, 2026. A view visible in small telescopes showing an image with and without selected features labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Telescopic Saturn, and Jupiter (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification at 8 PM tonight, January 14, 2026.
Telescopic Saturn, and Jupiter (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification at 8 PM tonight, January 14, 2026. Saturn will be 16.7″ in diameter, but its rings, being nearly edge on, may show up brighter than seen here, and extend to 39.0″. They are tilted 1.5° from being edge on. Jupiter will be 46.5″ in diameter. The (”) symbol means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts), LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise 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 January 14th, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 15th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
A low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, January 14th and 15th, 2026.
This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, January 14th and 15th, 2026. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others are not. The transit column is the time that the body crosses the meridian and is due south. Elong, for elongation, is the angle between the Sun and that body. RA is right ascension, which is the object’s east-west position on the celestial sphere in hours and minutes. Dec is declination which is the north-south position of the object on the celestial sphere in degrees and minutes. R is the distance of that object from the Sun in astronomical units. An astronomical unit is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. And Delta is the distance of that object from the Earth, also in astronomical units. I omit the ‘m’ in am and pm for compactness. The data was generated using my LookingUp for DOS app and displayed as a table by my Ephemeris Helper app.
Categories: Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing Tags: , , , , ,

Ephemeris: 01/13/2026 – Orion is too preoccupied to notice Lepus the hare

January 13, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, January 13th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 8 minutes, setting at 5:26, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:17. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 5:13 tomorrow morning.

Orion, the central winter constellation is seen in the southern sky this evening. He is a hunter, as artists depict him, however, he is preoccupied with the charge of Taurus the bull from the upper right. At Orion’s feet, and unnoticed by him is the small constellation of Lepus the hare. It’s very hard to see a rabbit in its dim stars: however, I can see a rabbit’s head ears and shoulders. A misshapen box is the head and face of this critter facing to the left. His ears extend upwards from the upper right star of the box, and they bend forward a bit. Two stars to the right of the box and a bit farther apart hint at the front part of the body. Others see a whole rabbit facing the other direction, with additional stars to depict his long ears.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

The constellation Lepus the hare seen looking southeast in four frames at 9 PM EST, in mid-January.
The constellation Lepus the hare seen looking southeast in four frames at 9 PM EST, in mid-January. The stars with no connecting lines, the lines as I’ve learned to see them, a more modern way to see them, and the constellation art provided by Stellarium. Take your pick, or invent your own, there’s no right way. The stars at the tips of the ears on the modern version are 4th and 5th magnitude, lost on all but the darkest of nights. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.

Categories: Constellations, Ephemeris Program, Observing Tags: , ,

Ephemeris: 01/12/2026 – How to find the twins of Gemini

January 12, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Monday, January 12th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 6 minutes, setting at 5:24, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:17. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 4:08 tomorrow morning.

Another famous winter constellation is Gemini. The constellation of Gemini the Twins is visible halfway to the zenith in the east, at the top and left of Orion the hunter, at 9 pm. The namesake stars of the two lads, are the two bright stars at the left end of Gemini, and are high and are due east. Castor is on top, while Pollux is below. From them come two lines of stars that outline the two, extending horizontally toward Orion. Currently, Jupiter in its retrograde motion is situated level with Pollux at 9 PM. Pollux is left of the much brighter Jupiter. In Greek mythology the Gemini twins were half brothers, Castor was fathered by a mere mortal, while Pollux was fathered by Zeus, but were born together as twins. When Castor was killed during the quest for the Golden Fleece, Pollux pleaded with Zeus to let him die also, so Zeus placed them together in the sky.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

The constellation Gemini seen in four frames for 9 PM EST, January 12, 2026.
The constellation Gemini seen looking east-southeast in four frames for 9 PM EST, January 12, 2026. the stars with no connecting lines, the lines as I’ve learned to see them, a more modern way to see them, and the constellation art provided by Stellarium. Take your pick, or invent your own, there’s no right way. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Statues of Castor and Pollux on the Capitoline Hill in Rome.
Statues of Castor and Pollux on the Capitoline Hill in Rome. Public Domain by Jebulon.
Categories: Constellations, Ephemeris Program, Mythology, Observing Tags: , ,

Ephemeris: 01/09/2026 – Mars is behind the Sun today

January 9, 2026 Comments off

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, January 9th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 2 minutes, setting at 5:21, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:18. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 12:51 tomorrow morning.

Mars is in conjunction with the Sun today. That means that it is behind the Sun, and it will enter our morning sky so that the Earth can be in an approximately 13 month pursuit of Mars for the next opposition. This is the center of a two-week period where communication with our satellites and Rovers on Mars is disrupted by the Sun which is a great generator of radio noise. Our radio telescopes on the Earth can hear transmissions from these assets on Mars a lot better than they can hear transmissions from the Earth. Just before conjunction we apparently have lost the Maven satellite that investigated the atmosphere of Mars, and helped relay communications from the rovers Perseverance and Curiosity.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

A photograph of the Sun, Venus and Mars taken through the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory’s (SOHO) C2 coronagraph last night at 7:12 PM EST.
This this is a photograph of the Sun, Venus and Mars taken through the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory‘s (SOHO) C2 coronagraph last night at 7:12 PM or 0:12 today Universal Time. Venus is heading to the left, while Mars is heading to the right. They are both beyond the Sun. Venus will be entering our evening sky, and should be visible in about a month. Mars will be moving into the morning sky and it will take several months before it will be visible then. Check Wednesday’s post for Venus’ own conjunction with the Sun.Credit: NOAA/ESA.

Distances to the solar system objects above

The Sun: 91.3 million miles, 147.1 million kilometers
Venus: 159.0 million miles, 255.0 million kilometers
Mars 223.3 million miles, 360.0 million kilometers

Categories: Conjunction, Ephemeris Program Tags: , ,

Ephemeris: 01/08/2026 – The star named “Before the Dog”

January 8, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, January 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours even, setting at 5:20, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:19. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:45 this evening.

After 8 o’clock this evening look to the southeastern sky for the Orion the hunter constellation. Below into the left of it are two very bright stars. The one below is Sirius also known as the Dog Star, in the heart of Canis Major, the Great Dog, which is still rising at 8. Above and to the left of it is a star called Procyon which is the heart of Orion’s little dog, Canis Minor. The name Procyon is from the Greek meaning Before the Dog. The reason for Procyon’s name is the fact that it, though east of Sirius, rises before it. All things being equal, Sirius should rise before Procyon. The reason is, viewing from the Northern Hemisphere Procyon is north of Sirius, and stays out longer. It is far enough north and not that far to the east of Sirius, that it can rise before Sirius or before the Dog… Star.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

The winter star field as seen when due south in the sky, so that north and south in the sky is up and down as it would be on a terrestrial map.
The winter star field as seen when due south in the sky, so that north and south in the sky is up and down as it would be on a terrestrial map. Since we’re looking up at the sky instead of down at the ground east is to the left and west is to the right. Note that Procyon is farther east than Sirius. The arrow shows the apparent direction of the sky as the Earth rotates. Yes, the arrow just happens to be pointing to Orion. Created using Stellarium and LibreOffice Draw.
Looking towards the east southeast from latitude 45° N at 8 PM January 8, 2026. Procyon is higher in the sky than Sirius, having risen 36 minutes earlier than the Dog Star.
Looking towards the east southeast from latitude 45° N at 8 PM January 8, 2026. The arrow shows the apparent direction of the sky as the Earth rotates. As can be seen Procyon is higher in the sky than Sirius, having risen 36 minutes earlier than the Dog Star. This holds true for latitudes greater than 31° north. At that latitude they both rise together, and south of there Sirius will rise first. Back when the constellations were invented and the stars were named, the difference in the rise times was greater than it is now, so that the latitude where Sirius would rise first was farther south than it is today. The reason is the precession of the equinoxes. Created using Stellarium and LibreOffice Draw.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Observing, Star Names

Ephemeris: 01/07/2026 – Taking our first weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets for 2026

January 7, 2026 1 comment

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 5:19, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:19. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 10:37 this evening.

Let’s take our first weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets for 2026. Saturn is the brightest star-like object in the southwestern sky as soon as it gets dark. In a telescope Saturn sports a very thin ring, 1.2 degrees from being edge on and is slowly opening. Jupiter will rise just after sunset. It is seen in the evening right of Pollux in the pair Castor and Pollux, the bright stars of Gemini. The giant planet is slowly moving westward with its retrograde motion. Jupiter’s 4 brightest moons can be seen even in binoculars, and shift position night to night. In the morning sky, only Jupiter can be seen. It will leave the morning sky, become an official evening planet Saturday. Venus crossed behind the Sun yesterday to become an evening planet. Mars will also cross behind the Sun Friday to become a morning planet.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

The apparent path of Jupiter from July 15, 2025 to July 10, 2026, showing its retrograde loop.
The apparent path of Jupiter from July 15, 2025 to July 10, 2026, showing its retrograde loop. We are 3 days from Jupiter’s opposition from the Sun. The retrograde (western) motion is due to the Earth’s faster speed in its orbit overtaking the planet. Created using Stellarium and LibreOffice Draw.
The Moon two days before last quarter as seen tomorrow morning, January 8, 2026. A view visible in small telescopes showing an image with and without selected features labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Telescopic Saturn, and Jupiter (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification at 8 PM tonigh
Telescopic Saturn, and Jupiter (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification at 8 PM tonight, January 7, 2026. Saturn will be 16.9″ in diameter, but its rings, being nearly edge on, may show up brighter than seen here, and extend to 39.4″. They are tilted 1.2° from being edge on. Jupiter will be 46.6″ in diameter. The (”) symbol means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts), LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise 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 January 7th, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 8th. Note the overlapping of Mars and Venus with the Sun. I’ve had to show a bit below the horizon to get Venus in on the sunset chart. See the image below to see them appear near the Sun. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
This this is a photograph of the Sun, Venus and Mars taken through the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory's (SOHO) C2 coronagraph.
This this is a photograph of the Sun, Venus and Mars taken through the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory‘s (SOHO) C2 coronagraph last night at 8:37 PM or 1:37 today Universal Time. Venus is heading to the left, while Mars is heading to the right. They are both beyond the Sun. Venus will be entering our evening sky, and should be visible in about a month. Mars will be moving into the morning sky and it will take several months before it will be visible then. Credit: NOAA/ESA.
A low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, January 7th and 8th, 2026
This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, January 7th and 8th, 2026. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others are not. The transit column is the time that the body crosses the meridian and is due south. Elong, for elongation, is the angle between the Sun and that body. RA is right ascension, which is the object’s east-west position on the celestial sphere in hours and minutes. Dec is declination which is the north-south position of the object on the celestial sphere in degrees and minutes. R is the distance of that object from the Sun in astronomical units. An astronomical unit is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. And Delta is the distance of that object from the Earth, also in astronomical units. I omit the ‘m’ in am and pm for compactness. The data was generated using my LookingUp for DOS app and displayed as a table by my Ephemeris Helper app.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing Tags: , , , , ,

Ephemeris: 01/06/2026 – A river in the sky

January 6, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, January 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 58 minutes, setting at 5:18, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:19. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 9:25 this evening.

One of the more obscure constellations around is Eridanus, which depicts a river. At 8 PM the river, marked by dim stars, starts near the lower right corner of Orion, near the bright star Rigel and flows to the right then down a little way, then to the lower left, and again to the right, to the southern horizon. One has to travel to the far south to see the southern terminus of the river, the bright star Achernar. Writers over the ages have seen here the Nile, the Rhine and the Earth circling river Ocean of the flat earth days. To most Greeks, including Ptolemy it was simply the River. The earlier Greek astronomer Hipparchus called it the River of Orion, alluding to Orion’s star Rigel as its source. The southern part of the river was added when astronomers made it far enough south.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

An animated finder for the river Eridanus, flowing from Rigel to Achernar.
An animated finder for the river Eridanus, flowing from Rigel to Achernar. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Categories: Constellations, Ephemeris Program, Observing Tags: , , ,

Ephemeris: 01/05/2026 – We just passed perihelion… Can’t you feel the warmth?

January 5, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Monday, January 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 5:16, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:19. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 8:10 this evening.

While we were busy with other matters, several astronomical events happened over the weekend. First, on Friday we had our latest sunrise, so our lengthening days are beginning to show up in the morning now. On Saturday the Earth passed perihelion, that is its closest point in its orbit to the Sun. That doesn’t make things any warmer, but it does make winter the shortest season by about four days shorter than summer. Not that you could tell in Northern Michigan. The distance of the Earth from the Sun is still hanging around 91.4 million miles. The earth is moving faster so we move through winter quicker. Also, there was a meteor shower, the Quadrantids, which peaked on Saturday, but was pretty much wiped out by the full moon.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

This is a diagram of the true shape of the Earth’s orbit
This is a diagram of the true shape of the Earth’s orbit and position of the Sun showing aphelion and perihelion for the year 2024. The dates do vary by up to a couple of days each year as do the distances a little bit, but it’s lost in rounding. The date difference is a bit more than the date change of the solstices and equinoxes year to year. For 2026 the perihelion date was January 3rd, and the aphelion date will be July 6th. Created using my LookingUp app, LibreOffice Draw for captions, and GIMP.
Categories: Concepts, Earth, Ephemeris Program, Seasons Tags: