This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, June 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 9:27, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:56. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 3 o’clock tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 10:15 PM tonight, nearly an hour after sunset, Venus and Jupiter may be seen in the western sky, with the brighter Venus above Jupiter. A telescope will show a very tiny disc on Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 111 million miles (179 million kilometers) away from us. Over the next 4 1/2 months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. Mercury is marginally visible below and right of Venus and Jupiter. Jupiter now sets at 11:52 PM, with Venus setting ten minutes later. Saturn will rise into the eastern sky at 3:04 AM, followed by dimmer Mars an hour later.
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; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Jupiter, Venus and Mercury at 10:30 PM tonight, June 10, 2026. Jupiter and Venus are now appearing to separate after yesterday’s conjunction. Mercury may be visible now, and is nearing its greatest separation from the sun, and will be at greatest elongation from the sun on the 15th. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and Mars with the waning crescent moon between them at 5 AM June 11, 2026. The moon is enlarged by a factor of 3 to better show its phase. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon, 3 days after last quarter, as seen at 5 AM tomorrow morning, June 11, 2026. A view visible in small telescopes showing an image with and without selected features labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Telescopic Venus and Jupiter at 10:30 PM tonight, June 10, 2026, and Saturn at 5 AM on the 11th (north up), as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 14.1″, and be 76.3% illuminated. Jupiter will be 32.5″ in diameter, with its moons shown for the time listed. Saturn will be 16.9″ in diameter, and its rings extend to 39.5″ and are tilted 8.7º to our view. Mars, not shown, will appear 4.3″ in diameter. Mercury, also not shown, will appear 7.4″ in diameter and be 47.4% illuminated. 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 at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on June 10, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 11th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
The naked-eye planets, from Mercury to Saturn in a low angle perspective view from above and a bit beyond Saturn’s orbit for today, June 10, 2026. Created using my LookingUp app, text and arrows created using LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 