This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 23 minutes, setting at 7:12, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:49. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 5:32 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. Three of the naked-eye planets are visible in the night sky. Mercury sets too soon after sunset to be seen. Venus is will pass between the earth and the sun on the 23rd, and might be seen in the morning sky a week later. Tonight, Saturn will be in the eastern sky as it gets dark. It is the brightest starlike object low in that direction. It will be below the four stars that make large distinctive pattern, that marks the body of Pegasus the flying horse, called the Great Square. At 6 AM, Jupiter and Mars will in the east. Jupiter is brightest and while red Mars will be above and to the right of Jupiter. It will pass Jupiter on November 15th.
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
Saturn appears in the east southeast by 9 PM, under the Great Square of Pegasus tonight, October 7, 2026.Created using Stellarium.
Mars and Jupiter appear with the moon and the constellations of winter, which now adorn the predawn sky at 6 AM. Created using Stellarium.
The really old sliver of a Moon with earthshine is seen low in the east tomorrow morning October 8, 2026. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic views of the naked-eye planets as seen in a small telescope: At 9 PM, Saturn will be 19.7″ in diameter, and its rings extend to 45.9″. At 6 AM, Jupiter will be 33.8″ in diameter. Mars, not shown, will appear 5.8″ 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 at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on October 7, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 8th. Note that Saturn is below the horizon at sunrise and sunset, since it is near opposition (Oct 4th), and south of the ecliptic. 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 of the solar system from above and a bit beyond Saturn’s orbit for today, October 8, 2026. Created using my LookingUp app, text and arrows created using LibreOffice Draw and produced a unified image using GIMP.
