This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 2 minutes, setting at 6:59, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:58. The Moon, halfway from new to first quarter, will set at 8:44 this evening.
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 as soon as 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 a 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 and slowly closing. 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
The Moon, halfway from new to first quarter at 8 PM tonight, October 14, 2026. A view visible in small telescopes showing an image with and without selected features labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Saturn appears in the east southeast by 9 PM, below the constellations of autumn tonight, October 14, 2026.Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
Mars and Jupiter appear with the constellations of winter, which now adorn the predawn sky at 6 AM. 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 45.8″. At 6 AM, Jupiter will be 34.4″ in diameter, with Io eclipsed in the planet’s shadow. Mars, not shown, will appear 6.0″ 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 14, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 15th. Note that Venus is below the horizon at sunrise and sunset, since it is near inferior conjunction with the Sun (Oct 23rd), 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 14, 2026. Note the cool lineup of Saturn, Earth, Venus and the Sun. Created using my LookingUp app, text and arrows created using LibreOffice Draw and produced a unified image using GIMP.
