This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 28th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 6:37, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:16. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 8:00 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 the Sun to be seen. Venus passed between the Earth and the Sun in inferior conjunction 5 days ago, and might be seen in the morning sky for sharp-eyed observers next week. Tonight, Saturn will be in the east-southeastern sky as it gets dark. It is the brightest starlike object low in that direction. At 6 AM, Jupiter and Mars will in the southeastern sky. Jupiter is brightest and red Mars will be above and to the right of Jupiter and slowly closing. Mars will pass just above 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, with the Moon rising in the east northeast, October 28, 2026. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon, 3 days after first quarter, at 9 PM tonight, October 28, 2026. A view visible in small telescopes showing an image with and without selected features labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Mars and Jupiter appear with the bright stars 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 19.5″ in diameter, and its rings extend to 45.4″. At 6 AM, Jupiter will be 35.6″ in diameter. Mars, not shown, will appear 6.4″ in diameter. The (”) symbol means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using4Cartes 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 28, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 29th. 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 28, 2026. Created using my LookingUp app, text and arrows created using LibreOffice Draw and produced a unified image using GIMP.
