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01/09/2015 – Ephemeris – Tomorrow Mercury almost makes a conjunction with Venus but falls back
Ephemeris for Friday, January 9th. The sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 1 minute, setting at 5:20. The Moon, 4 days before last quarter, will rise at 10:06 this evening.
Low in the southwest just after sunset, say around 6 to 6:15 in the evening Venus and Mercury can be seen seeming to flirt with one another. Venus has been moving away from the Sun in the evening sky for a couple of month’s not, but hasn’t been all that visible. Mercury, named after the messenger of the gods is fleet of orbit and is almost about to catch up with Venus. Except it can’t, not this time. Tomorrow evening Mercury will appear closest to Venus about 0.6 angular degrees away, a bit more than the width of the Moon. So for another day the two planets will appear close. But after tomorrow night they will separate with Mercury not able to keep up. Next Tuesday it will reach its greatest elongation or separation from the sun and fall back.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus, the straight track, and Mercury are shown for every evening from yesterday 1/08/15 to 01/23/15. The planets are marked for every night at 6 p.m. and tagged every other day. with month-day and magnitude. The higher the magnitude value the dimmer it is. Created using Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts).
01/08/2015 – Ephemeris -Venus and Mercury quasi-conjunction Saturday – I
Ephemeris for Thursday, January 8th. The sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 9 hours even, setting at 5:19. The moon, 4 days past full, will rise at 9:08 this evening.
The planets Venus and Mercury are closing their positions in the southwest in the early evening. They will appear their closest Saturday. For the last few years these two planets without natural satellites have hosted an artificial satellite each. Venus is orbited by the European Space Agency’s Venus Express spacecraft since 2006. Just a few weeks ago it’s fuel tanks ran dry, so it could no longer point its solar panels toward the sun and antenna toward the earth. It will soon plunge into Venus’ thick atmosphere. A like fate will also befall the MESSENGER spacecraft now orbiting close to Mercury. It took 7 years to get to Mercury and so far orbited it for nearly 4 years. It too is running out of fuel and will soon crash on the planet.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Animation of the Quasi-conjunction of Venus and Mercury. Time span 1/05/2015 to 1/15/2015 at 7 p.m. Created by Bob Moler using Stellarium and GIMP.
Artist rendition of Venus Express at Venus. Credit: ESA/AP.
MESSENGER spacecraft at Mercury an artist’s concept. Credit NASA/JPL/APL.
01/01/2015 – Ephemeris – Happy New Year – a look at January
Ephemeris for New Years Day, Thursday, January 1st. The sun will rise at 8:20. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 5:12. The moon, 3 days before full, will set at 5:43 tomorrow morning.
Happy New Year. Let’s preview the month of January. We’re a day from the latest sunrise at about the same time as today, 8:20 a.m. and will back down to 8:02 by the 31st. Sunset times are currently increasing by a minute a day from 5:12 p.m. today to 5:49 at month’s end. Listeners near the shore of Lake Michigan will have about the same sunrise time in Ludington, Interlochen/Traverse City, Petoskey and Mackinaw City, but the sunset times will vary markedly. The Quadrantid meteor shower whose radiant is near the end of the Big Dipper’s handle will reach peak on the 3rd, but it will have interference from the full moon,. On the 4th the Earth will be its closest to the sun of the entire year.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addenda
Monthly Star Chart
Star Chart for January 2015. Created using my LookingUp program.
The Moon is not plotted. The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 9 p.m. That is chart time.
Evening astronomical twilight ends at 6:58 p.m. on January 1st, and increasing to 7:30 p.m. on the 31st.
Morning astronomical twilight starts at 6:34 a.m. on January 1st, and decreasing to 6:22 a.m. on the 31st.
Add a half hour to the chart time every week before the 15th and subtract and hour for every week after the 15th.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
The green pointer from the Big Dipper is the pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper that point to Polaris the North Star.
The Quadrantid meteor shower
The moon will interfere with the meteor shower, so only the brightest will be visible. The radiant will rise from the northeast. The radiant will be nearly overhead at the start of twilight. On a dark night up to 120 meteors per hour may be seen according to the International Meteor Organization.
Quadrantid meteor shower radiant at 1:30 a.m.
The Earth at Perihelion
This is the closest the Earth gets to the Sun in its orbit this year. The Sun will be 91,402,000 miles or 147,096,000 kilometers away at around 1 a.m. January 4th, 2015 EST or 6 hr UT January 5th 2015. It makes winter the shortest season because the Earth is moving its fastest during perihelion. It’s only by a few days. And in northern Michigan where it seems that winter overlaps half of fall and spring besides, that few days difference is buried under snow.
Quasi-conjunction between Venus and Mercury on the evening of January 10th.
A quasi-conjunction. Conjunctions occur when two solar system bodies have the same right ascension. Mercury will get to within 0.6 degrees of Venus before retreating back sun-ward.
Animation of the Quasi-conjunction of Venus and Mercury. Time span 1/05/2015 to 1/15/2015 at 7 p.m. Created by Bob Moler using Stellarium and GIMP.
Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy)
Here is a finder chart for 9 p.m. for January. Every other position is marked with the month-day and predicted magnitude. Recently the comet has shown to be brighter than predicted by up to one magnitude. Note that magnitudes in astronomy are like golf scores – the lower the number, the brighter the object. So the comet should reach 4th magnitude.
Nightly plot of Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) for the month of January, 2015 at 9 p.m.
Created using Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts).
10/24/2014 -Ephemeris – Venus will pass superior conjunction with the Sun tomorrow
Ephemeris for Friday, October 24th. The sun will rise at 8:09. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 6:43. The moon, 1 day past new, will set at 7:20 this evening.
Tomorrow’s event will not be visible. Venus will pass behind the Sun, though not directly behind it. Venus can be viewed from the SOHO spacecraft go to http://spaceweather.com/, at the bottom click the link for Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, Click on the Sun Now, then LASCO C2. The event is called a superior conjunction, meaning the Venus is beyond the Sun. It will be moving from west of the Sun to the east, from the morning side of the Sun to the evening side. Venus has been in the morning sky since January 11th. So it is a morning planet for about 9 months and moves to the evening sky for another 9 months. In a month or so, Venus will appear low in the southwestern sky shortly after sunset. It will be our super bright evening star next spring.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus approaching superior conjunction 10/20/2014 to 10/23/2014. Credit NASA – SOHO LASCO C2.
09/29/2014 – Ephemeris – The Moon, Mars and Antares will line up tonight
Ephemeris for Monday, September 29th. The sun will rise at 7:37. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 7:26. The moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 10:49 this evening.
Tonight we’ll still have Mars hanging around the star Antares. However we’ll have the Moon joining the party. The three will nearly be in line at 9 p.m. with the fat crescent Moon on top, Mars below it and Antares below Mars. They will be in a straighter line but the Sun out makes them impossible to see. With binoculars or a small telescope the lunar seas visible, kind of in order from the Moon’s sunlit edge are Crises, Fertility, Nectar, Tranquility and half of Serenity. If you’re looking for the Man in the Moon, you’ll have to wait until the Moon is nearly full to completely discern his face. However most of the upside down rabbit is visible. The seas of Fertility and Nectar make up his ears, Tranquility, his head, and Serenity his body.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Moon, Mars and the bright red star Antares line up on the evening of September 29, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The moon tonight September 29, 2014. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas.
09/19/2014 – Ephemeris – Astronomical events for Saturday local and far off
Ephemeris for Friday, September 19th. The sun will rise at 7:26. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 7:45. The moon, 4 days past last quarter, will rise at 3:59 tomorrow morning.
Saturday will be a big day for astronomical viewing, if it’s clear. Tomorrow’s events start early with the planet Jupiter just above and right of the thin crescent moon. They will be visible by 6 a.m. During the day the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will be at the Leland Heritage Celebration. That runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on River Street in Leland. Weather permitting the Sun will be in view with some giveaway items for the kids even if it’s cloudy. At night starting at 9 p.m. will be a star party at Northwestern Michigan’s Rogers Observatory. Being the dark of the moon the wonders of the summer Milky Way will be in view if it’s clear. An alternate program will be presented if it’s cloudy.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the moon at 6 a.m. Saturday September 20, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
GTAS telescopes at Leland Heritage Celebration in 2011.
Arrrr! Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day mateys. Just in time for the Schooner tall ship Festival in Traverse City this weekend.
08/27/2014 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets for this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 27th. The sun will rise at 6:59. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 8:27. The moon, 2 days past new, will set at 9:12 this evening.
Let’s take our weekly look at the bright planets. Reddish Mars is in the constellation of Libra the scales, skirting below, left of Saturn in the southwest as darkness falls. It is in conjunction with Saturn today, as it passes due south of the ringed planet. Mars will set at 11:07 p.m. Saturn will set at 11:23 p.m. Saturn viewing with a telescope will suffer because it’s getting close to the horizon but it’s still possible to see those fabulous rings and its large moon Titan. Brilliant Jupiter will rise in the east-northeast at 4:44 a.m. tomorrow, followed by the brighter Venus, which will rise at 5:37 a.m. Jupiter is increasing its distance from the sun, while Venus is retreating toward the Sun from our point of view.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn and Mars in conjunction at 9:30 p.m., August 27, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Saturn. Do not expect to spot any other of Saturn’s moon other than Titan. 9:30 p.m., August 27, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Venus and the rising winter constellations at 6 a.m. August 28, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic view of Jupiter and its 4 Galilean moons at 6 a.m. on August 28, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
08/15/2014 – Ephemeris – Jupiter and Venus will appear to cross paths Monday morning
Ephemeris for Friday, August 15th. The sun rises at 6:45. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 2 minutes, setting at 8:47. The moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:33 this evening.
Over this weekend the planets Venus and Jupiter will be seen to approach each other. In reality Jupiter is five times the Earth’s distance behind the sun, while Venus is about 70 percent of Earth’s distance behind the sun. Most of the motion against what stars can be seen after 5:30 a.m. will be Venus, being dragged by the sun plus its own orbital motion toward the east. Jupiter is moving eastward too, but is taking its sweet time of 12 years to orbit the sun. The planets will cross, or be in conjunction at about midnight Monday morning, before they rise. By the time they will rise around 5:12 a.m. the two planets will be half the width of the Moon apart, slightly farther apart than they were at midnight.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Watch Jupiter and Venus approach each other and separate. From August 15 to August 18, 2018. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
07/07/2014 – Ephemeris – The Moon will appear near Saturn tonight
Ephemeris for Monday, July 7th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 24 minutes, setting at 9:29. The Moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 2:43 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:05.
Tonight the planet Saturn will be seen above the bright gibbous Moon. At 11 p.m. Saturn will be only 3 moon widths above the moon and may be hard to spot in the Moon’s glare, so that binoculars may be needed to find it. Other than that the moon makes a nice pointer to the ringed planet. The rings of Saturn become apparent in telescopes of at least 20 power. At first the planet looks elliptical, then the planet can be seen to separate from the rings. The Moon itself is a fine but bright object for the telescope. Look near the terminator or sunrise line to see the long lunar shadows delineate the Moon’s crater detail, especially the grand Crater Copernicus near the center of the Moon.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn and the Moon as they would appear at 11 p.m. on July 7, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Oops, here’s the Moon for tomorrow night July 8th, 2014. The difference from tonight is the Aristarchus will not be visible, and Sinus Iridium will look cooler. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas. It’s 2 a.m. and I’m too tired to fix it.
02/21/2014 – Ephemeris – Some nebulae in Orion
Ephemeris for Friday, February 21st. The sun will rise at 7:33. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 46 minutes, setting at 6:19. The moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 1:31 tomorrow morning.
With the moon out of the sky, it’s a good time to get those binoculars or small telescope out to view at least one nebula in the constellation Orion the hunter and maybe even more. Orion is in the south with those belt stars lie in a straight line. Below the belt are three fainter stars, vertically arranged: Orion’s sword. In binoculars each of those stars are multiples. Around what looks like a center star there is a haze, which is the Great Orion Nebula, the nearest star forming region to us at around 1,400 light years away. Some of its gasses envelop the stars that make up the top star of the sword. Orion hosts the famous Horse head Nebula, which unfortunately can only be seen in photographs, It is right below the left star of the belt.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Orion’s Nebulae in the southern part of the constellation as displayed by Stellarium.
A couple of nebulae are seen here that are not in the text above. M78 is a small nebula north of the belt star Alnitak. It is visible in a telescope. The Witch Head Nebula, another large nebula, shining by the reflected light of Rigel. It’s officially in the neighboring constellation of Eridanus, and I believe strictly a photographic nebula. The witch head is best seen if the image is turned upside down.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 