Archive
09/14/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets visible this week
Wednesday, September 14th. The sun will rise at 7:19. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 35 minutes, setting at 7:55. The moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 8:29 this evening.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The planet Venus is rather close to the sun in the evening setting 23 minutes after the sun and not really visible. The ringed planet Saturn is not really visible in the west in evening twilight. It will set 45 minutes after the sun. Jupiter is now the prominent planet of the evening sky after it rises at 9:41 p.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. It will be accompanied by its 4 brightest moons. Mars will rise at 2:31 a.m also in the east northeast and is now between the constellation Gemini and Cancer. Mercury is briefly visible now from about half an hour after its rising in the east at 6:17 until about 7 a.m.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
09/07/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets visible this week
Wednesday, September 7th. The sun will rise at 7:11. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 56 minutes, setting at 8:08. The moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 3:23 tomorrow morning.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be barely visible in the west southwest in evening twilight. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 9:25 p.m. Because we are seeing Saturn in evening twilight now its image is being deteriorated by the earth’s atmosphere being low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 10:10 p.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. Mars will rise at 2:36 a.m also in the east northeast and is now passing through the constellation Gemini the twins. Mercury is briefly visible now from about half an hour after its rising in the east at 5:43 until about 20 minutes before sunrise.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
08/31/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets for this week
Wednesday, August 31st. The sun will rise at 7:03. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 8:21. The moon, 3 days past new, will set at 9:19 this evening.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the west southwest in evening twilight. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 9:50 p.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. We are seeing Saturn in evening twilight now. Its image is being deteriorated by the earth’s atmosphere being low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 10:37 p.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. Mars will rise at 2:42 a.m also in the east northeast and is now passing through the constellation Gemini the twins. Venus, now in the evening sky, is too close to the sun to be seen.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
08/24/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets visible this week
Wednesday, August 24th. The sun rises at 6:55. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 38 minutes, setting at 8:33. The moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 2:47 tomorrow morning.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the west southwest in evening twilight. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 10:17 p.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. We are seeing Saturn in evening twilight now. Its image is being deteriorated by the earth’s atmosphere being low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 11:04 p.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. Mars will rise at 2:48 a.m also in the east northeast and is now passing through the constellation Gemini the twins. Venus, now in the evening sky, is too close to the sun to be seen.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
08/17/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets this week
Aug 17. This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 17th. The sun rises at 6:47. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 58 minutes, setting at 8:45. The moon, half way from full to last quarter, will rise at 10:00 this evening.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the west southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 10:43 p.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. We are now slowly seeing Saturn slip into evening twilight. We have very little time of good viewing of Saturn before its image deteriorates by being too low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 11:31 p.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. Mars will rise at 2:54 a.m also in the east northeast and is now passing through the constellation Gemini the twins.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
08/03/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets for this week
Wednesday, August 3rd. The sun rises at 6:30. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:05. The moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 10:47 this evening.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the west southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 11:35 p.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. We are now slowly seeing Saturn slip into evening twilight. We have a couple of more weeks of good viewing of Saturn before its image deteriorates by being too low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 12:24 a.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. Mars will rise at 3:08 also in the east northeast and is now entering the constellation Gemini the twins at Castor’s foot.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
07/27/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets this week
Wednesday, July 27th. The sun rises at 6:23. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 9:14. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 4:00 tomorrow morning.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the west southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 11:58 p.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. We are now slowly seeing Saturn slip into evening twilight. We have a few more weeks of good viewing of Saturn before its image deteriorates by being too low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 12:50 a.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. Mars will rise at 3:15 also in the east northeast and is located near the lower tip of the horn of Taurus the bull.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Wednesday, July 27th. The sun rises at 6:23. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 9:14. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 4:00 tomorrow morning. | It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the west southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 11:58 p.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. We are now slowly seeing Saturn slip into evening twilight. We have a few more weeks of good viewing of Saturn before its image deteriorates by being too low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 12:50 a.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. Mars will rise at 3:15 also in the east northeast and is located near the lower tip of the horn of Taurus the bull.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
07/20/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets visible this week
Wednesday, July 20th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 9:21. The moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:33 this evening. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:16.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the west southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 12:29 a.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. We are now slowly seeing Saturn slip into evening twilight. We have about another month of good viewing of Saturn before its image deteriorates by being too low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 1:15 a.m. in the east and is seen against the stars of Aries now. Mars will rise at 3:24 in the east northeast and is located against the horns of Taurus the bull.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
07/14/11 – Ephemeris – Jupiter’s two new moons.
Thursday, July 14th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 15 minutes, setting at 9:25. The moon, 1 day before full, will set at 6:37 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:11.
Jupiter has retained its title as the planet with the most satellites with the discovery last year of two new moons. These tiny moons are just a couple of miles in size. They were reported last year but were brought to my attention by a blog entry by Kelly Beatty of Sky and Telescope magazine, who spotted it among last year’s issues of the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. They’re no longer telegrams but emails,but the name hasn’t changed. Anyway he notes back in the day the announcement of a new satellite was a big deal, But now the announcement of Jupiter’s 64th and 65th moon is no big deal. If you’re keeping count Saturn’s moon count is 62, three behind Jupiter, and we still haven’t found them all.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 