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01/14/2014 – Ephemeris – The moon will appear to pass Jupiter tonight
Ephemeris for Tuesday, January 14th. The sun will rise at 8:16. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 10 minutes, setting at 5:27. The moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:29 tomorrow morning.
The planet Jupiter will appear close to the nearly full moon this evening. The moon will pass about 10 of its diameters south of Jupiter around 1 a.m. tomorrow morning. Until then, Jupiter will appear to the left of the moon. This is a good time to view Jupiter with a small telescope. Even binoculars will detect a tiny disk and several of Jupiter’s satellites. Jupiter is a gas giant planet made primarily of hydrogen. The clouds contain methane and ammonia whipped into parallel bands by Jupiter’s rapid rotation of nearly 10 hours. The planet has a noticeable equatorial bulge, which is accentuated visually by its horizontal cloud bands. Jupiter’s equatorial diameter is 89,000 miles [143,000 km], 11 times that of the earth. [Jupiter’s volume could hold about 1,300 Earths, but its mass is only about 318 Earths. Jupiter is less dense than the Earth by a factor of four.]
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
[Content in brackets was not included in the broadcast program due to time constraints.]
Jupiter, the Moon and the bright stars of winter at 9 p.m. on January 14, 2014. By 1 a.m. the Moon will have slipped to be directly below Jupiter. The Moon moves about its own diameter against the stars each hour. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter as seen by the Cassini spacecraft as it passed by Jupiter gaining velocity on its way to Saturn. The black dot is the shadow of Europa. Credit: NASA/JPL – Caltech.
01/13/2014 – Ephemeris – Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
Ephemeris for Monday, January 13th. The sun will rise at 8:16. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 9 minutes, setting at 5:25. The moon, 2 days before full, will set at 6:49 tomorrow morning.
Jupiter is my youngest granddaughter’s favorite planet. She has books and pictures of Jupiter sporting its famous Great Red Spot. When I was a teenager in the 1950s, a bit older than she is now the Great Red Spot on Jupiter was indeed bright red. You couldn’t miss it in even the smallest telescopes. Since the early 1970s the spot has faded. At best it’s a pastel pink. The Great Red Spot appears to be a permanent feature of the Jovian atmosphere, an anti-cyclone that distorts the dark belts and bright zones of the planet. The dark belts are thought to be where air is sinking and the white zones are upwelling clouds. The Great Red Spot wanders east and west at about the same latitude within the atmosphere. I hope it gets really red soon.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter with its Great Red Spot November 18, 2012 by Scott Anttila.
01/09/2014 – Ephemeris – More on Jupiter’s Galilean moons.
Ephemeris for Thursday, January 9th. The sun will rise at 8:18. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 3 minutes, setting at 5:21. The moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 3:20 tomorrow morning.
The planet Jupiter has, as of the latest count, 67 satellites or moons. However only four can be seen in small to medium-sized telescopes. Astronomers use the term moon and satellite interchangeably, though only moons orbit planets. A satellite is a more generic term and is a smaller body that orbits another larger body. Though we don’t usually call an artificial satellite orbiting the Earth a moon. Anyway, the four bright moons of Jupiter are called the Galilean moons, because Galileo discovered then in early 1610. Their names from Jupiter on out are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. They orbit over Jupiter’s equator. Since the planet has a very small axial tilt the moons seem to move back and forth from one side to the other of Jupiter in a nearly straight line.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and its four Galilean moons. The planet has to be over exposed to pick up the moons. But the eye can handle the brightness difference with no problem. This is one of my old pictures I do believe.
Jupiter with a solar eclipse in progress as Ganymede, lower left, casts its shadow on Jupiter on November 14, 2011 at about 10:15 p.m.. Credit: Scott Anttila.
The moon Io is off to the far left. This eclipse can be simulated with Cartes du Ciel.
01/07/2014 – Ephemeris – Jupiter just after opposition
Ephemeris for Tuesday, January 7th. The sun will rise at 8:18. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 1 minute, setting at 5:19. The moon, at first quarter today, will set at 1:14 tomorrow morning.
The giant planet Jupiter was in opposition from the Sun two days ago, meaning that the Sun, Earth and Jupiter were pretty much in a line. It was a time the Jupiter was closest to us. The situation hasn’t changed much, However you will notice that tomorrow I will not give the time that Jupiter rises because it will rise before sunset, but I will give its setting time. Now Jupiter is about 391 million miles (630 million km) away and slowly dropping behind the faster moving Earth. Jupiter is so large that there is never bad time to view it with a small telescope, but Jupiter appears largest right now. Visible in telescopes are its four moons that change position from night to night. The face of the planet shows atmospheric cloud bands that bear closer scrutiny with larger telescopes.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and its four Galilean moons. The planet has to be over exposed to pick up the moons. The bump on the upper left of Jupiter’s image is another moon. But the eye can handle the brightness difference with no problem. This is one of my old pictures I do believe.
Jupiter by Scott Anttila. Taken February 6, 2012
12/30/2013 – Ephemeris – The tale of Gemini the twins
Ephemeris for Monday, December 30th. The sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 5:11. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:09 tomorrow morning.
The constellation Gemini, the Twins is visible in the east at 9 p.m. with the bright planet Jupiter interloping against its stars. The namesake stars of the two lads, will be on the left end of the constellation, nearly vertically aligned. Castor is on top, while Pollux, a slightly brighter star is on the bottom. Lines of stars from Castor and Pollux to the right delineate the lads. In Greek mythology Castor and Pollux were twins, and half brothers, Castor was fathered by a mere mortal, while Pollux was fathered by Zeus in the famous Leda and the swan affair. The brothers, however were inseparable, and when Castor was killed during the quest for the Golden Fleece, Pollux pleaded with Zeus to let him die also. Zeus placed them together in the sky forever.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Gemini with Jupiter and Orion near by at 9 p.m. on December 30, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
07/30/2013 – Ephemeris – Mercury appears in the morning
Ephemeris for Tuesday, July 30th. The sun rises at 6:27. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 43 minutes, setting at 9:10. The moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 1:23 tomorrow morning.
Mercury is joining the morning planets Jupiter and Mars now. This morning is the time of its greatest elongation or separation from the sun of 20 degrees, but this planet will actually brighten as it starts its journey back around the sun. Mercury’s phase at greatest elongation is half illuminated. As it moves back around the sun the phase becomes fuller. To find Mercury it’s best to use binoculars. At around 5:30 look to the east northeast on a very low horizon. First locate Jupiter, the brightest and highest of the three. Then look below for reddish Mars. Once found, Mercury can be located by extending a line one and a half times further than Mars. These planets can be seen until 6 a.m. or a bit later.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Animation of Mercury, Mars and Jupiter at one day intervals from July 31 to August 7, 2013 at 5:45 a.m. Created using Stellarium and the GIMP. Click to enlarge and animate.
03/06/2013 – Ephemeris – Where’s the two bright planets this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 6th. The sun will rise at 7:10. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 6:37. The moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 4:17 tomorrow morning.
It’s time to check out the two remaining bright planets for this week. Jupiter is located in the constellation of Taurus and is in the high southwest during the evening. It will set at 1:43 a.m. Jupiter is a wonderful sight in telescopes with its cloud bands and its moons which change positions each night. the other bright planet Saturn will rise at 11:10 p.m. in the east southeast. It’s located in eastern Virgo. Saturn will pass due south at 4:21 a.m. Saturn is the most beautiful of planets when seen in a telescope with its fabulous rings, now opened wide. One’s first impression is how small it is. It is the second largest planet, but it’s almost 900 million miles away. Saturn’s giant moon Titan can always be seen near Saturn.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter is between the Hyades (Letter V of stars) and the Pleiades on the right at 9 p.m. March 6, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn rising at midnight March 7, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
02/18/2013 – Ephemeris – The moon appears near Jupiter tonight
Ephemeris for President’s Day, Monday, February 18th. The sun will rise at 7:37. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 38 minutes, setting at 6:15. The moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 3:15 tomorrow morning.
The moon will point to Jupiter tonight. The planet will be a ways to the west or right of the moon. Actually the moon was closer to Jupiter last night. It’s closest apparent approach is about now this morning. But they’re below the horizon now. My younger granddaughter Bea has made Jupiter her favorite planet because of its red spot. The Great Red Spot on Jupiter has been seen off and on ever its was discovered by a series of astronomers. It would fade for many years only to reappear again. In fact it never went away. Right now this high pressure system is more a light pastel pink. Back in the 1950’s, and 1960’s I found it hard to ignore in the smallest of telescopes. Now it takes bigger telescopes to spot.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the moon at 9 p.m. on February 18, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
03/23/2012 – Ephemeris – The moon will pass Jupiter Sunday Night
Ephemeris for Friday, March 23rd. The sun will rise at 7:39. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 7:59. The moon, 1 day past new, will set at 9:27 this evening.
The thin crescent moon is moving away from the setting sun in the west. By Sunday evening it will be to the upper right of Jupiter. In the moon’s monthly journey around the sun it passes each of the planets in turn, because the moon, earth and most of the planets lie very close to the same plane. The sun and the solar system condensed out of a cloud which spun in a flat disk. The sun had the most mass and began to glow as a star. The other material accreted into protoplanets, then into larger planets. Spiral galaxies also have this flattened appearance. It is the reason the Kepler satellite can pick up so many exoplanets around other stars. Of the tiny fraction of stellar planetary planes tilted our way, there can be multiple planets found in each.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and Moon march 25, 2012 at 10:15 p.m.. Created using Stellarium.
03/16/2012 – Ephemeris – Jupiter and Venus: Where do they go from here?
Ephemeris for Friday, March 16th. The sun will rise at 7:52. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 58 minutes, setting at 7:50. The moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 5:02 tomorrow morning.
Now that the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus us over, what happens next? Well, Jupiter will continue to head westward toward the sun, and soon will be caught up into twilight. Its and principally the earths motion will move it behind the sun on May 13th. Venus still has 11 days before it reaches its greatest elongation from the sun, then it too will appear to head back toward the sun. It will actual cross in front of the sun on the evening of June 5th, where we will see the first part of the extremely rare transit of Venus. These transits occur in pairs 8 years apart separated by more than a century. The last was in 2004, the next will occur in 2117. Observations of these in the 18th century helped determine the distance to the sun.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The planets at 11 p.m. March 14, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
The last step of the animation shows Jupiter and Venus tonight.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 