Archive
03/15/2012 – Ephemeris – Astronomical Conjunction of Jupiter and Venus
Ephemeris for Thursday, March 15th. The sun will rise at 7:53. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 7:49. The moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 4:22 tomorrow morning.
This morning is the actual conjunction of Jupiter and Venus according to astronomers. They may have looked closest yesterday or the day before, but this morning is the time they appear at the same right ascension. Right ascension is the celestial equivalent to longitude on the earth. Meaning that Venus would be directly north of Jupiter. The terms celestial longitude and latitude have already been taken, and are actually oriented to the plane of the earth’s orbit, rather to the earth’s axis and equator. First year astronomy students accuse instructors of using such terms just to confuse them. Astronomers call the angle for the tilt of the earth’s axis the obliquity of the ecliptic. How’s that for a tongue twister.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and Venus at nightly intervals from March 12 to 16, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
The 4th step, the one before the last is where Jupiter and Venus are tonight.
03/14/2012 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets this week?
Wednesday, March 14th. The sun will rise at 7:55. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 7:47. The moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 3:35 tomorrow morning.
Let’s see what’s happening with the bright planets for this week. Mercury will make a brief appearance in the west after sunset. It will set at 8:54. Venus and Jupiter are brilliant in the western sky after sunset. Jupiter will be just below left of Venus, the brighter planet. Jupiter will set first at 11:40 p.m. followed by Venus at 11:53. Mars is up in the east in the evening with its unmistakable bright reddish color. It’s in the constellation Leo the lion now. It is 63.5 million miles and moving away. Mars will pass due south at 1:04 a.m. and will be setting in the west near sunrise. Saturn will rise at 10:31 p.m. just to the left of the bright star Spica in the east southeast.
* 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.
03/13/2012 – Ephemeris – Jupiter now to the lower left of Venus
Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 13th. The sun will rise at 7:57. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 7:46. The moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 2:38 tomorrow morning.
Tonight the planet Jupiter will begin to tuck under Venus coming from the left as they appear together in the west after sunset. Venus and Jupiter are the two brightest planets seen in the sky. Venus is the brightest for two reasons. Number one, its close to us. It is actually the closest planet to the earth. When it passes between us and the sun June 5th, it will be only 26.8 million miles away. That’s a bit farther than normal, since the earth will be a month away from its farthest point from the sun. Also Venus’ sulfuric acid cloud tops reflect most of the light it receives from the sun. Jupiter is bright due to its great size with a surface area over 120 times that of the earth. Still sunlight is diluted to one twenty fifth that of earth.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and Venus at nightly intervals from March 12 to 16, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
Tonight’s position of the planets is the second frame of the animation.
03/12/2012 – Ephemeris – Jupiter is level with Venus, also possible northern lights tonight
Ephemeris for Monday, March 12th. The sun will rise at 7:59. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 45 minutes, setting at 7:45. The moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 1:33 tomorrow morning.
In the western evening sky, Jupiter and Venus are making a pass at each other. They shouldn’t, in the modern sense since Venus or Aphrodite of the Greeks was the daughter of Jupiter or Zeus. .Over this week we’ll watch as Jupiter slips below Venus to lead Venus in setting. Tonight Jupiter is level with and left of Venus. Venus will always be the brighter of the two. We also have an aurora watch for this evening. The sun has been active this weekend with a series of flares emanating from the largest sunspot group now visible called active region 1429. This group is rotating off so it’s flares soon won’t affect the earth. Check spaceweather.com for the latest. And check bobmoler.wordpress.com for an animation of the planet conjunction.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and Venus at nightly intervals from March 12 to 16, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
The first frame of the animation is for tonight.
02/24/2012 – Ephemeris – The moon will pass Venus and Jupiter this weekend
Friday, February 24th. The sun will rise at 7:29. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 6:22. The moon, 3 days past new, will set at 9:36 this evening.
This weekend we will be able to spot appearances of the moon passing two planets. Tomorrow night Venus will appear below the moon. It should be a spectacular sight with Jupiter nearby to the upper left. Then Sunday night the moon will have moved near Jupiter. This time Jupiter will appear to the left of the moon, their closest apparent approach being after they set Monday morning. Even though the moon will leave these planets, keep watching them. As Venus slowly approaches Jupiter. They will be their closest, called a conjunction on the Ides of March. That’s March 15th using our calendar. These two planet will still be with us for the next few months, with Mars and Saturn appearing later in the evening now.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The moon will pass above Venus at 7 p.m. Saturday February 25, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
The moon will pass Jupiter, seen at 10 p.m. February 26, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
02/08/2011 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, February 8th. The sun will rise at 7:53. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 6:00. The moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 7:24 this evening.
Let’s see what’s happening with the bright planets for this week. Venus is brilliant in the southwestern sky after sunset and will set at 9:35 in the west. Jupiter the second brightest planet after Venus. It’s located high in the southwest as it gets dark and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries. It will set at 12:25 a.m.. Mars is the up and coming planet. It will rise at 8:31 p.m in the east and is below the hind end of the constellation Leo the lion. It is 69.2 million miles away and closing and is getting brighter. It’s now as bright as most first magnitude stars. Mars will pass due south at 3:01 a.m. Saturn will rise at 11:54 p.m. just to the left of the bright star Spica in the east southeast.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus by Scott Anttila. Taken Monday evening February 6, 2012
Jupiter by Scott Anttila. Taken Monday evening February 6, 2012
01/18/2012 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets this week
Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 18th. The sun will rise at 8:14. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 5:31. The moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 4:51 tomorrow morning.
It’s time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. Venus is brilliant in the southwestern sky after sunset and will set at 8:44. Jupiter is the most prominent planet of the evening sky, once Venus sets. It’s located high in the south and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries. It will pass due south at 6:49 p.m. It will set at 1:36 a.m. Mars will rise at 10:03 p.m in the east northeast and is below the hind end of the constellation Leo the lion. It is 82.4 million miles away and closing. Mars will pass due south at 4:29 a.m. Saturn will rise at 1:15 a.m. just to the left of the bright star Spica in the east southeast.
* Times, as always are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.
01/06/2012 – Ephemeris – GTAS meeting and viewing night tonight
Friday, January 6th. The sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 58 minutes, setting at 5:17. The moon, 3 days before full, will set at 6:50 tomorrow morning.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will have its first meeting of the year tonight at 8 p.m. at the Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory. Following will be a public viewing night featuring the moon and Jupiter. This year the first viewing night of the month will come at the end of the society meeting at 9 o’clock. Come for both. The presentation for the meeting will be NMC Astronomy Club member Storm Strausheim and her topic will be those mysterious stellar cannibals – Black Holes. The observatory is located on Birmley Road between Keystone and Garfield roads. April through October this year there will be a second viewing night at the observatory later in the month.
* Times, as always are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.
01/05/2012 – Ephemeris – Viewing planets with that new telescope
Thursday, January 5th. The sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 8 hours
and 57 minutes, setting at 5:16. The moon, half way from first quarter to full, will set at 5:59 tomorrow morning.
Trying out that new Christmas telescope can be challenging on cold winter nights. Set it up indoors first and get used to it. The moon and planets are the easiest targets for the new telescope owner. Locate the moon first if it’s out as it is tonight and make sure that small telescope or reflex finder that pots a red dot on the object is aligned with the telescope. Then you can go off and locate the planets. Venus is nice and bright in the southwest early in the evening. A telescope will show a tiny nearly circular orb. But wait a couple of months and it will become a large crescent. Jupiter is always a great sight with its four moon shuttling from one side to the other of the planet from night to night. And don’t forget Jupiter itself with its cloud bands.
* Times, as always are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.
01/04/2012 – Ephemeris – The planets this week and the earth at perihelion
Wednesday, January 4th. The sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 56 minutes, setting at 5:15. The moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 5:03 tomorrow morning.
It’s the first Wednesday of 2012 and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The planet Venus is brilliant in the southwestern sky after sunset setting at 8:07. Jupiter is the most prominent planet of the evening sky, once Venus sets. It’s located high in the south and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries. It will pass due south at 7:41 p.m. It will set at 2:26 a.m.. Mars will rise at 10:52 p.m in the east northeast and is below the hind end of the constellation Leo the lion. It is 92.4 million miles away and closing. Saturn will rise at 2:07 a.m. just to the left of the bright star Spica in the east southeast. The sun is its closest to earth of the entire year today. Only 91.3 million miles away.
* Times, as always are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 