Archive
Ephemeris: 07/16/2025 – Our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 16th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 9:24, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:13. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 12:20 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. The Red Planet Mars, will be seen to the upper left of the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo the lion. Both are seen low in the western sky by 10:30 PM at least. Mars is moving away from Regulus, close to the horizon in the west-northwest toward Spica, higher in the southwest. Mars moves much faster against the background stars than the more distant Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter is in the morning sky now very low in the east-northeast by 5:15 AM. Venus will rise at 3:23 AM in the east-northeast, and by 5 AM will be seen in the east, as the Morning Star. By then Saturn will be in the south-southeast, and below the last quarter Moon tomorrow morning.
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
Ephemeris: 07/15/2025 – Finding Cygnus the swan
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, July 15th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 13 minutes, setting at 9:25, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:12. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 12:01 tomorrow morning.
Located fairly high in the east at 11 p.m. is the constellation of Cygnus the swan, flying south through the Milky Way. It is also called the Northern Cross, an asterism or informal constellation. At the left, the tail of the swan or the head of the cross is the bright star Deneb, one of the stars of the Summer Triangle. The next star right is Sadr the intersection of the body and the wings of the swan seen in flight, or the intersection of the two pieces of the cross. There are two or three stars farther to the right that delineate the swan’s long neck or upright of the cross, that ends with the star Alberio in the beak of the swan or foot of the cross. The crosspiece of the cross extends to the stars on either side of the intersection star Sadr, while the swan’s wings extend to a couple more stars each.
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
Ephemeris: 07/14/2025 – The celestial scorpion crawls along the southern horizon
This is Ephemeris for Monday, July 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 15 minutes, setting at 9:26, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:11. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:42 this evening.
There’s a large constellation located low in the south at about 11 tonight. It’s Scorpius the scorpion. Its brightest star is Antares in its heart, a red giant star, that I’ve gotten calls about it as being a UFO. From Antares to the right is a star, then a vertical arc of three stars, that is its head. The Scorpion’s tail is a line of stars running down to the left of Antares, swooping to the horizon before coming back up and ending in a pair of stars that portray his poisonous stinger. There is a beautiful star cluster, seen in binoculars at that first bend in the tail that is unfortunately too low, at three degrees altitude, to appreciate from this far north. I was very impressed with it when spotting it in binoculars from the Florida Keys when I was down there in 1986 to observe Halley’s Comet. It has several names, including the Northern Jewel Box Cluster.
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.
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
Ephemeris: 07/09/2025 – Taking our weekly look at the naked-eye planets
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 9th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 22 minutes, setting at 9:29, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:07. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 5:21 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. The Red Planet Mars, will be seen to the upper left of the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo the lion. Both are seen in the western sky by 10:30 PM at least. Mars is moving away from Regulus toward Spica, then in the southwest. Mars moves much faster against the background stars than the more distant Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter is in the morning sky now but is still probably too close to the direction of the Sun to be seen. Give it a week or two. Venus will rise at 3:25 AM in the east northeast, and by 5 AM will be seen in the east, as the Morning Star. By then Saturn will be in the south-southeast, having risen just before 1 AM.
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
Ephemeris: 07/02/2025 – Taking our weekly look at the naked-eye planets
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 9:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:02. The Moon, at first quarter today, will set at 1:18 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. The Red Planet Mars, will be seen to the upper left of the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo the lion. Both are seen in the western sky by 10:30 PM at least. At that time Mercury might be spotted low on the west-northwestern Lake Michigan horizon. This is not a favorable appearance of Mercury. Jupiter passed conjunction with the Sun last week, but it will be nearly a month before it will appear in our morning sky. Venus will rise at 3:28 AM in the east northeast, and by 5 AM will be seen low in the east, as the Morning Star. By then Saturn will be in the southeast, having risen nearly 2½ hours earlier.
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
Ephemeris: 06/26/2025 – Finding the famous Double-Double Star
This is Ephemeris for Thursday, June 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:59. The Moon, 1 day past new, will set at 11:12 this evening.
I generally will talk about observing something in the sky, in this program, if it can be seen with the naked eye, or can be seen in binoculars near something that can be seen with the naked eye, or something that can be seen in a small telescope that is visible in binoculars, near a naked eye object. This is of the latter type. High in the east at 11:00 PM or so is the bright star Vega. Just to the left of it in is a faint star, best seen in binoculars. It’s barely visible to the naked eye as a single star. But binoculars will show that it’s two star of equal brightness. However, viewing it with a telescope using probably the most power the telescope is capable, each of those stars is doubled again so Epsilon Lyrae is the famous Double-Double Star. It’s quite a challenge for a small telescope. This is also the time of the latest sunset and end of evening twilight. The last vestige of the glow moves to the north and ends just after midnight.
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
Bonus: A telescope capable of splitting the components of Epsilon should be capable of spotting the Ring Nebula (M57). It is not, however, visible in binoculars or a telescope finder. But it’s easily found by pointing the telescope between the two bottom stars of the Lyra parallelogram. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
Ephemeris: 06/25/2025 – Taking our weekly look at the naked-eye planets
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, June 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:58. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. The Red Planet Mars, will be seen to the upper left of the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo the lion. Both are seen in the western sky by 10:30 PM at least. At that time Mercury might be spotted low on the west-northwestern Lake Michigan horizon. This is not a favorable appearance of Mercury. Jupiter passed conjunction with the Sun yesterday, but it will be nearly a month before it will appear in our morning sky. Venus will rise at 3:34 AM in the east northeast, and by 5 AM will be seen low in the east, as the Morning Star. By then Saturn will be in the southeast, having risen 2 hours earlier.
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
Venus and Saturn at 5 AM tomorrow morning, June 26th, 2025, in the east-southeastern sky. Created using Stellarium.
Ephemeris: 6/24/2025 – Lyra, the heavenly harp
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, June 24th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:58. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 5:36 tomorrow morning.
Fairly high in the east at 11 p.m. can be found a bright star just above a small, narrow, but very distinctive parallelogram of stars. They are the stars of the constellation Lyra the harp. The bright star is Vega, the 5th brightest nighttime star. To the Romans, the star Vega represented a falling eagle or vulture. Apparently they never made the distinction between the two species. It is a pure white star and serves as a calibration star for color and brightness. In the evening, it is the top-most star of the Summer Triangle. The harp, according to Greek mythology, was invented by the god Hermes. The form of the harp, in the sky, is as he had invented it: by stretching strings across a tortoise shell. Hermes gave it to his half-brother Apollo, who in turn gave it to the legendary musician Orpheus.
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
Ephemeris: 06/19/2025 – Finding the Serpent Bearer in the heavens
This is Ephemeris for Juneteenth, Thursday, June 19th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:57. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 2:15 tomorrow morning.
The red star Antares shines low in the south-southeast at 11 PM in the constellation of Scorpius. In the area of sky above and to the left lies a large constellation of faint stars called Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer. The constellation shape is like a large bell, which reminds me of the head, shoulders and arms of a fellow that’s holding the snake stretched out across his body. The serpent he’s holding is Serpens, the only two-part constellation in the heavens. The head rises to Ophiuchus’ right, and the tail extends up to the left. In Greek myth, Ophiuchus represents the great physician Aesculapius, educated by the god Apollo, and the centaur Chiron, who is found in the stars as Sagittarius, just rising below him.
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
Ephemeris: 06/18/2025 – Three of the five naked-eye planets are visible now
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, June 18th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:56. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 1:55 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. The Red Planet Mars, will be seen just to the upper left of the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo the lion. Both are seen in the western sky by 10:30 PM at least. They are currently about the same brightness, but Mars has an orange-reddish hue, while Regulus, is blue-white. They are a good color contrast, especially in binoculars which will increase their brightness. Even before 5 AM Venus will be seen very low in the east, as the Morning Star. The waning crescent Moon will be near Saturn, having passed it around midnight. By 5 AM Saturn will be to the right and below it. Venus will be visible until close to 5:40.
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
Venus, Saturn and the waining crescent Moon at 5 AM tomorrow morning, June 19th, 2025, in the east. Created using Stellarium.
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on June 18, 2025. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 19th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 
