Archive
Ephemeris: 03/20/2024 – Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 7:56, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:43. The Moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 6:38 tomorrow morning.
Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week, and see what planets are left. Mercury is visible in the evening sky shortly after sunset appearing very low in the west. It will be visible for the next week or so, moving away from the Sun, but getting dimmer, and starting back toward the Sun after Sunday. Higher up in the sky is bright Jupiter in the west southwest. It will set at 11:45 pm. Jupiter will be visible in the evening for only about another month or so. In the morning Mars, Venus and Saturn may be impossible to spot, in the east-southeast in the bright twilight. Mars will rise at 6:43 am, followed by Venus at 7:13, with Saturn right below it.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/14/2024 – It’s Pi Day!
This is Ephemeris for Pi Day, Thursday, March 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 7:48, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:54. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 1:47 tomorrow morning.
Yes, it’s Pi day that’s the Greek letter π for 3.14 approximating the ratio of the circle’s circumference to its diameter, which scientific and technical people celebrate by baking a pie P-I-E and carving the Greek letter π on the top.
Tonight around 9 or 9:30 when it gets dark, is a good time to use the Moon to find the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters star cluster. The Pleiades will appear above the crescent Moon this evening, so it’s a good time to locate them if you haven’t already. We only have about another month viewing the Pleiades in the evening. And we have one more passage of the Moon by the Pleiades next month before they disappear from the evening sky.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
There’s another Pi day that some celebrate. A well-known approximation of pi is the fraction 22/7ths. Europeans and others write dates in day/month order, so July 22nd is also a Pi Day: 22/7.
Ephemeris: 03/13/2024 – Where have the naked-eye planets wandered off to this week?
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 13th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 7:47, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:55. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 12:28 tomorrow morning.
Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week, and see what planets are left. Mercury is beginning to become visible in the evening sky shortly after sunset appearing very low in the west. It will be visible for the next week or so, moving away from the Sun, but getting dimmer. Higher up in the sky Jupiter and the moon are close together this evening With Jupiter to the left and below the crescent Moon in the west southwest. It will set at 12:08 am. Jupiter will be visible in the evening for only about another month or so. In the morning Mars and Venus may be impossible to spot, in the east-southeast in the bright twilight. Mars will rise at 6:57 am, followed by Venus at 7:21.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/12/24 – The story of the twins of Gemini
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 12th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 46 minutes, setting at 7:45, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:57. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 11:07 this evening.
A week ago I talked about how to find the constellation of Gemini the twins above and to the left of the constellation Orion. Today I’ll talk about their story. Gemini the twins are fraternal twins, Castor and Pollux. Their namesake stars are the brightest in Gemini, with Castor above and the brighter Pollux below and left. Pollux was fathered by the god Zeus who raped his mother in the Leda and the Swan incident, while Castor was fathered by a mortal. They both went on the quest for the Golden Fleece with Jason and the Argonauts. Unfortunately Castor was killed. Pollux loved his brother so much he petitioned Zeus for him to die also and join Castor in the underworld. Instead, Zeus placed them both in the sky where we see them as Gemini.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/07/2024 – There’s a unicorn in there somewhere
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, March 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 6:39, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:06. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 6:35 tomorrow morning.
The constellation of Monoceros the unicorn is located in an area of sky to the left of Orion so it’s in the south at 8 pm, inside the Winter Triangle of stars, Betelgeuse in Orion; Sirius in the Great Dog, Canis Major; and Procyon in Canis Minor. If you don’t see anything there, it’s OK. Nobody sees real unicorns any more anyway. Are there any real unicorns? Anyway, there’s a great number of nebulae here in the Milky Way that runs through it, which unfortunately are too faint to be seen with amateur telescopes. However, it is a gold mine for amateur astronomers who are also astrophotographers using time exposures to record the faint nebulae here, including the famous Rosette Nebula!
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/06/2024 – Where have the naked-eye planets wandered off to this week?
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 6:37, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:08. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 6:03 tomorrow morning.
Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week, and see what planets are left. Saturn, and Mercury are gone, too close to the Sun to be seen. Jupiter will be in the west-southwest at 8 this evening. It will set at 11:25 pm in the west. Jupiter will be visible in the evening for only about another month or so. Venus, the morning star, will rise in the east-southeast at 6:23 am, but its brilliance is diminished by the bright twilight and its low position in the sky. It will be very low in the east-southeast at 6:45 am. Mars might be impossible to spot, being a bit to the right and above Venus. A pair of binoculars, at least, will be needed to spot it. It is about the width of the field of binoculars from Venus.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/05/2024 – Finding Gemini the twins
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 24 minutes, setting at 6:36, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:10. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 5:22 tomorrow morning.
The constellation of Gemini the twins can be seen high in the south at 8 pm tonight. It’s located above and left of the constellation of Orion. The two brightest stars at the upper left of the constellation have the twin’s names. They are Castor, the one to the upper right and Pollux the brighter one to the lower left. I tend to see the constellation as the two lines of stars from Castor and Pollux running down toward Orion as a silhouette of these two boys standing together. Others see them as two stick figures. At the bottom of the line of stars emanating from Castor, what I consider Castor’s foot, is a lovely star cluster which is visible in binoculars as a little fuzzy spot, but a telescope will show a great number of stars here called Messier 35 or simply M35.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/04/2024 – The evening skies are a-changing
This is Ephemeris for Monday, March 4th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 6:35, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:12. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 4:30 tomorrow morning.
Tonight at 8 pm Orion is in the south. This will be the last month that we will be able to enjoy Orion in the evening sky, because by month’s end he will begin to dip low in the west in the evening twilight. Even though it’s not quite spring, the central constellation of that season, Leo the lion, is already rising in the east. It has cleared the horizon at 8 this evening. The backwards question mark of Leo’s head, mane and front part of his body is easily spotted in the east now with the bright star Regulus at the bottom. The Big Dipper is in the northeast, also rising higher, and signaling via the Anishinaabek constellation there of the Fisher Star, announcing the maple sugaring season.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Looking to the east-southeast at 8 pm we look at three star groups or constellations. From left to right we have the Big Dipper and the Fisher Star in the northeast. Centered in the east we have Leo the lion. And on the right, just west of south, we have Orion the central winter constellation. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Credit: Stellarium, and using LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Ephemeris: 02/29/2024 – Previewing March Skies
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, February 29th, the Leap Day or intercalary day. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 8 minutes, setting at 6:30, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:19. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:59 this evening.
Let’s look at the skies for the month of March. The Sun will pass the celestial equator as the promising season of spring will begin. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will increase from 11 hours and 11 minutes Tomorrow to 12 hours 45 minutes on the 31st. The altitude, or angle, of the Sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be 38 degrees tomorrow and will ascend to nearly 50 degrees on the 31st. Spring will start on the 19th at 11:07 p.m. Part of the fault for that early date is the switch to daylight saving time this early in the year a while back. The Gregorian calendar reform of 1582 will keep the vernal equinox from falling much further back. So spring will come a bit early this year, calendar-wise.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
March Evening Star Chart
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 10 p.m. EDT in the evening and 6 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian. (An hour and 45 minutes behind our Daylight Saving Time meridian during EDT). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere (rotating star finder) you may have to set it to 45 minutes or 1 hour 45 minutes earlier than your current time.
Note the chart times of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th, add ½ hour (28 minutes if you’re picky). For each week after the 15th, subtract ½ hour. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th, check the Wednesday planet posts on this blog.
March Morning Star Chart
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- The leaky bowl of the Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus, and
- Extend it as a spike to Spica.
- The Summer Triangle appears in red.
Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical
| EST | |||||||
| Morning | Twilight | Evening | Twilight | Dark | Night | Moon | |
| Date | Astro. | Nautical | Nautical | Astro. | Start | End | Illum. |
| 2024-03-01 | 5h43m | 6h17m | 19h37m | 20h11m | 20h11m | – | 0.65 |
| 2024-03-02 | 5h41m | 6h15m | 19h38m | 20h12m | 20h12m | 1h09m | 0.55 |
| 2024-03-03 | 5h40m | 6h13m | 19h39m | 20h13m | 20h13m | 2h20m | 0.44 |
| 2024-03-04 | 5h38m | 6h12m | 19h41m | 20h15m | 20h15m | 3h28m | 0.34 |
| 2024-03-05 | 5h36m | 6h10m | 19h42m | 20h16m | 20h16m | 4h30m | 0.23 |
| 2024-03-06 | 5h34m | 6h08m | 19h43m | 20h17m | 20h17m | 5h22m | 0.14 |
| 2024-03-07 | 5h32m | 6h06m | 19h45m | 20h19m | 20h19m | 5h32m | 0.07 |
| 2024-03-08 | 5h30m | 6h05m | 19h46m | 20h20m | 20h20m | 5h30m | 0.02 |
| 2024-03-09 | 5h29m | 6h03m | 19h47m | 20h21m | 20h21m | 5h29m | 0.00 |
| EDT | |||||||
| 2024-03-10 | 6h27m | 7h01m | 20h48m | 21h23m | 21h23m | 6h27m | 0.01 |
| 2024-03-11 | 6h25m | 6h59m | 20h50m | 21h24m | 21h45m | 6h25m | 0.05 |
| 2024-03-12 | 6h23m | 6h57m | 20h51m | 21h25m | 23h07m | 6h23m | 0.12 |
| 2024-03-13 | 6h21m | 6h55m | 20h52m | 21h27m | – | 6h21m | 0.20 |
| 2024-03-14 | 6h19m | 6h54m | 20h54m | 21h28m | 0h29m | 6h19m | 0.30 |
| 2024-03-15 | 6h17m | 6h52m | 20h55m | 21h30m | 1h48m | 6h17m | 0.40 |
| 2024-03-16 | 6h15m | 6h50m | 20h56m | 21h31m | 3h02m | 6h15m | 0.51 |
| 2024-03-17 | 6h13m | 6h48m | 20h58m | 21h32m | 4h07m | 6h13m | 0.61 |
| 2024-03-18 | 6h11m | 6h46m | 20h59m | 21h34m | 5h00m | 6h11m | 0.70 |
| 2024-03-19 | 6h09m | 6h44m | 21h00m | 21h35m | 5h41m | 6h09m | 0.78 |
| 2024-03-20 | 6h07m | 6h42m | 21h02m | 21h37m | – | – | 0.86 |
| 2024-03-21 | 6h05m | 6h40m | 21h03m | 21h38m | – | – | 0.92 |
| 2024-03-22 | 6h03m | 6h38m | 21h04m | 21h40m | – | – | 0.96 |
| 2024-03-23 | 6h01m | 6h36m | 21h06m | 21h41m | – | – | 0.99 |
| 2024-03-24 | 5h59m | 6h34m | 21h07m | 21h43m | – | – | 1.00 |
| 2024-03-25 | 5h57m | 6h32m | 21h08m | 21h44m | – | – | 0.99 |
| 2024-03-26 | 5h55m | 6h30m | 21h10m | 21h46m | – | – | 0.97 |
| 2024-03-27 | 5h53m | 6h28m | 21h11m | 21h47m | 21h47m | 22h51m | 0.92 |
| 2024-03-28 | 5h50m | 6h26m | 21h13m | 21h49m | 21h49m | 0h00m | 0.86 |
| 2024-03-29 | 5h48m | 6h24m | 21h14m | 21h50m | 21h50m | – | 0.79 |
| 2024-03-30 | 5h46m | 6h22m | 21h15m | 21h52m | 21h52m | 1h10m | 0.70 |
| 2024-03-31 | 5h44m | 6h20m | 21h17m | 21h53m | 21h53m | 2h18m | 0.60 |
Twilight calendar was generated using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
See my blog post: Twilight Zone for the definitions of the different periods of twilight here: https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2019/09/27/
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time EST Event
Mar 1 Fr Venus: 24.3° W
3 Su 3:16 am Moon-Antares: .4° S
3 Su 10:24 am Last Quarter
4 Mo 9:03 pm Moon South Dec.: 28.5° S
7 Th 11:59 pm Moon-Mars: 3.5° N
8 Fr 12:01 pm Moon-Venus: 3.2° N
Time EDT
10 Su 2:06 am Moon Perigee: 356900 km
10 Su 4:00 am New Moon
11 Mo 9:18 pm Moon Ascending Node
13 We 9:01 pm Moon-Jupiter: 3.6° S
14 Th 10:54 pm Moon-Pleiades: .4° N
17 Su 12:11 am First Quarter
17 Su 6:31 am Neptune Conjunction
17 Su 10:45 am Moon North Dec.: 28.5° N
19 Tu 2:44 am Moon-Pollux: 1.6° N
19 Tu 11:07 pm Vernal Equinox
20 We 4:03 am Moon-Beehive: 3.8° S
21 Th 6:06 pm Venus-Saturn: .3° N
23 Sa 11:44 am Moon Apogee: 406300 km
24 Su 5:59 pm Mercury Elongation: 18.7° E
25 Mo 3:00 am Full Moon
25 Mo 3:13 am Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
26 Tu 12:07 am Moon Descending Node
26 Tu 3:40 pm Moon-Spica: 1.6° S
30 Sa 10:24 am Moon-Antares: .3° S
Apr 1 Mo Venus: 16.8° W
All event times are given for UTC-5:00: Eastern Standard Time before the 10th or UTC-4:00 Daylight Saving Time thereafter.
Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC),
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html
If you go to the above site you can print out a list like the above for the entire year or calendar pages for your time zone.
Note that the site is now kept up for archival purposes. Fred Espenak retired from NASA several years ago and has his own site, AstroPixels, which contain the same information: http://astropixels.com/almanac/almanac.html.
Sun and Moon Rising and Setting Events
LU Ephemeris of Sky Events for Interlochen/TC
March, 2024 Local time zone: EST
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM |
| | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Fri 1| 07:19a 06:31p 11:11 | 07:34p 06:16a | Rise 01:09a 66%|
|Sat 2| 07:17a 06:32p 11:15 | 07:35p 06:14a | Rise 02:19a 57%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 3| 07:15a 06:34p 11:18 | 07:37p 06:12a |L Qtr Rise 03:28a 46%|
|Mon 4| 07:14a 06:35p 11:21 | 07:38p 06:11a | Rise 04:30a 36%|
|Tue 5| 07:12a 06:36p 11:24 | 07:39p 06:09a | Rise 05:22a 26%|
|Wed 6| 07:10a 06:37p 11:27 | 07:41p 06:07a | Rise 06:03a 16%|
|Thu 7| 07:08a 06:39p 11:30 | 07:42p 06:05a | Rise 06:35a 8%|
|Fri 8| 07:06a 06:40p 11:33 | 07:43p 06:04a | Rise 07:01a 3%|
|Sat 9| 07:05a 06:41p 11:36 | 07:44p 06:02a | Rise 07:24a 0%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
| EDT | Time Change | | |
|Sun 10| 08:03a 07:43p 11:39 | 08:46p 07:00a |New Set 08:22p 1%|
|Mon 11| 08:01a 07:44p 11:43 | 08:47p 06:58a | Set 09:44p 4%|
|Tue 12| 07:59a 07:45p 11:46 | 08:48p 06:56a | Set 11:07p 10%|
|Wed 13| 07:57a 07:47p 11:49 | 08:50p 06:54a | Set 12:28a 18%|
|Thu 14| 07:55a 07:48p 11:52 | 08:51p 06:53a | Set 01:47a 28%|
|Fri 15| 07:54a 07:49p 11:55 | 08:52p 06:51a | Set 03:01a 38%|
|Sat 16| 07:52a 07:50p 11:58 | 08:54p 06:49a | Set 04:06a 48%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 17| 07:50a 07:52p 12:01 | 08:55p 06:47a |F Qtr Set 04:59a 58%|
|Mon 18| 07:48a 07:53p 12:04 | 08:56p 06:45a | Set 05:41a 68%|
|Tue 19| 07:46a 07:54p 12:08 | 08:58p 06:43a | Set 06:13a 77%|
|Wed 20| 07:44a 07:56p 12:11 | 08:59p 06:41a | Set 06:38a 84%|
|Thu 21| 07:43a 07:57p 12:14 | 09:00p 06:39a | Set 06:59a 91%|
|Fri 22| 07:41a 07:58p 12:17 | 09:02p 06:37a | Set 07:16a 95%|
|Sat 23| 07:39a 07:59p 12:20 | 09:03p 06:35a | Set 07:32a 98%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 24| 07:37a 08:01p 12:23 | 09:04p 06:33a | Set 07:48a 100%|
|Mon 25| 07:35a 08:02p 12:26 | 09:06p 06:31a |Full Rise 08:39p 100%|
|Tue 26| 07:33a 08:03p 12:29 | 09:07p 06:29a | Rise 09:44p 97%|
|Wed 27| 07:31a 08:04p 12:33 | 09:09p 06:27a | Rise 10:50p 93%|
|Thu 28| 07:30a 08:06p 12:36 | 09:10p 06:25a | Rise 11:59p 88%|
|Fri 29| 07:28a 08:07p 12:39 | 09:11p 06:23a | Rise 01:09a 80%|
|Sat 30| 07:26a 08:08p 12:42 | 09:13p 06:21a | Rise 02:18a 72%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 31| 07:24a 08:09p 12:45 | 09:14p 06:19a | Rise 03:21a 62%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset
Created using my LookingUp for DOS output as text.
Ephemeris: 02/28/2024 – Where have the naked-eye planets wandered off to this week?
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, February 28th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 6:28, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:21. The Moon, halfway from full to last quarter, will rise at 10:52 this evening.
Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week, and see what planets are left to see. Saturn, and Mercury are gone, both actually in conjunction with the Sun today. Jupiter will be in the west-southwest at 8 this evening. It will set at 11:47 pm in the west. Jupiter will be visible in the evening for only about two more months. Venus, the morning star, will rise in the east-southeast at 6:27 am, but its brilliance is diminished by the bright twilight and its low position in the sky. It will be very low in the east-southeast at 7 am. Mars might be impossible to spot, being a bit to the right and above Venus. A pair of binoculars, at least, will be needed to spot it in the morning twilight.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter’s moon Io will pass behind (be occulted by) the planet at 8:17 pm EST. It will reappear at 11:39 pm away from the planet because until then it’ll still be in Jupiter’s shadow.
The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree). Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts) and GIMP.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 
