Archive
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.
12/21/11 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets this week?
Wednesday, December 21st. The sun will rise at 8:16. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:04. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 5:58 tomorrow morning.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The planet Venus is prominent in the southwestern twilit sky after sunset setting at 7:30. Jupiter is now the most prominent planet of the evening sky located in the high in the south and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries. It will pass due south at 8:36 p.m. It will set at 3:20 a.m.. Mars will rise at 11:25 p.m in the east northeast and will be in the constellation Leo. Mars will be due south at 6:01 a.m. It is 105 million miles away and closing. Saturn will rise at 2:57 a.m. just to the left of the bright star Spica in the east southeast. Winter starts at 12:30 tomorrow morning. I’ll have more on that tomorrow.
* Times, as always are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.
12/14/11 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets this week?
Wednesday, December 14th. The sun will rise at 8:11. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 5:02. The moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 9:29 this evening.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The planet Venus is prominent in the southwestern twilit sky after sunset setting at 7:12[, and should be visible by 5:45]. Jupiter is now the most prominent planet of the evening sky located in the high in the southeast to south and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries. It will pass due south at 9:04 p.m. It will set at 3:48 a.m.. Mars will rise at 11:41 p.m in the east northeast and will be in the constellation Leo. [Mars will be due south at 6:17 a.m.] It is 111 million miles away and closing. Saturn will rise at 3:22 a.m. just to the left of the bright star Spica in the east southeast. Remember Comet Lovejoy will enter SOHO’s LASCO C3 frame today.
* Times, as always are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. Text in brackets deleted from the program due to time constraints.
Update 6:16 a.m.
Comet Lovejoy entering at the bottom of the LASCO C3 frame. Courtesy SOHO, ESA, NASA. Timestamp on image.
Click to enlarge.
12/07/11 – Ephemeris – Where are the planets this week?
Wednesday, December 7th. The sun will rise at 8:05. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 5:02. The moon, 3 days before full, will set at 6:16 tomorrow morning.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The planet Venus is low in the southwestern twilit sky sunset setting at 6:57, and should be visible by 5:45. Jupiter is now the most prominent planet of the evening sky located in the high in the southeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries. It will pass due south at 9:33 p.m. In a telescope it will be accompanied by its 4 brightest moons. It will set at 4:18 a.m.. Mars will rise at 11:55 p.m in the east northeast and will be in the constellation Leo. Mars will be due south at 6:34 a.m. It is 117 million miles away and closing. Saturn will rise at 3:46 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.
11/30/11 – Ephermeris – The location of the planets tonight
Wednesday, November 30th. The sun will rise at 7:57. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 6 minutes, setting at 5:04. The moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 11:08 this evening.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The planet Venus is low in the southwestern sky just after sunset setting at 6:44, and should be visible by 5:45. Jupiter is now the prominent planet of the evening sky located in the southeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries. It will pass due south at 10:33 p.m. In a telescope it will be accompanied by its 4 brightest moons. It will set at 4:48 a.m.. Mars will rise at 12:07 a.m in the east northeast and will be left of the star Regulus in the constellation Leo tomorrow morning.. It is 122 million miles away and closing. Saturn will rise at 4:10 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.
11/23/11 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets this week?
Wednesday, November 23rd. The sun will rise at 7:49. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 18 minutes, setting at 5:08. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:09 tomorrow morning.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The planet Venus is still rather close to the sun in the evening setting at 6:33, and should be visible by 5:45 low in the southwest. Jupiter is now the prominent planet of the evening sky located in the southeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries. It will pass due south at 10:33 p.m. In a telescope it will be accompanied by its 4 brightest moons. It will set at 5:18 a.m.. Mars will rise at 12:18 a.m in the east northeast and will be left of the star Regulus in the constellation Leo tomorrow morning. [It is 128 million miles away and closing.] Saturn will rise at 4:34 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. Bracketed passage was omitted from the audio program due to time constraints.
10/05/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets visible this week
Wednesday, October 5th. The sun will rise at 7:44. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 31 minutes, setting at 7:16. The moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 2:21 tomorrow morning.
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 34 minutes after the sun and not really visible. The ringed planet Saturn also hidden in the bright twilight is setting 29 minutes after the sun. Jupiter is now the prominent planet of the evening sky after it rises at 8:15 p.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries. In a telescope it will be accompanied by its 4 brightest moons, and as the planet rises higher Jupiter’s image becomes sharper, and its cloud bands will become visible. Mars will rise at 2:14 a.m also in the east northeast and is entering the constellation of Cancer.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
09/28/11 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets this week?
Wednesday, September 28th. The sun will rise at 7:36. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 7:29. The moon, 1 day past new, will set at 7:50 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 29 minutes after the sun and not really visible. The ringed planet Saturn also hidden in the bright twilight is setting 38 minutes after the sun. Jupiter is now the prominent planet of the evening sky after it rises at 8:44 p.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. In a telescope it will be accompanied by its 4 brightest moons, and as the planet rises higher Jupiter’s image becomes sharper, and its cloud bands will become visible. Mars will rise at 2:20 a.m also in the east northeast and is now entering the constellation of Cancer.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
09/21/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets this week
Wednesday, September 21st. The sun will rise at 7:28. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 14 minutes, setting at 7:42. The moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 1:37 tomorrow morning.
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 26 minutes after the sun and not really visible. The ringed planet Saturn also hidden in the bright twilight is setting 51 minutes after the sun. Jupiter is now the prominent planet of the evening sky after it rises at 9:13 p.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. In a telescope it will be accompanied by its 4 brightest moons, and as the planet rises higher Jupiter’s image becomes sharper, and its cloud bands will become visible. Mars will rise at 2:25 a.m also in the east northeast and is now between the constellations of Gemini and Cancer.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
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.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 