01/12/2021 – Ephemeris – The celestial river Eridanus
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, January 12th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 5:25, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:17. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 8:58 tomorrow morning.
One of the more obscure constellations around is Eridanus, which depicts a river. The river starts near the lower right corner of Orion, near the bright star Rigel and flows to the right then down near the southwestern horizon, then it meanders along the horizon to the south before turning below the horizon. One has to travel to the far south to see the southern terminus of the river, the bright star Achernar. Writers over the ages have seen here the Nile and the Earth circling river Ocean of the flat earth days. Achernar is actually two stars, the brightest was discovered to be the flattest star known, due to its rapid spin. The dimensions of Achernar A has been determined to be twice as wide across its equator than from pole to pole. It’s 139 light years away.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
An animation of the constellation Eridanus which is a river that flows from Rigel in Orion to the star Achernar below our southern horizon at latitude 45 degrees north. Create using Stellarium and GIMP.
01/11/2021 – Ephemeris – Procyon, the before the Dog Star
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Monday, January 11th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 5:23 pm, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:17 am. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 8:05 tomorrow morning.
Visible low in the east at 8 p.m. appears the star Procyon. To its right and below is Sirius the brightest night-time star. Procyon is the bright star in the constellation Canis Minor, or lesser dog. I can find only one other star in Canis Minor. Perhaps it’s a hot dog. If Sirius, in Canis major is the Dog Star then Procyon should be the Little Dog Star. However, Procyon is an interesting name. It means “Before the dog”, which is an allusion to the fact that Procyon, though east of Sirius actually rises before it. This is due to Procyon’s more northerly position. This effect doesn’t work south of the equator, however. Sirius will rise at about 7:30 tonight. Procyon is a star much like Sirius but is 32% farther away. It’s 11.4 to Sirius’ 8.6 light years away.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Orion and his hunting dogs in early winter (8 pm, January 11, 2021) showing that Procyon does rise before Sirius.
01/08/2021 – Ephemeris – There will be a virtual star party tonight
This is Ephemeris for Friday, January 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 1 minute, setting at 5:20, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:19. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 4:31 tomorrow morning.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host a virtual star party at 8 pm tonight. It is via the Zoom app for smartphones, tablets or computers. Instructions and a link can be found on the society’s website gtastro.org. It will be hosted by Dr. Jerry Dobek, astronomy professor at Northwestern Michigan College. During a virtual star party the images are produced real time or near real time using a telescope mounted CCD camera. That is if it’s clear. If cloudy we’ll have a virtual, virtual star party using recently acquired images captured for his astronomy students. A couple of months ago we got a tantalizing look at the Great Orion Nebula as it rose in moonlight. Now it’s higher in the sky with no Moon. It should be spectacular!
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
01/07/2021 – Ephemeris – The constellations Orion and Taurus interact
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, January 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 5:19, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:19. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 3:13 tomorrow morning.
There are several instances in the Greek heavens where constellations appear to interact with one another. This is true with Orion the hunter and Taurus the bull. Taurus, whose face is the letter V of stars with orangish Aldebaran as his angry bloodshot eye is charging down on Orion, who has raised a lion skin shield on one arm and an upraised club in the other, ready to strike. They have been frozen in this pose for millennia. Stars below and right of the letter V of the Bull’s face suggest the front part of his body and his front legs charging at Orion. Orion also has two hunting dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor. Canis Major with its dazzling star Sirius will rise around 7:30 on a line extended down from Orion’s belt.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Orion-Taurus Tableau. Seen around 8 pm, January 7, 2021. Created using Stellarium.
01/06/2021 – Ephemeris – Let’s take our first look at the naked-eye planets for 2021
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 58 minutes, setting at 5:18, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:19. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 1:57 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our first look at the naked-eye planets for 2021. Jupiter and Saturn are both extremely low in the southwestern sky around 6 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. Below and right of it is the dimmer Saturn it by two degrees or four moon widths. They crossed paths for us 16 nights ago. They can still be seen in the same binocular field. Saturn will set first tonight at 6:33 pm with Jupiter following nine minutes later. Quite high in the southeast at that hour will be Mars, still in Pisces. It will pass due south at 7:25 tonight. Mars’ distance is increasing to 88 million miles (141 million km) away. It will set at 2:19 tomorrow morning. Venus, our brilliant morning star will rise at 7:03 am in the east-southeast as it seems to retreat slowly toward the Sun, but actually it’s heading way around behind the Sun.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and Saturn just above the distant trees at 6 pm January 6, 2021. We might lose them in twilight next week. We’ll have to move to a Lake Michigan horizon to try to spot them. Created using Stellarium.
Mars in the evening sky at 8 pm January 6, 2021 looking southward. Mars is on the boarder between Pisces on the right and Aries above and left. Also seen on the left is the tiny dipper shape of the Pleiades or Seven Sisters star cluster and farther to the left the letter V of stars that is the face of Taurus the bull with the bright star Aldebaran. Created using Stellarium.
The waning crescent Moon at around 7 am January 7, 2021 as it might be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. Created using Stellarium.
Venus seen low on the southeastern horizon at 7:30 in the morning on January 7, 2021. Created using Stellarium.
The planets Jupiter and Saturn as they might be seen in a small telescope at 6 pm, January 6, 2021. These planets are seen in twilight so Saturn’s moons will be invisible, and Jupiter’s moons nearly so. Mars is not shown because its apparent size is less than 10″ (seconds of arc in diameter), and Venus, nearly so. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 32.73″; Saturn, 15.20″, rings, 35.42″; Mars, 9.82″, and Venus, 10.55″ 95% full.
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on January 6, 2021. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 7th. I’m afraid that the labels for Jupiter and Saturn overlap, since the planets are very close. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
01/05/2021 – Ephemeris – Orion’s named stars and their meanings
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, January 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 5:17, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:19. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 12:42 tomorrow morning.
The constellation of Orion the hunter is visible in the southeast at 8 p.m. The names of the stars of Orion are interesting in themselves. Starting at the top left of the seven bright stars of Orion’s torso is Betelgeuse the bright red star, whose name means something like “Armpit of the Giant”. The star in Orion’s other shoulder is Bellatrix the “Amazon Star”. Below are the three stars of Orion’s belt, from left to right; Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Their names mean “Girdle”, “Belt of Pearls”, and “Belt” respectively. Down to Orion’s knees we look on the left to the star Saiph pronounced “Safe”* which means “Sword”, though it is a star in his knee. Finally, there’s the bright blue-white star Rigel whose name means “Left Leg of the Giant” in Orion’s other knee. These are the important stars that make up the figure of Orion in the sky. [BTW. most star names are Arabic, and what survives of them is just a part of the original Arabic phrases.]
* In the radio program I pronounced the word then spelled it out.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The named stars of Orion. Created using Stellarium.
01/04/2021 – Ephemeris – A belated preview of January skies
This is Ephemeris for Monday, January 4th. The Sun will rise at 8:20. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 56 minutes, setting at 5:16. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:29 this evening.
Let’s look ahead at the rest of January. Daylight hours will increase from 8 hours 56 minutes a day today to 9 hours 47 minutes on the 31st. The Sun’s noontime altitude above the southern horizon will increase from 22 ½ degrees today to 28 degrees on the 31st. The time of local noon, when the Sun is due south will be 12:52 pm on the 15th. The Straits area will have the Sun lower by a degree, and slightly shorter daytime hours. This month we’ll get into the heart of winter, and it’s going to be cold. This is moderated or intensified by the weather, which is always a wild card. In the night skies the winter stars, and Orion will make a bright display. Only Mars of all the naked-eye planets will be visible after twilight in the evening.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Note: The addendum of information about the month ahead has been added to my January 1st post here.
01/01/2021 – Ephemeris – The first few day of January have two annual astronomical events
Note: With New Year’s Day followed by the weekend I’m postponing the January preview program to Monday the 4th, however, the Month Preview addendum will be added to the post today.
Happy New Year, this is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for New Year’s Day, Friday, January 1st 2021. The Sun will rise at 8:20. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 5:13. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 7:51 this evening.
It happens that a lot of astronomical events occur in the first few days of January, that I’ll cover these now and talk about the rest of the month on Monday. Tomorrow, the second, at 3:59 am the Earth will be its closest to the Sun at 91.4 million miles (147.0 million kilometers). The only real effect is that it makes winter the shortest season, four days shorter than summer because the Earth moves fastest when closest to the Sun. On Saturday evening the 2nd will see the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower for a short time before the bright Moon rises at 9 p.m. the radiant point for this shower is low in the north, from an obsolete constellation of the Mural Quadrant located off the handle of the Big Dipper. The bright waning gibbous Moon will curtail the morning display of the shower when the radiant is higher. January 2nd also the latest sunrise. Later in January we will have brighter early mornings again.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
January Evening Star Chart
Star Chart for January 2021 (9 p.m. EST January 15, 2021). Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 9 p.m. EST in the evening and 6 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. The brilliant planet Venus will enter the sky at the chart time during the latter half of the month in the southwest. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian, West 75° longitude. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT).
January Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for January mornings 2021 (6 a.m. EST January 15, 2021). Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
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, then
- Follow the spike to Spica.
- QuadR on the star charts is the radiant of the Quadrantid meteor shower which peaks on the 3rd, but is best seen in the early evening hours of the 2nd before the Moon rises.
Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical
| EST | |||||||
| Morning twilight | Evening twilight | Dark night | Moon | ||||
| Date | Astro. | Nautical | Nautical | Astro. | Start | End | Illum. |
| 2021-01-01 | 6h35m | 7h10m | 18h22m | 18h57m | 18h57m | 19h51m | 0.9 |
| 2021-01-02 | 6h35m | 7h11m | 18h23m | 18h58m | 18h58m | 21h03m | 0.83 |
| 2021-01-03 | 6h35m | 7h11m | 18h24m | 18h59m | 18h59m | 22h16m | 0.74 |
| 2021-01-04 | 6h35m | 7h11m | 18h24m | 19h00m | 19h00m | 23h29m | 0.64 |
| 2021-01-05 | 6h35m | 7h11m | 18h25m | 19h01m | 19h01m | – | 0.52 |
| 2021-01-06 | 6h35m | 7h10m | 18h26m | 19h02m | 19h02m | 0h42m | 0.41 |
| 2021-01-07 | 6h35m | 7h10m | 18h27m | 19h02m | 19h02m | 1h57m | 0.3 |
| 2021-01-08 | 6h35m | 7h10m | 18h28m | 19h03m | 19h03m | 3h13m | 0.2 |
| 2021-01-09 | 6h35m | 7h10m | 18h29m | 19h04m | 19h04m | 4h31m | 0.11 |
| 2021-01-10 | 6h35m | 7h10m | 18h30m | 19h05m | 19h05m | 5h48m | 0.05 |
| 2021-01-11 | 6h35m | 7h10m | 18h31m | 19h06m | 19h06m | 6h35m | 0.01 |
| 2021-01-12 | 6h34m | 7h09m | 18h32m | 19h07m | 19h07m | 6h34m | 0 |
| 2021-01-13 | 6h34m | 7h09m | 18h33m | 19h08m | 19h08m | 6h34m | 0.01 |
| 2021-01-14 | 6h34m | 7h09m | 18h35m | 19h09m | 19h09m | 6h34m | 0.05 |
| 2021-01-15 | 6h33m | 7h08m | 18h36m | 19h11m | 20h17m | 6h33m | 0.1 |
| 2021-01-16 | 6h33m | 7h08m | 18h37m | 19h12m | 21h25m | 6h33m | 0.17 |
| 2021-01-17 | 6h32m | 7h07m | 18h38m | 19h13m | 22h31m | 6h32m | 0.26 |
| 2021-01-18 | 6h32m | 7h07m | 18h39m | 19h14m | 23h34m | 6h32m | 0.34 |
| 2021-01-19 | 6h31m | 7h06m | 18h40m | 19h15m | – | 6h31m | 0.44 |
| 2021-01-20 | 6h31m | 7h06m | 18h41m | 19h16m | 0h36m | 6h31m | 0.53 |
| 2021-01-21 | 6h30m | 7h05m | 18h43m | 19h17m | 1h38m | 6h30m | 0.62 |
| 2021-01-22 | 6h30m | 7h04m | 18h44m | 19h18m | 2h40m | 6h30m | 0.71 |
| 2021-01-23 | 6h29m | 7h04m | 18h45m | 19h20m | 3h43m | 6h29m | 0.8 |
| 2021-01-24 | 6h28m | 7h03m | 18h46m | 19h21m | 4h47m | 6h28m | 0.87 |
| 2021-01-25 | 6h28m | 7h02m | 18h47m | 19h22m | 5h48m | 6h28m | 0.93 |
| 2021-01-26 | 6h27m | 7h01m | 18h49m | 19h23m | – | – | 0.97 |
| 2021-01-27 | 6h26m | 7h01m | 18h50m | 19h24m | – | – | 1 |
| 2021-01-28 | 6h25m | 7h00m | 18h51m | 19h25m | – | – | 1 |
| 2021-01-29 | 6h24m | 6h59m | 18h52m | 19h27m | – | – | 0.98 |
| 2021-01-30 | 6h24m | 6h58m | 18h54m | 19h28m | 19h28m | 20h04m | 0.93 |
| 2021-01-31 | 6h23m | 6h57m | 18h55m | 19h29m | 19h29m | 21h18m | 0.86 |
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/2018/09/27/.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Jan 1 Fr Venus: 20.2° W
1 Fr 2:05 am Moon-Beehive: 2.5° S
2 Sa 3:59 am Perihelion: 0.9833 AU
3 Su 9:47 am Quadrantid Shower: ZHR = 120
6 We 4:37 am Last Quarter
9 Sa 10:39 am Moon Perigee: 367400 km
10 Su 3:14 pm Moon Descending Node
11 Mo 3:11 pm Moon-Venus: 1.5° N
12 Tu 3:18 am Moon South Dec.: 24.9° S
13 We 12:00 am New Moon
20 We 4:02 pm First Quarter
21 Th 8:11 am Moon Apogee: 404400 km
23 Sa 8:59 pm Mercury Elongation: 18.6° E
23 Sa 9:26 pm Saturn Conjunction with the Sun
24 Su 4:47 pm Moon Ascending Node
26 Tu 10:39 am Moon North Dec.: 24.9° N
28 Th 9:50 am Moon-Beehive: 2.4° S
28 Th 2:16 pm Full Moon
28 Th 7:51 pm Jupiter Conjunction with the Sun
Feb 1 Mo Venus: 13° W
All event times are given for UTC-5 Eastern Standard Time.
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.
Sun and Moon Rising and Setting Events
LU Ephemeris of Sky Events for Interlochen/TC January, 2021 Local time zone: EST +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM | | | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN| +=======================================================================+ |Fri 1| 08:20a 05:13p 08:53 | 06:23p 07:09a | Rise 07:51p 91%| |Sat 2| 08:20a 05:14p 08:54 | 06:24p 07:09a | Rise 09:03p 84%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 3| 08:20a 05:15p 08:55 | 06:25p 07:10a | Rise 10:16p 76%| |Mon 4| 08:20a 05:16p 08:56 | 06:26p 07:10a | Rise 11:29p 66%| |Tue 5| 08:19a 05:17p 08:57 | 06:27p 07:10a | Rise 12:42a 55%| |Wed 6| 08:19a 05:18p 08:58 | 06:28p 07:09a |L Qtr Rise 01:57a 43%| |Thu 7| 08:19a 05:19p 08:59 | 06:29p 07:09a | Rise 03:13a 32%| |Fri 8| 08:19a 05:20p 09:01 | 06:30p 07:09a | Rise 04:31a 22%| |Sat 9| 08:19a 05:21p 09:02 | 06:31p 07:09a | Rise 05:48a 13%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 10| 08:18a 05:22p 09:04 | 06:32p 07:09a | Rise 07:01a 6%| |Mon 11| 08:18a 05:23p 09:05 | 06:33p 07:09a | Rise 08:05a 2%| |Tue 12| 08:17a 05:25p 09:07 | 06:34p 07:08a | Rise 08:58a 0%| |Wed 13| 08:17a 05:26p 09:08 | 06:35p 07:08a |New Set 05:55p 1%| |Thu 14| 08:16a 05:27p 09:10 | 06:36p 07:08a | Set 07:06p 4%| |Fri 15| 08:16a 05:28p 09:12 | 06:37p 07:07a | Set 08:17p 9%| |Sat 16| 08:15a 05:30p 09:14 | 06:38p 07:07a | Set 09:25p 16%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 17| 08:15a 05:31p 09:16 | 06:39p 07:06a | Set 10:30p 24%| |Mon 18| 08:14a 05:32p 09:18 | 06:40p 07:06a | Set 11:34p 33%| |Tue 19| 08:13a 05:33p 09:20 | 06:42p 07:05a | Set 12:36a 42%| |Wed 20| 08:13a 05:35p 09:22 | 06:43p 07:05a |F Qtr Set 01:38a 51%| |Thu 21| 08:12a 05:36p 09:24 | 06:44p 07:04a | Set 02:40a 60%| |Fri 22| 08:11a 05:37p 09:26 | 06:45p 07:03a | Set 03:43a 69%| |Sat 23| 08:10a 05:39p 09:28 | 06:46p 07:03a | Set 04:46a 78%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 24| 08:09a 05:40p 09:30 | 06:48p 07:02a | Set 05:48a 85%| |Mon 25| 08:08a 05:42p 09:33 | 06:49p 07:01a | Set 06:46a 92%| |Tue 26| 08:07a 05:43p 09:35 | 06:50p 07:00a | Set 07:38a 96%| |Wed 27| 08:06a 05:44p 09:37 | 06:51p 07:00a | Set 08:23a 99%| |Thu 28| 08:05a 05:46p 09:40 | 06:52p 06:59a |Full Rise 05:37p 100%| |Fri 29| 08:04a 05:47p 09:42 | 06:54p 06:58a | Rise 06:49p 98%| |Sat 30| 08:03a 05:49p 09:45 | 06:55p 06:57a | Rise 08:04p 94%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 31| 08:02a 05:50p 09:47 | 06:56p 06:56a | Rise 09:18p 88%| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ * Nautical Twilight ** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset
Generated using my LookingUp for DOS program.
12/31/2020 – Ephemeris – Looking ahead at the eclipses of 2021
This is Ephemeris for New Year’s Eve, Thursday, December 31st. The Sun will rise at 8:20. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 5:12. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 6:43 this evening.
I’ve had enough of 2020, and I hope in 2021 that we’ll break the grip of this pandemic. Looking up next year we will get glimpses of three of the four eclipses that will occur in 2021. We will get a chance to see the beginning of an eclipse of the Moon at sunrise as it sets on May 26th. Fifteen days later, on June 10th we will be able to see the Sun rise while being partially eclipsed by the Moon. People in western Ontario, up through northern Canada, then across the North Pole and into Siberia will get to see an annular or ring of fire eclipse of the Sun. On November 19th, clouds willing, we will get to see an almost total eclipse of the Moon that morning with over 97 percent of the Moon covered by the Earth’s inner shadow.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
What might it look like when the Sun will rise in eclipse for the Grand Traverse region of Michigan at about 6:10 am June 10, 2021. Note that you, or actually your location, is involved in what you can see of a solar eclipse. Created using Stellarium.
What the lunar eclipse maximum might look like at 4:04 am (9:04 UT), November 19, 2021. Created using Stellarium.
There is a fourth eclipse in 2021, a total solar eclipse that is mainly visible in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica on December 4, 2021.
12/30/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s take our last look at the naked-eye planets for this year
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 5:11, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:20. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 5:40 this evening.
Let’s take our last look at the naked-eye planets for this year. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the southwestern sky around 6 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. Below and right of it is the dimmer Saturn it by a degree or two moon widths. They crossed paths for us nine nights ago. They can still be seen in the same binocular field. Saturn will set first tonight at 6:57 pm with Jupiter following four minutes later. Quite high in the southeast will be Mars, still in Pisces. Mars’ distance is increasing to 82 million miles (132 million km) away. It will set at 2:29 tomorrow morning. Brilliant Venus will rise at 6:49 am in the east-southeast as it seems to retreat slowly toward the Sun, but actually it’s heading way around behind the Sun.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and Saturn low on the southwestern horizon at 6 pm. Created using Stellarium.
Mars with the stars of Taurus the Bull including Aldebaran with the “V” of stars that are the Hyades that mark the bull’s face and the Pleiades. Seen at 8 pm, December 30, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might be seen tonight at 8 pm, December 30, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in the southeast at 7:30 am. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of December 30/31, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 6 pm; Mars, 8 pm; Venus, 7:30 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 32.92″; Saturn, 15.26″, rings, 35.54″; Mars, 10.52″, and Venus 10.71″. Mars also displays an enlargement showing surface detail. Mars was closest to the Earth this go-a-round on October 6. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Planets whose diameters drop below 10″, or are too close to the direction of the Sun to observe will not be shown. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on December 30, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 31st. I’m afraid that the labels for Jupiter and Saturn will overlap, since the planets are very close. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
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