Archive
03/01/2016 – Ephemeris – Previewing March skies
Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 1st. The Sun will rise at 7:19. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 6:31. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 2:15 tomorrow morning.
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 today 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 today and will ascend to nearly 50 degrees on the 31st. Jupiter will reach opposition from the Sun on the 8th and enter the evening sky. That evening our time a total solar eclipse will be visible from Indonesia to the Pacific Ocean. Spring will begin on the 20th at 12:31 a.m. Easter, announced by the full moon on the 23rd will be celebrated on the 27th for western churches.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
March Star Chart
Star Chart for March 2016. Created using my LookingUp program. To enlarge in Firefox Right-click on image then click View image.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 10 p.m. EST. That is chart time. Note, Traverse City is located 45 minutes behind our time meridian. To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 45 minutes earlier than the current time.
Evening astronomical twilight ends at 7:34 p.m. EST on the 1st, increasing to 9:14 p.m. EDT on the 31st.
Morning astronomical twilight starts at 6:16 a.m. EDT on the 1st, and decreasing to 6:20 a.m. EST on the 31st.
Add a half hour to the chart time every week before the 15th and subtract a half hour for every week after the 15th. Before the 13th also subtract an hour for Standard Time.
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
- A leaky Big Dipper drips on Leo
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus
Calendar of Planetary Events
Credit: Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC)
To generate your own calendar go to http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html
Times are Eastern Time. Some additions made to aid clarity.
Date Time(EST) Event
Mar 01 Tu Venus: 24.9° W
01 Tu 6:11 pm Last Quarter
02 We 1:53 am Moon-Saturn: 3.9° S
03 Th 9:19 am Moon South Dec.: 18.2° S
07 Mo 5:54 am Moon-Venus: 3.5° S
08 Tu 4:58 am Jupiter Opposition from the Sun
08 Tu 8:54 pm New Moon
08 Tu 8:58 pm Total Solar Eclipse* (Indonesia & Pacific)
09 We 1:31 am Moon Descending Node
10 Th 2:02 am Moon Perigee: 359500 km
13 Su 2:00 am Daylight Saving Time starts (EDT) Boo Hiss!
14 Mo 9:44 am Moon-Aldebaran: 0.3° S
15 Tu 1:03 pm First Quarter
16 We 1:01 am Moon North Dec.: 18.2° N
20 Su 12:31 am Vernal Equinox – Yea Spring!
20 Su 3:05 pm Moon-Regulus: 2.8° N
21 Mo 11:57 pm Moon-Jupiter: 2.3° N
22 Tu 8:58 pm Moon Ascending Node
23 We 7:48 am Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (not visible from here)
23 We 8:01 am Full Moon
23 We 4:05 pm Mercury Superior Conjunction with the Sun
25 Fr 10:16 am Moon Apogee: 406100 km
28 Mo 2:45 pm Moon-Mars: 4.6° S
29 Tu 10:58 am Moon-Saturn: 3.8° S
30 We 6:12 pm Moon South Dec.: 18.2° S
31 Th 11:17 am Last Quarter
Apr 01 Venus: 17.4° W
* Coverage on NASA-TV-2 & www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Comet Catalina
Comet Catalina has become too faint to be seen in binoculars as it heads out of the solar system. To follow the comet further go to Seiichi Yashida’s Weekly Bright Comets page. Comet Catalina is no longer the brightest comet on the list, and is currently listed second. Click on it [C/2013 US10 ( Catalina )] for finder charts and other information.
When last we saw the comet was headed toward the constellation. But it’s headed almost straight away from the Earth now, and the Earth’s motion around the Sun is making the comet appear to start a loop north of Perseus. Another proof that Copernicus was right.
02/24/2016 – Ephemeris – The planets are all hanging out in the morning for another 2 weeks
Ephemeris for Wednesday, February 24th. The Sun will rise at 7:29. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 6:23. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 8:31 this evening.
Let’s check out the whereabouts of the bright naked eye planets. All the classical planets visible from antiquity are officially now in the morning sky. Though Mercury is too close to the Sun to be spotted. Jupiter will rise at 7:25 p.m., in the east. Jupiter is still a morning planet since it’s not up at sunset. It’s among the stars of Leo. Mars will rise next at 1:12 a.m. in the east-southeast. It’s seen against the stars of Libra now. Saturn will rise at 2:49 a.m. in the east-southeast. It’s above the stars of Scorpius, actually in Ophiuchus. Venus will rise at 6:27 a.m. again in the east-southeast. Comet Catalina is up all night and is a telescopic object and fading fast. At 10 p.m. is above the constellation of Cassiopeia and right of Perseus.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, the Moon in the official constellation boundaries as set up by the International Astronomical Union at 10 p.m. February 24, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its moons as they would be seen in a telescope, at 10 p.m. February 24, 2016. Jupiter has an apparent diameter of 44.2″ Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 10 p.m. February 24, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
The morning planets with constellation boundaries at 7 a.m. February 25, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Mars in a telescope at high power. It’s apparent diameter is 8.4″. At 7 a.m. February 25, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and its large satellite Titan and other moons as they should appear in a telescope in the morning of February 25, 2016. The planet is 16.4″ in diameter while the rings span 38.2″. Created using Stellarium.
The telescopic planet images are not to the same scale. Use the diameters in seconds of arc (“) as a way to compare the sizes.
Comet Catalina has become too faint to be seen in binoculars as it heads out of the solar system. To follow the comet further go to Seiichi Yashida’s Weekly Bright Comets page. Comet Catalina is n longer the brightest comet on the list, and is currently listed second. Click on it [C/2013 US10 ( Catalina )] for finder charts and other information.
This is a chart showing the sunrise and sunset skies for February 24, 2016 showing the location of the planets and the Moon at that time. Created using my LookingUp program.
Some of these images above are shown smaller than actual size. Image expansion lately hasn’t worked. If you are using Firefox, right-click on the image, and then click on View Image.
02/23/2016 – Ephemeris – The king of the planets is planning to conquer the evening sky. Tonight its enlisting help from the Moon.
Ephemeris for Tuesday, February 23rd. The Sun will rise at 7:31. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 6:21. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 7:32 this evening.
Rising with the Moon tonight will be the planet Jupiter which will appear to the left of the Moon as they rise, to the upper left of the Moon at 10 p.m. and above the Moon at midnight. NASA’s Juno spacecraft, launched in 2011, is planned to arrive at Jupiter on July 4th this year. No, it’s not a coincidence. It will orbit the planet for nearly two years. It’s the only solar-powered spacecraft that can operate as far from the Sun as Jupiter, which is 5 times farther from the Sun as the Earth, which gets one 5th squared or one twenty-fifth the intensity of sunlight. It has 3 huge solar panels making the spacecraft 66 feet wide. It’s mission is about Jupiter, its internal structure, atmosphere and magnetic and radiation fields.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the Moon animation. Note their change in position relative to each other at 8 p.m., 10 p.m. and midnight. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Chart) and GIMP.
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Closeup of Jupiter and the Moon at 10 p.m., February 23, 2016. The Moon is a whole lot brighter, and Jupiter dimmer than what’s shown here. Created using Stellarium.
The Juno spacecraft. Credit: NASA.
02/19/2015 – Ephemeris – Jupiter is beginning to take its rightful place as king of the evening sky
Ephemeris for Friday, February 19th. The Sun will rise at 7:37. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 38 minutes, setting at 6:16. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 6:10 tomorrow morning.
Jupiter is becoming noticeable in the evening sky in the east after 8 p.m. The heavy atmosphere near the horizon make telescopic observations difficult because the planet and its satellites will appear fuzzy and have color fringes top and bottom. Wait an hour or two for the planet to rise higher into quieter and thinner air to get the best telescopic views. Jupiter is accompanied by four moons in telescopes. Tonight they’re on one side of Jupiter, with Io closest, then Europa and Ganymede close to each other, while Callisto as usual appears to be the farthest satellite. The face of Jupiter itself is crossed by dark belts and light zones that run in the same direction as the satellites orbit. The moons change position from night to night.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, the Moon and stars tonight at 10 p.m., February 19, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
This image is shown smaller than actual size. Image expansion lately hasn’t worked. If you are using Firefox, right-click on the image, and then click on View Image.
Jupiter and its moons tonight, 10 p.m. February 19, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its four Galilean moons. The planet has to be over exposed to pick up the moons. But the eye can handle the brightness difference with no problem. This is one of my old pictures I do believe.
Jupiter with its Great Red Spot November 18, 2012 by Scott Anttila.
The above image by Scott Anttila is actually much better that the image seen in small telescopes. Advances in digital photography and processing allow the stacking and averaging of many images to create better pictures by amateur astronomers with modest equipment than the best telescopes of a quarter century ago.
02/17/2016 – Ephemeris – All the bright planets are in the morning sky, but two of them are trying to sneak out
Ephemeris for Wednesday, February 17th. The Sun will rise at 7:40. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 6:13. The Moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 4:39 tomorrow morning.
Let’s check out the whereabouts of the bright naked eye planets. All the classical planets visible from antiquity are officially now in the morning sky. Though Mercury is too close to the Sun to be spotted. Jupiter will rise at 7:57 p.m., in the east. Jupiter is still a morning planet since it’s not up at sunset. Mars will rise next at 1:24 a.m. in the east-southeast. It’s brighter than the bright star Spica growing even farther to the right of it.. Saturn will rise at 3:40 a.m. in the east-southeast. Venus will rise at 6:27 a.m. again in the east-southeast. Mercury is too deep in the twilight glare to be seen. Comet Catalina is up all night and is a binocular object and fading fast. At 10 p.m. is above the constellation of Cassiopeia and right of Perseus.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, the Moon and the bright winter stars at 10 p.m. February 17, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 10 p.m. February 17, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its moons as they would be seen in a telescope, at 10 p.m. February 17, 2016. Jupiter has an apparent diameter of 43.9″ Created using Stellarium.
Morning planets and the bright s tar preview of summer. Mercury, though labeled can’t compete with the bright twilight. Observers south of here may have better luck. At 7 a.m. February 18, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Mars in a telescope at high power. It’s apparent diameter is 7.9″. At 6 a.m. February 18, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and its large satellite Titan and other moons as they should appear in a telescope at 6 a.m. February 18, 2016. The planet is 16.2″ in diameter while the rigs span 37.8″. Created using Stellarium.
Comet Catalina’s path for the next week. Note that it is fading fast. It will take binoculars or a small telescope to spot the comet which will not show a tail visually. Created using Stellarium.
This is a chart showing the sunrise and sunset skies for February 17, 2016 showing the location of the planets, the Moon and Comet Catalina at that time. Created using my LookingUp program.
Some of these images above are shown smaller than actual size. Image expansion lately hasn’t worked. If you are using Firefox, right-click on the image, and then click on View Image.
02/10/2016 – Ephemeris – The morning planet gang will be around for 9 more days
Ephemeris for Ash Wednesday, Wednesday, February 10th. The Sun will rise at 7:51. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 12 minutes, setting at 6:03. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 8:53 this evening.
Let’s check out the whereabouts of the bright naked eye planets. All the classical planets visible from antiquity are officially now in the morning sky. However Jupiter actually will rise at 8:29 p.m., in the east. Jupiter is still a morning planet since it’s not up at sunset. Mars will rise next at 1:35 a.m. in the east-southeast. It’s brighter than the bright star Spica growing even farther to the right of it.. Saturn will rise at 3:40 a.m. in the east-southeast. Venus will rise at 6:25 a.m. again in the east-southeast. Mercury will rise behind Venus at 6:39. Comet Catalina is up all night and is a binocular object in the dark expanse of the constellation Camelopardalis between the bowl of the Big Dipper and the constellation of Perseus.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter low in the east-southeast at 10 p.m. on February 10th, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its moons as they would be seen in a telescope, at 10 p.m. February 10, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
The planets in the morning sky at 7 a.m. on February 11, 2016. Jupiter is far to the west. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and its large satellite Titan and other moons as they should appear in a telescope at 7 a.m. February 11, 2016.
Comet Catalina’s path for the next week. Note that it is fading fast. It will take binoculars or a small telescope to spot the comet which will not show a tail visually. Created using Stellarium.
This is a chart showing the sunrise and sunset skies for February 10, 2016 showing the location of the planets, the Moon and Comet Catalina at that time. Created using my LookingUp program.
Some of these images above are shown smaller than actual size. Image expansion lately hasn’t worked. If you are using Firefox, right-click on the image, and then click on View Image.
02/03/2016 – Ephemeris – Though a morning planet, Jupiter can be seen in the late evening
Ephemeris for Wednesday, February 3rd. The Sun will rise at 8:00. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 5:53. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 4:27 tomorrow morning.
Let’s check out the whereabouts of the bright naked eye planets. All the classical planets visible from antiquity are officially now in the morning sky. However Jupiter actually will rise at 9 p.m., in the east. Jupiter is still a morning planet since it’s not up at sunset. Mars will rise next at 1:45 a.m. in the east-southeast. It’s left of the bright star Spica. Saturn will rise at 4:05 a.m. in the east-southeast. The Moon will be below, left of it tomorrow morning. Venus will rise at 6:19 a.m. again in the east-southeast. Mercury will rise behind Venus at 6:36. Comet Catalina is up all night and is a binocular object in the dark expanse of the constellation Camelopardalis between the bowl of the Big Dipper and the W shape of Cassiopeia.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addenda
Planets
Jupiter low in the east at 10 p.m. on February 3rd, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its moons as they would be seen in a telescope, at 10 p.m. February 3, 2016. I’d wait for an hour to let Jupiter rise above the thick atmosphere near the horizon for better clarity. Created using Stellarium.
The planets in the morning sky at 7 a.m. on February 4, 2016. Jupiter is far to the west and out of this view. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and its satellite Titan as they should appear in a telescope at 7 a.m. February 4, 2016
The Moon as it should appear in binoculars tomorrow morning at 7 a.m., February 4, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Comet Catalina’s path for the next week. Note that the magnitudes for the comet are about correct. It will take binoculars or a small telescope to spot the comet which will not show a tail visually. Created using Stellarium.
This is a chart showing the sunrise and sunset skies for February 3, 2016 showing the location of the planets, the Moon and Comet Catalina at that time. Created using my LookingUp program.
Off Topic
Stellarium
I’m now using Stellarium 0.14. It can detect older PCs and will not always crash, though I’m not thrilled with how it operates and some screen faults. The Portable Apps version has a patch that can be added to the application. The instructions for the patch are in the download page. Simply search “portable apps” to get started. The portable apps version worked better than the installed version, so I use the portable apps version. It turns out that my laptop can run 0.14, while my desktop cannot. The legacy version of Stellarium is 0.12.5.
It finally cleared up. For a while.
I bought myself a DSLR camera for my birthday/Christmas present a month and a half ago. I used to do a fair amount of astrophotography back before CCDs took over. I had some point and shoot digital cameras, which were not suitable for astrophotography. My last big spurge with film was for Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.
But with the solar eclipse coming up next year the bug is biting again. I hate to brag but I’ve seen 4 total solar eclipses (1963, 1970, 1972, and 1979), plus 2 annular eclipses. I will recount my experiences with those eclipses in the year leading up to August 21, 2017.
In my film days I had developed a system for setting exposures for the Moon, planets, solar and lunar eclipses, and other possibly faint objects. It took a search to locate the data and used it when it finally cleared up on Ground Hog day. Below is one of the photos.
The fat crescent Moon at 7:02 a.m. February 2, 2016. ISO 100, 300mm focal length, f/11, 1/15 second.
01/27/2016 – Ephemeris – The Moon rises near Jupiter tonight
Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 27th. The Sun will rise at 8:07. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 36 minutes, setting at 5:43. The Moon, half way from full to last quarter, will rise at 9:43 this evening.
Let’s check out the whereabouts of the bright naked eye planets. All the classical planets visible from antiquity are officially now in the morning sky. However Jupiter actually will rise at 9:30 p.m., in the east. The Moon will be right below it tonight. Jupiter’s still a morning planet since it’s not up at sunset. Mars will rise next at 1:54 a.m. in the east-southeast. It’s below and left of the bright star Spica. Saturn will rise at 4:30 a.m. in the east-southeast. Venus will rise at 6:11 a.m. again in the east-southeast. Mercury is not favorably placed for northern hemispheric observers now. Comet Catalina is up all night and is a binocular object crossing the line from the pointer stars in the Big Dipper and the North Star Polaris tonight.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the Moon at 10 p.m. January 27, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and moons as they would appear in a telescope at 10 p.m. January 27, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon rising. Note the distortion of the atmospheric refraction squishes the Moon vertically being only a quarter-hour after it rose. 10 p.m., January 27, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
The morning planets and the Moon at 6:45 a.m., January 28, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and its moons in a telescope on the morning of January 28, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Comet Catalina’s path for the next week. Note the magnitudes for the comet are about correct. It will take binoculars or a small telescope to spot the comet which will not show a tail visually. Created using Stellarium.
This is a chart showing the sunrise and sunset skies for January 27, 2016 showing the location of the planets, the Moon and Comet Catalina at that time. Created using my LookingUp program.
Some of these images above are shown smaller than actual size. Image expansion lately hasn’t worked. If you are using Firefox, right-click on the image, and then click on View Image.
01/20/2016 – Ephemeris – The planet action is in the morning sky
Update: This is the proper text for today
Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 20th. The Sun will rise at 8:13. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 5:34. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 5:51 tomorrow morning.
Let’s check out the whereabouts of the bright naked eye planets. All the classical planets visible from antiquity are now in the morning sky. However Mercury is too close to the Sun, and may remain too low in the sky to spot when it’s farther from the Sun. Jupiter will be the first to rise, actually at 10 p.m., in the east. It’s still a morning planet since it’s not up at sunset. Mars will rise next at 2:03 a.m. in the east-southeast. It’s below and left of the bright star Spica. Saturn will rise at 4:55 a.m. in the east-southeast. Venus will rise at 6 a.m. again in the east-southeast. Comet Catalina is a binocular object between the bowls of the Big and Little Dippers. It’s heading across the tail of Draco the dragon.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Here of the morning planets. From right to left, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Venus. Time: 6:30 a.m., January 21, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its 4 Galilean moons at 6:30 a.m., January 21, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and its moons at a greater magnification as for Jupiter above at 6:30 a.m., January 21, 2016. Small telescopes will show only the moon Titan. Created using Stellarium.
Comet Catalina’s path for the next week. Note the magnitudes for the comet are about correct. It will take binoculars or a small telescope to spot the comet which will not show a tail visually. Created using Stellarium.
This is a chart showing the sunrise and sunset skies for January 20, 2016 showing the location of the planets, the Moon and Comet Catalina at that time. Created using my LookingUp program.
The top and bottom images above are shown smaller than actual size. Image expansion lately hasn’t worked. If you are using Firefox, right-click on the image, and then click on View Image.
01/13/2016 – Ephemeris – Four bright planets are in the morning sky but one more is hiding
Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 13th. The Sun will rise at 8:17. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 5:25. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 9:57 this evening.
Let’s check out the whereabouts of the bright naked eye planets. Mercury is now only one day from inferior conjunction, passing between the Earth and the Sun. The next inferior conjunction after this, May 9th Mercury will pass across the face of the Sun. In the morning sky there are four bright planets. Jupiter will be the first to rise, actually at 10:28 p.m., in the east. Mars will rise next at 2:11 a.m. in the east-southeast. It’s left of the bright star Spica. Saturn will rise at 5:19 a.m. Venus will rise at 5:47 a.m. again in the east-southeast, following Saturn. Comet Catalina is a binocular object near the star at the end of the handle of the Big Dipper named Alkaid. It’s heading to go between the Big and Little Dippers this week.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Here of the morning planets. From right to left, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Venus. Time: 6:30 a.m., January 14, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its 4 Galilean moons at 6:30 a.m., January 14, 2016. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Saturn and its moons through a telescope at 6:30 a.m., January 14, 2016. Small telescopes will show only the moon Titan. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Comet Catalina’s path for the next week. Note the magnitudes for the comet are about correct. It will take binoculars or a small telescope to spot the comet which will not show a tail visually. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
This is a chart showing the sunrise and sunset skies for January 13, 2016 showing the location of the planets, the Moon and Comet Catalina at that time. Created using my LookingUp program.
Several of the images above are shown smaller than actual size. Image expansion lately hasn’t worked. If you are using Firefox, right-click on the image, and then click on View Image.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 