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01/07/2015 – Ephemeris – Lets take our first looks at the bright planets and a pretty bright comet
Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 7th. The sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 5:18. The moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 8:10 this evening.
Lets take our first look at the bright planets for 2015. Mercury is visible below right of Venus by about 2 moon widths low in the southwest shortly after sunset. On Saturday Mercury will be its closest to Venus. Mercury will set at 6:38, while Venus will set at 6:44 p.m. They will be visible low in the southwestern twilight by 6 p.m. Mars is low in the southwest at 7 p.m. and is in the constellation of Capricornus and will cross the boundary into Aquarius tomorrow. The Red Planet will set tonight at 8:37 p.m. Jupiter will rise in the east at 8:02 p.m. It’s near the sickle-shaped head of Leo the lion. Early risers will be able to spot Saturn which will rise in the east-southeast at 4:46 a.m. On the 18th it will cross the border from Libra to Scorpius.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Animation of the Quasi-conjunction of Venus and Mercury. Time span 1/05/2015 to 1/15/2015 at 7 p.m. Created by Bob Moler using Stellarium and GIMP.
Note that Mercury gets dimmer as the days go by. This is because its phase moves from gibbous to half illuminated on the 14th at its greatest elongation from the Sun.
Mars and the setting constellations, with constellation boundaries in red. at 7 p.m. on January 7, 2015. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter, the Moon and the winter constellations at 10 p.m. on January 7, 2015. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as seen through binoculars at 10 p.m. on January 7, 2015. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its satellites as seen through a telescope at 10 p.m. on January 7, 2015. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and the spring constellations at 7 p.m. on January 8, 2015. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and satellites through a telescope at 7 a.m. January 8, 2015. Note that the moons other than Titan will be difficult to spot. Created using Stellarium.
Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy)
Comet Lovejoy track for January 7 to January 13, 2015. Despite the magnitudes being less than 6, binoculars will, most likely, be needed to spot it. Every other day is marked with month-day and magnitude of the comet.
12/31/2014 – Ephemeris – A New Year’s look at the bright planets and a comet
Ephemeris for New Years Eve, Wednesday, December 31st. The sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 5:11. The moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 4:42 tomorrow morning.
Lets take a last look at the bright planets for 2014. Mercury joins Venus low in the southwest. It will be below and right of Venus and will set at 6:07 p.m. Venus is low in the southwest shortly after sunset. It now sets at 6:26 p.m., an hour and 15 minutes after the sun. It will be seen low in the southwestern twilight by 5:55 p.m. Mars is low in the southwest at 7 p.m. and is in the constellation of Capricornus. The Red Planet will set tonight at 8:36 p.m. Jupiter will rise in the east at 8:33 p.m. It’s near the sickle-shaped head of Leo. Jupiter is now moving slowly westward. This is an effect that happens because the Earth is passing Jupiter, a motion shared by all the planets that baffled the ancients who thought the Earth to be motionless. Early risers will be able to spot Saturn which will rise in the east-southeast at 5:10 a.m.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Mercury, Venus and Mars are seen in the southwestern sky shortly after sunset. In this case 5:45 p.m. December 31, 2014, only 34 minutes after sunset. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter, the Moon and the winter constellations at 9:30 p.m. December 31, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it will appear in binoculars at 9:30 p.m. December 31, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter seen through a telescope at 9:30 p.m. December 31, 2014. Note that Ganymede and Europa will appear very close to each other. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and the late spring and early summer constellations at 7 a.m. New Year’s Day 2015. Created using Stellarium.
Comet Lovejoy
Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) plotted for 9 p.m. from 12/31/2014 to 1/06/2015. Created using Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts).
12/24/2014 – Ephemeris – Twas the night before Christmas and only the planets and a comet were stirring
Ephemeris for Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24th. The sun will rise at 8:17. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:06. The moon, 3 days past new, will set at 8:37 this evening.
Twas the night before Christmas and only the planets were stirring. Venus is low in the southwest shortly after sunset. It now sets at 6:09 p.m., 63 minutes after the sun. It will be tough to spot at all. New Year’s Eve might be a good time to start to see it. Mars, low in the southwest at 7 p.m. has the Moon just to the right of it tonight. Mars will set tonight at 8:34 p.m. Jupiter, which will be our Christmas Star this year will rise in the east at 8:59 p.m. It’s near the sickle shaped head of Leo. Jupiter is now moving slowly westward. This is an effect that happens because the Earth is passing Jupiter, a motion shared by all the planets that baffled the ancients who thought the Earth to be motionless. Saturn will rise in the east-southeast at 5:34 a.m.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addenda
The Planets tonight
Venus low on the horizon, and the Moon, at 5 30 p.m. on December 24, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The crescent Moon through binoculars, at 5 30 p.m. on December 24, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and the Moon at 7:30 p.m. on December 24, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and the winter constellations at 11 p.m. on December 24, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter with three hidden satellites, with only Callisto showing at 11 p.m. on December 24, 2014. See blow by blow of the satellite disappearances below. Created using Stellarium.
Jovian satellite events of the night of December 24-25, 2014
Ganymede starts eclipse (enters Jupiter’s shadow) 6:20 p.m.
Europa starts eclipse 8:27p.m.
Io’s shadow starts crossing Jupiter 9:32 p.m.
Ganymede leaves Jupiter’s shadow 10:00 p.m.
Ganymede starts being occulted by Jupiter 10:11 p.m.
Io’s transit across the face of Jupiter starts 10:29 p.m.
Io’s shadow leaves the face of Jupiter 11:50 p.m.
Io’s transit of Jupiter ends 12:46 a.m.
Europa’s occultation by Jupiter ends 1:10 a.m.
Ganymede’s occultation by Jupiter ends 1:50 a.m.
Note that Europa’s occultation by Jupiter starts before its eclipse ends, so unlike the more distant Ganymede there isn’t an interval of visibility between the two.
Jovian satellite event timings provided by Project Pluto www.projectpluto.com
Saturn low in the east-southeast among the constellations of late spring and early summer at 6:30 a.m. on Christmas morning 2014 . Created using Stellarium.
Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy)
Normally my Ephemeris program deals with celestial objects that are visible to the naked eye. While Comet Lovejoy will, for a few weeks become brighter than 6th magnitude the normal limit for the unaided human eye, a comet is a diffuse object and always looks dimmer than a star of the same magnitude. This comet was discovered August 17, 2014 by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy. He has discovered 5 comets. His most famous find was C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) that buzzed the Sun and survived becoming a magnificent comet for southern hemisphere observers.
Recently Comet Lovejoy became brighter than expected. The data for the charts below are from Minor Planet Center and do not include new brightness estimates that include the outburst. They have the comet reaching magnitude 4.9. The aerith.net website gives the maximum brightness next month of 4. (Magnitudes are like golf scores the lower the magnitude the brighter the object). Each magnitude step is a brightness difference of about 2 and a half times. To check on the comet go to http://www.aerith.net/comet/weekly/current.html. Currently Comet Lovejoy is the brightest comet now visible and is the first comet on the list. Clicking on the comet ‘s name will give you the comet’s page. The last chart on the page is a chart tracking the comet’s brightness from reports vs. prediction. That chart predicts a magnitude of 4 just after the first of the year.
Photographs of the comet show a gaseous coma (head) and a very faint ion tail, which may not be visible visually in binoculars and telescopes. Right now the comet is highest around midnight.
The finder charts below designate the comet by month-day and the predicted magnitude
Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) at 11 p.m. at 2 day intervals from tonight 12/24/2014 to 1/17/2015. Created using Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts).
Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) at 8 p.m. at 2 day intervals from tonight 1/17/2015 to 2/12/2015. Created using Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts).
On December 28th Comet Lovejoy will appear to pass the globular cluster M79.
Comet Lovejoy and M79 a distant globular star cluster, in the constellation of Lepus the hare, will appear together at 11 p.m. December 28th, 2014. Note the that M79 is the unlabeled blue dot in the tail of the comet, next to the head. Created using Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts).
12/17/2014 – Ephemeris – Your weekly look at the bright planets
Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 17th. The sun will rise at 8:13. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:03. The moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 4:19 tomorrow morning.
Venus is slowly moving from around the sun into the evening sky. It now sets at 5:55 p.m., 52 minutes after the sun. It will be tough to spot at all New Year’s Eve might be a good time to start to see it. Mars is still low in the southwest at 7 p.m. It’s now moving through the constellation of Capricornus and will set tonight at 8:32 p.m. Jupiter, which will be our Christmas Star this year will rise in the east at 9:32 p.m. It’s near the sickle-shaped head of Leo. Jupiter has just started to turn from eastward or direct motion to retrograde, or westward motion among the stars. This is an effect that happens because the Earth is passing Jupiter, a motion shared by all the planets that baffled the ancients who thought the Earth to be motionless. Saturn will rise in the east-southeast at 5:58 a.m.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus at Sunset. Only 7 degrees above the horizon. Created using Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts).
Mars and the constellations plus the ecliptic (red line) at 7 p.m. on December 17, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and the winter constellations at 11 p.m. on December 17, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and moons in a telescope. The moons Io, Europa and Ganymede all will be moving away from Jupiter over the evening and morning. Image as of 11 p.m. December 17, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter’s Retrograde motion. Created using Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts).
Saturn and the Moon at 7 a.m. on December 18, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it would appear in binoculars on December 18, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
12/10/2014 – Ephemeris – Two holdout planets in the evening sky
Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 10th. The sun will rise at 8:08. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 5:02. The moon, half way from full to last quarter, will rise at 9:23 this evening.
In reviewing which planets are visible tonight, it looks like we’re still down to two. Venus, Saturn and Mercury are still hanging near the direction of the Sun. It will be a little while before we see them again. However we can see Mars, which will be low in the southwest at 7 p.m. It will set at 8:30 p.m. Mars’ setting time will slowly advance 5 minutes between now and the end of the year. Normal setting times for stars and planets decrease by 4 minutes a night or about a half hour a week. Mars is moving northeastward in the sky and is counteracting that. Jupiter will rise at 10 p.m. in the east-northeast. The best views in a telescope may have to wait for at least an hour after that. Jupiter is a wonderful sight in a telescope.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Mars low in the southwest at 7 p.m. December 10, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and the Moon low in the east at 11 p.m. December 10, 2014. On the evening of the 11th the Moon will appear below Jupiter. Created using Stellarium.
The moon as it would appear in binoculars at 11p.m. December 10, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its moon as seen in a telescope. at 11 p.m. December 10, 2014. Note that Europa and Ganymede appear very close. They will move closer until 5 a.m. when they will appear at their closest. Created using Stellarium.
12/03/2014 – Ephemeris – Bright planets: One early and one late
Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 3rd. The sun will rise at 8:01. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 1 minute, setting at 5:03. The moon, 3 days before full, will set at 5:48 tomorrow morning.
In reviewing which planets are visible tonight, it looks like we’re still down to two. Venus, Saturn and Mercury are hanging around near the direction of the Sun. It will be a little while before we see them again. However we can see Mars, which will be low in the southwest at 7 p.m. It will set at 8:29 p.m. Mars’ setting time will slowly advance only 6 minutes between now and the end of the year. Jupiter will rise at 10:28 p.m. in the east-northeast. The best telescopic views will have to wait a couple of hours after that. So if you’re more of an early bird rather than a night owl it might be better to view Jupiter with a telescope in the morning. Jupiter has those four bright moons that change position daily, and sometimes while you watch.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Mars in the southwest at 7 p.m. December 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
A binocular view of what the moon will look like at 7 p.m. December 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter rising with the winter constellations at 11 p.m., December 3, 2014. We’re actually looking at the eastern half of the sky. Created using Stellarium.
At 6 a.m. December 4, 2014 Jupiter and the winter constellations will swing into the southwest while out of the view the spring and early summer stars take over the eastern sky. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic view of Jupiter at 6 a.m. December 4, 2014. The moons on the left in order from left to right are Callisto, Ganymede and Europa. In the next hour the moons will appear to get even closer together, especially Ganymede and Callisto. Created using Stellarium.
11/26/2014 – Ephemeris – Where did all the planets go?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 26th. The sun will rise at 7:53. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 12 minutes, setting at 5:06. The moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 9:41 this evening.
In reviewing which planets are visible tonight, it looks like we’re down to two. Venus, Saturn and Mercury are hanging around near the direction of the Sun. It will be a while before we see them again. However we can see Mars, which will be low in the southwest at 7 p.m. It will set at 8:29 p.m. Mars’ setting time will slowly advance only 6 minutes between now and the end of the year. Jupiter will rise at 10:54 p.m. in the east-northeast. The best telescopic views will have to wait a couple of hours after that. So if you’re more of an early bird rather than a night owl it might be better to view Jupiter with a telescope in the morning. Jupiter has those four bright moons that change position daily, and sometimes while you watch.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Mars with the crescent Moon at 7 p.m. on November 26, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The crescent moon as it would appear in binoculars at 7 p.m. on November 26, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter rising with the winter constellations at 11:30 p.m. on November 26, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter with the winter constellations at 6:30 a.m. on November 27, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter as seen in a telescope at 6:30 a.m. on November 27, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
11/19/2014 – Ephemeris – Where did all the bright planets go?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 19th. The sun will rise at 7:44. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 5:10. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 5:34 tomorrow morning.
In reviewing which planets are visible tonight, it looks like we’re down to two. Venus, Saturn and Mercury are hanging around near the direction of the Sun. It will be a while before we see them again. However we can see Mars, which will be low in the southwest at 7 p.m. It will set at 8:29 p.m. Jupiter will rise at 11:20 p.m. in the east-northeast. The best telescopic views will have to wait a couple of hours after that. So if you’re more of an early bird rather than a night owl it might be better to view Jupiter with a telescope in the morning. Jupiter has those four bright moons that change position daily, and sometimes while you watch if they appear close enough to each other. On the planet are cloud bands and the elusive Great Red Spot.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Mercury, Saturn and Venus appear near the Sun near sunset at 5 p.m. on November 19, 2014. Displayed planets as their symbols. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Mars and the setting summer constellations at 7 p.m. on November 19, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and the rising winter constellations at midnight November 20, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter with winter and spring constellations at 6:30 a.m. on November 20, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and moons through a telescope at 6:30 a.m. on November 20, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
11/12/2014 – Ephemeris – A look at the bright planets for this week.
Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 12th. The sun will rise at 7:35. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 5:17. The moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 10:38 this evening.
Tonight Mars will be low in the southwest at 7 p.m. It will set at 8:30 p.m. Jupiter now rises before midnight at 11:45 p.m. The best telescopic views will have to wait a couple of hours. Better to view Jupiter in the morning. The planet Mercury is making its autumn morning appearance now, rising in the east-southeast at 6:19 a.m. By 6:45 or so it should be visible low in the eastern sky, below and left of the star Spica, of about the same brightness, but has a bluish tinge in binoculars. Mercury is brightening as moves away from us and its phase appears fuller. Being close in to the sun its distance doesn’t vary by much so its brightness is governed more by its phase. Its separation from the sun is now down to 14.5 degrees.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Mars and setting summer constellations at 7 p.m. on November 12, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and the Moon rising at midnight on November 13, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as seen in binoculars at midnight November 13, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The morning sky including the Moon, Jupiter and Mercury at 6:30 a.m. on November 13, 2014.
Jupiter and moons through a telescope at 6:30 a.m. November 13, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mercury in twilight showing also its orbit. No, you won’t see that in the real sky. Mercury is sliding back from its peak a couple of weeks ago. 7 a.m. on November 13, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
11/05/2014 – Ephemeris – This week there’s one bright planet in the early evening and two in the morningf
Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 5th. The sun will rise at 7:25. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 1 minute, setting at 5:26. The moon, 1 day before full, will set at 6:56 tomorrow morning.
Tonight Mars will be low in the southwest at 7 p.m. It will set at 8:32 p.m. The sky will stay devoid of bright planets until Jupiter rises at 12:13 a.m. Jupiter is visible this morning in twilight an hour earlier than last week, in the south-southeast along with the brighter stars of winter, a preview of colder evenings to come. The planet Mercury is making its autumn morning appearance now, rising in the east-southeast at 5:48 a.m. By 6:20 or so it should be visible low in the sky. Mercury is brightening as moves away from us and its phase becomes fuller. Being close in to the sun its distance doesn’t vary by much so its brightness is governed more by its phase. Its separation from the sun is now an 18 degree angle and slowly decreasing.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Mars and the bright Moon at 7 p.m. on November 5, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The nearly full Moon as it would be seen in binoculars at 7 p.m. on November 5, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Panorama of the morning sky at 6 a.m. with Jupiter and the just risen Mercury, with the Moon hanging on in the west. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and moons as seen in a telescope at 6 a.m., November 6, 2014. The moon Io, visible earlier in the morning, is hiding behind the planet. Created using Stellarium.
Mercury low in the east at 7 a.m., November 6, 2014. Note its altitude is 11 degrees above the flat horizon. Also shown is Mercury’s orbit. Created using Stellarium.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 