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11/11/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Veteran’s Day, Wednesday, November 11th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 43 minutes, setting at 5:18, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:36. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 4:00 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the southwestern sky at 8 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. Above and left it will be the somewhat dimmer Saturn. They are closing slowly, so they will cross paths on December 21st and be seen in the same telescope field that evening. Jupiter will set first tonight at 9:24 with Saturn following at 9:46. Off in the southeast at that hour will be Mars. Its distance is increasing to 47.7 million miles (76.9 million km) away. Mars will set at 4:35 tomorrow morning. Brilliant Venus will rise at 4:46 am in the east as it retreats slowly toward the Sun. Making a morning appearance this week is Mercury which will rise at 5:52 am in the east.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Evening planet finder animation for 8 pm November 11, 2020. The orange line is the ecliptic, the plane of the Earth’s orbit projected on the sky, and the path of the Sun through the year. All the planets can be found near that line. The zodiacal constellations from Taurus on the left to Capricornus on the right are shown without labels. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Mercury, Venus, and the Moon tomorrow morning November 12, 2020 at 6:30 am. The orange line is the ecliptic, the plane of the Earth’s orbit. It is the path of the Sun in the sky, The Moon is a crescent, and displayed at twice its apparent size. Over the next week Venus and Mercury will slide downward along the ecliptic in relation to the stars. Created using Stellarium.
The thin crescent Moon as it might appear in binoculars with earthshine at 6:30 am, November 12, 2020. The very dark crater visible is Grimaldi a 134 mile or 222 kilometer diameter crater named after Francesco Grimaldi a 17th century Jesuit astronomer and physicist. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of November 11/12, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 8 pm; Mars, 11 pm; Venus, 6:30 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 35.90″; Saturn, 16.07″, rings, 37.43″. Mars, 18.04″, and Venus 12.49″. Mars also displays an enlargement showing surface detail. Mars was closest to the Earth this go round on October 6. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) 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 November 11, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on 12th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
11/04/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s find the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 4th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 1 minute, setting at 5:26, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:26. The Moon, half way from full to last quarter, will rise at 8:04 this evening.
Let’s find the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the southwestern sky at 8 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. Above and left it will be the somewhat dimmer Saturn. They are closing slowly, so they will cross paths on December 21st and be in the same telescope field that evening. Jupiter will set first tonight at 9:42 with Saturn following at 10:07. Off in the southeast at that hour will be Mars. Since the it was closest 29 days ago its distance has increased to 45.0 million miles (72.4 million kilometers) away. Mars will set at 5:04 tomorrow morning. Brilliant Venus will rise at 4:29 am in the east as it retreats slowly toward the Sun. Beginning to make a morning appearance now will be Mercury rising at 5:52 a.m. in the east.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The evening planets and the Moon at 8 pm, just before the Moon will rise, tonight, November 4, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The waning gibbous Moon as it might be seen in binoculars or a small telescope at 9 pm tonight November 4, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The morning planets Venus and Mercury visible tomorrow at 6:30 am, November 5, 2020 with some of the stars of morning. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of November 4/5, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 8 pm; Mars, 10 pm; Venus, 6:30 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 36.55″; Saturn, 16.24″, rings, 37.83″. Mars, 19.34″, and Venus 12.87″. 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.) 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 November 4, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on 5th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
10/28/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 28th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 6:36, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:17. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 6:05 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the south-southwestern sky at 8 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. Left and a bit above it will be the somewhat dimmer Saturn. They are closing slowly, so they will cross paths on December 21st and be in the same telescope field that evening. Jupiter will set first tonight at 11:08 with Saturn following at 11:37. Off in the east-southeast at that hour will be Mars. Since the it was closest 22 days ago its distance has increased to 42.0 million miles (67.6 million km) away. Brilliant Venus will rise at 5:12 am in the east as it retreats slowly toward the Sun. We’ll have a big jump backwards in rise and set times next week when standard time returns.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The evening planets and the Moon at 8 pm tonight, October 28, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The waxing gibbous Moon tonight October 28, 2020 as it might appear in binoculars or a low power telescope. Created using Stellarium.
The morning planet Venus visible at 7 am October 29, 2020 with some of the stars of morning. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of October 28/29, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 8 pm; Mars, 11 pm; Venus, 7 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 37.26″; Saturn, 16.42″, rings, 38.25″. Mars, 20.27″, and Venus 13.29″. 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.) Click on the image to enlarge. 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 October 28, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on 29th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
10/21/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 21st. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 40 minutes, setting at 6:47, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:08. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 10:39 this evening.
Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the south-southwestern sky at 9 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. Left and a bit above it will be the somewhat dimmer Saturn. They are closing slowly, so they will cross paths on December 21st and be in the same telescope field that evening. Jupiter will set first tonight at 11:28 with Saturn following at midnight. Off in the east-southeast at 9 pm will be Mars. Since the it was closest 15 days ago its distance is slowly increasing to 40.1 million miles (64.6 million km) away. Brilliant Venus will rise at 4:55 am in the east as it retreats slowly toward the Sun. It’s brilliant and looks like a tiny featureless gibbous moon in telescopes.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The evening planets and the Moon at 9 pm tonight, October 21, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The waxing crescent Moon tonight October 21, 2020 as it might appear in binoculars or a low power telescope. Created using Stellarium.
The morning planet Venus visible at 7 am October 22, 2020 with some of the stars of morning. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of October 21/22, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 9 pm; Mars, 11 pm; Venus, 7 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 38.01″; Saturn, 16.61″, rings, 38.69″. Mars, 21.57″, and Venus 13.75″. 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.) 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 October 21, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on 22nd. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
10/19/2020 – Ephemeris – This zodiacal constellation seems fishy
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Monday, October 19th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 46 minutes, setting at 6:50, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:05. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 8:58 this evening.
High in the southeast at 9 p.m. are the four bright stars of the Great Square of Pegasus, the upside down flying horse. Lying along the left and bottom sides of the great square is the constellation of Pisces the fish, one of the 12 constellations of the Zodiac. Even though the constellation is called the fish, the fish themselves are not well represented in the stars. What can be traced in the stars is the rope, that’s tied to their tails, anchored at the extreme southeastern part of the constellation that is seen in the stars. It is near where the bright red planet Mars currently is. The right or western end of Pisces is the asterism, or informal constellation, of the Circlet. It’s the loop of 5 stars, the rope around the tail of one of the two fish.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Pisces finder animation showing the Great Square of Pegasus as a way to find it, though this year bright Mars will show where it is. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Mars’ apparent path for the rest of 2020 stays within Pisces. Mars doesn’t do a loop de loop as the ancients thought when they thought the Earth was motionless. It’s the effect of the Earth passing Mars in their orbits. Mars will stop its westward or retrograde motion around November 13th and resume its normal eastward motion. This view created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
10/14/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 1 minute, setting at 6:58, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:58. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 6:10 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the south-southwestern sky at 9 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. Left and a bit above it will be the somewhat dimmer Saturn. They are closing slowly, so they will cross paths on December 21st and be in the same telescope field that evening. Jupiter will set first tonight at 11:52 with Saturn following at 12:29 am. Off in the east-southeast at 9 pm will be Mars. Since the Earth passed it yesterday its distance is slowly increasing to 38.9 million miles (62.7 million kilometers) away. Brilliant Venus will rise at 4:39 am in the east as it retreats slowly toward the Sun. It’s brilliant and looks like a tiny featureless gibbous moon in telescopes.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Evening Planets animation showing Jupiter, Saturn and Mars with the constellations of the zodiac for 9 pm October 14, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
Morning planet animation for 6:45 am tomorrow October 15, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The waning thin crescent Moon about a day and a half from new. as it might be seen in binoculars with earthshine at 6:45 am tomorrow morning October 15, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of October 14/15, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 9 pm; Mars, 11 pm; Venus, 7 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 38.82″; Saturn, 16.81″, rings, 39.15″; Mars, 22.27″; and Venus 14.27″. Mars also displays an enlargement showing surface detail. Mars was closest to the Earth this go-a-round on October 6, and at opposition yesterday. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) 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 October 14, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on 15th. Click on the image to enlarge. Mars, near opposition and a bit south of the ecliptic, actually rises after sunset, so I included it in the sunset chart even though it is below the horizon at sunset. Created using my LookingUp program.
10/07/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 22 minutes, setting at 7:11, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:50. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 10:23 this evening.
Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the southern sky at 9 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. To the left of it will be the somewhat dimmer Saturn which is just about due south at that hour. They are closing slowly, so they will cross paths on December 21st. Jupiter will set first at 12:23 tomorrow morning with Saturn following at 1 am. Off in the east will be Mars which will rise at 7:33 pm. It’s now down to 38.6 million miles (62.1 million km) away, as the Earth is about to overtake it. Brilliant Venus will rise at 4:24 am as it retreats slowly toward the Sun. It looks like a tiny featureless gibbous moon in telescopes. Its clouds of sulfuric acid are quite featureless in visible light.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars arrayed from south-southwest to east at 9 pm tonight October 7, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
Venus, the Moon and Mars among the stars of winter but at 7 am October 8, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The waning gibbous Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 7 am tomorrow October 8, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of October 7/8, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 9 pm; small Mars, 9 pm; enlarged Mars, 11 pm, Venus, 7 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 39.64″; Saturn, 17.00″, rings, 39.60″. Mars, 22.56″, and Venus 14.86″. Mars also displays an enlargement showing surface detail. On the Mars enlargement the large dark feature to the upper left of center is Syrtis Major, and the bright area below it is the Hellas Basin. Mars was closest to the Earth this go-a-round on October 6. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) 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 October 7, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on 8th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
09/29/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 43 minutes, setting at 7:24, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:41. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:11 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the southern sky at 9 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. To the left of it will be the somewhat dimmer Saturn which is just about due south at that hour. They are now seemly to close a tiny bit, and they will cross paths on December 21st. Jupiter will set first at 12:48 tomorrow morning with Saturn following at 1:27 am. The next planet visible will be Mars which will rise at 8:12 pm. It’s now down to 38.8 million miles (62.5 million km) away, as the Earth very slowly overtook it by 1.0 million miles (1.5 million km) last week as the Mars will be at its closest in 7 days. Brilliant Venus will rise at 4:07 am as it retreats slowly toward the Sun.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, Saturn, the Moon and Mars arrayed from south-southwest to east at 9 pm tonight September 30, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might appear in binoculars or a small telescope tonight at 9 pm, September 30, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
Venus, Mars, the Moon and the stars of winter but at 6 am October 1, 2020. The bright star under Venus is Regulus in Leo the lion. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of September 30/October 1, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 9 pm; Mars, Midnight; Venus, 6 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 40.53″; Saturn, 17.20″, rings, 40.07″. Mars, 22.45″, and Venus 15.52″. Jupiter’s moon Io is behind the planet and will reappear at 12:02 am. Mars also displays an enlargement showing surface detail. Mars will be closest to the Earth this go-a-round on October 6. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) 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 September 30, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on October 1st. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
09/23/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look at a the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 23rd. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 7:37, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:32. The Moon, at first quarter today, will set at 11:53 this evening.
Let’s look at a the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the southern sky at 9 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. To the left of it will be the somewhat dimmer Saturn. They are now seemly to close a tiny bit since Jupiter is resuming its eastward motion, and they will cross paths in December. Jupiter will set first at 1:11 tomorrow morning with Saturn following at 1:51. The next planet visible will be Mars which will rise at 8:44 pm. Its now down to 39.8 million miles (64.0 million km) away, as the Earth very slowly overtook it by 1.5 million miles (2.6 million km) last week as the Earth is moving nearly abreast of it. Brilliant Venus will rise at 3:53 am as it retreats toward the Sun.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The planets visible at 9 pm or about an hour and a half after sunset tonight September 23, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
The first quarter Moon tonight as it might appear in binoculars or a low power telescope. Created using Stellarium.
Mars, and Venus and the morning stars at 6 am or an hour and a half before sunrise tomorrow morning September 24, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of September 23/24, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 9 pm; Mars, Midnight; Venus, 6 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 41.42″; Saturn, 17.40″, rings, 40.52″. Mars, 21.96″, and Venus 16.25″. Mars also displays an enlargement showing surface detail. Mars will be closest to the Earth this go-a-round on October 6. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) 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 September 23, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 24th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
09/16/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look at a the naked-eye planets for this week. Plus thoughts on phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 16th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 7:50, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:24. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 7:20 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at a the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter and Saturn are both low in the southern sky at 10 pm. Jupiter is the very bright one. To the left of it will be the somewhat dimmer Saturn. They are now seemly to close a tiny bit since Jupiter is resuming its eastward motion, and they will cross paths in December. Jupiter will set first at 1:37 tomorrow morning with Saturn following at 2:19. The next planet visible will be Mars which will rise at 9:15 pm. Its now down to 41.3 million miles (66.6 million kilometers) away, as the Earth slowly overtakes it at the rate of about 2.1 million miles (3.1 million kilometers) the last week as the Earth begins to pull abreast of it. Brilliant Venus will rise at 3:42 am as it retreats toward the Sun.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Planets visible at 10 pm or about 2 hours after sunset with the zodiacal constellations tonight September 16, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Mars, Venus and the zodiacal constellations and Orion at 6 am or an hour and a half before sunrise tomorrow morning September 17, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification for the night of September 16/17, 2020. Times of the display are: Jupiter and Saturn, 10 pm; Mars, Midnight; Venus, 6 am. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 42.31″; Saturn, 17.59″, rings, 40.96″. Mars, 21.24″, and Venus 17.09″. Mars also displays an enlargement showing surface detail. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) 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 September 16, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 17th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
Breaking planet news
Yesterday there were a rash of posts on social media and other sources to the effect “Is there life on Venus?” This was due to an article released in Nature Astronomy that the compound phosphine was discovered in the Venusian atmosphere. Phosphine (PH3) on the Earth, at least, is mostly produced by life processes. I’m still absorbing all of this so check out articles by Dr. Phil Plait (The Bad Astronomer) and Steven Novella (Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe) for less technical takes on the discovery.
Venus is the subject of two of the four proposed discovery program missions that NASA announced this past June. one of them DAVINCI+ will be looking at the atmospheric chemistry and might get a boost and some tweaks due to the phosphine discovery. DAVINCI+ will drop through the atmosphere. The best mission for this would be a balloon floating in the Venusian atmosphere above the sulfuric acid clouds. The Russians did it in 1986. Anyway any mission to Venus is many years away.
I’ll have more for the Ephemeris program itself when I know more.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 