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10/31/2018 – Ephemeris – The bright planets tonight
Ephemeris for Halloween, Wednesday, October 31st. The Sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 13 minutes, setting at 6:32. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 1:02 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the bright planets for tonight. Three of them are visible in the evening sky. Jupiter will be barely visible very low in the west-southwest after sunset. It will set at 7:30 p.m. Saturn, the ringed planet, will start the evening low in the south-southwestern sky and will set at 9:49 p.m. Mars will be low in the south-southeast as the skies darken tonight. and is now 73.2 million miles (117.9 million km) away. Mars will be due south at 8:39 p.m., and it will set at 1:33a.m. Mars is picking up speed moving eastward, crossing the constellation of Capricornus this month. It’s currently in eastern Capricornus. Venus, now a morning planet, will rise at 7:45 tomorrow morning, 34 minutes after the Sun.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Update
I know, the content above isn’t very spooky for Halloween. However, NASA came to the rescue with their Halloween Special: Universe of Monsters. Fitting with our theme today, it’s about planets… of the Exo variety. Click here!
10/24/2018 – Ephemeris – Looking for the bright planets tonight
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 24th. The Sun will rise at 8:10. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 6:43. The Moon, at full today, will rise at 7:13 this evening.
Let’s look at the bright planets for tonight. Three of them are visible in the evening sky. Venus, though still officially an evening planet for two more days sets before the Sun because it is south of the Sun’s path. Jupiter will be very low in the west-southwest after sunset. It will set at 7:53 p.m. Saturn, the ringed planet, will start the evening low in the southwestern sky and will set at 10:14 p.m. Mars will be low in the south as the skies darken tonight. and is now 68.9 million miles (111.0 million km) away. Mars will be due south at 8:51 p.m., and it will set at 1:39 a.m. Mars is picking up speed moving eastward, crossing the constellation of Capricornus this month. It’s currently in eastern Capricornus.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
10/17/2018 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets tonight?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 17th. The Sun will rise at 8:00. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 6:54. The Moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 1:33 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the bright planets for tonight. Three of them are visible in the evening sky. Venus though still officially an evening planet sets before the Sun because it is south of the Sun’s path. Jupiter will be very low in the west-southwest as skies darken. It will set at 8:16 p.m. Saturn, the ringed planet, will start the evening low in the southwestern sky and will set at 10:39 p.m. Mars will be low in the south as the skies darken tonight. and is now 64.6 million miles (104.0 million km) away. Mars will be due south at 9:04 p.m., and it will set at 2:03 a.m. Tonight Mars will be east or left of the waxing gibbous Moon. Mars is picking up speed moving eastward, crossing the constellation of Capricornus this month.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
10/10/2018 -Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets for this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 10th. The Sun will rise at 7:51. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 14 minutes, setting at 7:06. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 8:23 this evening.
Let’s look at the bright planets today. Three of them are visible in the evening sky. The brilliant Venus will be just too low to spot, setting 9 minutes after the Sun. The problem isn’t its separation from the Sun, but it is also south of the Sun’s path. Jupiter will be in the west-southwest as it gets dark. The big planet will set at 8:40 p.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the southwestern sky and will set at 11:05 p.m. Mars will be low in the south as the skies darken tonight. and is now 60.5 million miles (97.4 million km) away. Mars will be due south at 9:19 p.m., and it will set at 2:03 a.m. Mars is beginning to pick up speed moving eastward, crossing the constellation of Capricornus this month.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
10/03/2018 – Ephemeris – This week’s look at the bright planets
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 3rd. The Sun will rise at 7:43. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 36 minutes, setting at 7:19. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 2:02 tomorrow morning
Let’s look at the bright planets today. Three of them are visible in the evening sky. The brilliant Venus will be just too low to spot, setting 29 minutes after the Sun. The problem isn’t its separation from the Sun, but it is also south of the Sun’s path. Jupiter will be in the southwest as it gets dark. The big planet will set at 9:03 p.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the south-southwest sky and will set at 11:31 p.m. I will be giving a talk about Saturn tonight at the Main branch of the library in Traverse City at 7 p.m. Mars will be low in the south-southeast as the skies darken tonight. and is now 56.7 million miles (91.3 million km) away. Mars will be due south at 9:34 p.m., and it will set at 2:03 a.m.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
09/19/2018 – Ephemeris – Wednesday is bright planet day on Ephemeris
Ephemeris for Talk Like a Pirate Day, Wednesday, September 19th. The Sun will rise at 7:26. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 7:45. The Moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 2:47 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the bright planets for this week. Four of them are visible in the evening sky. The brilliant Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 8 p.m. until it sets at 8:40 p.m. Jupiter will be in the southwest as it gets dark. It is only outshone by Venus, and the Moon. The big planet will set at 9:40 p.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the southern sky and will stay relatively low, above the Teapot of Sagittarius. It will be due south at 7:59 p.m. and will set at 12:24 a.m. Mars will be low in the south-southeast as the skies darken tonight. and is now 49.5 million miles (79.7 million km) away. Mars will be due south at 10:09 p.m., and it will set at 2:27 a.m.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
09/12/2018 – Ephemeris – Wednesday is bright planet day on Ephemeris
Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 12th. The Sun will rise at 7:18. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 40 minutes, setting at 7:59. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 9:56 this evening.
It’s Wednesday again and time to look at the bright planets. Four of them are visible in the evening sky. The brilliant Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 8:20 p.m. until it sets at 9:03 p.m. Jupiter will be in the southwest as it gets dark. It is only outshone by Venus, and the Moon, and is again brighter than Mars. Jupiter will set at 10:16 p.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the southern sky and will stay relatively low, above the Teapot of Sagittarius. It will be due south at 8:28 p.m. and will set at 12:51 a.m. Mars will be low in the south-southeast as the skies darken tonight. and is now 46.4 million miles (74.6 million km) away. Mars will be due south at 10:29 p.m., and it will set at 2:43 a.m.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The evening planets at 8:30 p.m. September 12, 2018. Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The crescent Moon as it should appear tonight in binoculars. Created using Stellarium.
Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars with the same magnification at 8:30 p.m. September 12, 2018. Yes, your eyes don’t deceive you, Venus is larger than Jupiter. Venus is 34.9 ” (seconds of arc) in diameter, while Jupiter is 33.8″. Venus is approaching us, while Jupiter is being left behind by the Earth. Mars is also shown enlarged. The global dust storm is abating, so the albedo features are beginning to be seen. 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 12, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 13th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
08/29/2018 – Ephemeris –
Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 29th. The Sun will rise at 7:01. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 23 minutes, setting at 8:24. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 10:13 this evening.
It’s our Wednesday look at the bright planets. Four of them are visible in the evening sky. The brilliant Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 8:40 p.m. until it sets at 9:44 p.m. Jupiter will be in the southwest as it gets dark. It is only outshone by Venus, the Moon, and currently Mars. Jupiter will set at 11:05 p.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the southern sky and will stay relatively low, above the Teapot of Sagittarius. It will be due south at 9:21 p.m. and will set at 1:47 a.m.. Mars will be low in the southeast as the skies darken tonight. and is now 41.3 million miles (66.6 million km) away. It will set at 3:25 a.m. Mercury will rise in the east-northeast at 5:29 a.m. and be visible until about 6:40 tomorrow morning.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The evening planets visible at 9 p.m., almost an hour after sunset. August 29th, 2018. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars with the same magnification at 9 p.m. August 29, 2018. Mars is also shown enlarged. The global dust storm is abating, so the albedo features are beginning to be seen. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Mercury seen at 6:15 a.m. August 30, 2018, about 45 minutes before sunrise. Bonus Orion appears without the possibility of frostbite. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The gibbous Moon as it should appear tomorrow morning. Created using Stellarium.
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on August 29, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 30th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
08/22/2018 – Ephemeris – All five bright planets visible now
Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 22nd. The Sun rises at 6:53. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 43 minutes, setting at 8:37. The Moon, half way from first quarter to full, will set at 4:00 tomorrow morning.
It’s Wednesday and time to look for and at the bright planets. Four of them are visible in the evening sky. The brilliant Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 9 p.m. until it sets at 10:02 p.m. Jupiter will be in the southwest as it gets dark. It is only outshone by Venus, the Moon, and currently Mars. Jupiter will set at 11:30 p.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the southern sky and will stay relatively low, above the Teapot of Sagittarius. It will be due south at 9:49 p.m. and will set at 2:15 a.m.. Mars will be low in the southeast as the skies darken tonight. and is now 38.9 million miles (62.7 million km) away. It will set at 3:51 a.m. The fifth planet Mercury will rise at 5:27 a.m. tomorrow morning.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The evening planets visible at 9:30 p.m., almost an hour after sunset. August 22nd, 2018. Also shown is the Moon. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars with the same magnification at 9:30 p.m. August 22, 2018. Mars is also shown enlarged. The global dust storm is abating, so the albedo features are beginning to be seen. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The gibbous Moon as it should appear tonight. Created using Stellarium. Stellarium.
Demonstration of the Moon’s gibbous phase with the Styrofoam moon ball we use for Project Astro held up to a light off frame to the right. The night side of the ball is illuminated a bit by the translucency of the ball, and the reflection off my hand. Note the roughness of the ball is visible only at the terminator.
My program about the Moon’s crescent phase aired last Thursday and a demonstration of it using a moonball is here.
Mercury seen at 6 a.m., about an hour before sunrise. A bonus, the constellation Orion appears without the possibility of frostbite. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on August 22, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 23rd. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
08/15/2018 – Ephemeris – Spotting the bright planets this week
Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 15th. The Sun rises at 6:45. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 3 minutes, setting at 8:48. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 11:29 this evening.
It’s Wednesday and time to look for and at the bright planets. Four of them are visible in the evening sky. The brilliant Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 9:10 p.m. until it sets at 10:20 p.m. Jupiter will be in the southwest as it gets dark. It is only outshone by Venus, the Moon, and currently Mars. Jupiter will set at 11:52 p.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the southern sky and will stay relatively low, above the Teapot of Sagittarius. It will be due south at 10:18 p.m. and will set at 2:43 a.m.. Mars will be low in the southeast as the skies darken tonight. and is now 37.3 million miles (60.1 million km) away. It will set at 4:21 a.m. It is being slowly left behind by the faster moving Earth.
The 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 visible at 10 p.m., one hour after sunset. August 15th, 2018. Also shown are the constellations. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
What the Moon might look like at 10 p.m., August 15th, 2018. Created using Stellarium.
Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars with the same magnification at 10 p.m. August 15, 2018. Jupiter’s satellite label Io is shown. However at 10 p.m. it’s occulted by Jupiter. The occultation began at 9:35 p.m. EDT (01:35 UT the 16th) and will emerge from Jupiter’s shadow at 1:02 a.m. EDT (05:02 UT) after Jupiter sets locally. Mars is also shown enlarged. It seems that the global dust storm is abating, so the albedo features are beginning to be seen. 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 August 15, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 16th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 