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05/21/2014 – Ephemeris – All the classical naked eye planets are visible this week
Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 21st. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 1 minute, setting at 9:10. The moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 2:42 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:07.
It’s Wednesday and once again time to locate the bright planets for this week. Mercury is showing up in the west shortly after sunset, It will be at its farthest from the Sun on the 25th. It will set at 11:10. Brilliant Jupiter will be in the western sky in Gemini as darkness falls tonight. It will set at 12:44 a.m. Reddish Mars is in Virgo in the southeast as darkness falls. It will pass due south at 10:18 p.m. It’s 68 million miles (109 million km) away now, and moving away, and will set at 4:09 a.m. Saturn will be low in the southeast as darkness falls. It’s in the faint constellation of Libra the scales this year. It will pass due south at 12:54 a.m. Brilliant Venus will rise in the east at 4:37 a.m. in morning twilight.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
All the evening planets from Mercury to Saturn at 10:30 p.m. May 21, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic images of the moon and planets are not to scale.
Mercury in a telescope 10:30 p.m. May 21, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and moons in a telescope 10:30 p.m. May 21, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars in a telescope 10:30 p.m. May 21, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and its moon Titan in a telescope 10:30 p.m. May 21, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus and the Moon looking east at 5:30 a.m. May 22, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon in a telescope at 5:30 a.m. May 22, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in a telescope at 5:30 a.m. May 22, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
05/14/2014 – Ephemeris – All 5 bright planets are visible this week
Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 14th. Today the sun will be up for 14 hours and 46 minutes, setting at 9:02. The moon, at full today, will rise at 9:05 this evening. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:14.
It’s Wednesday and once again time to locate the bright planets for this week. Mercury is beginning to show up in the west shortly after sunset, It will be at its farthest from the Sun on the 25th. It will set at 10:51. Brilliant Jupiter will be in the western sky as darkness falls tonight. It will set at 1:07 a.m. Reddish Mars is in Virgo in the southeast as darkness falls. It will pass due south at 10:47 p.m. It’s 64.6 million miles away now, and moving away, and will set at 4:38 a.m. Saturn will be low in the southeast as darkness falls. It’s in the faint constellation of Libra the scales this year. It will pass due south at 1:23 a.m. Brilliant Venus will rise in the east at 4:46 a.m. in twilight.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Mercury low in the west at 9:30 p.m. May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
All the evening planets from Mercury to Saturn plus the moon at 10:30 p.m. May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mercury through a telescope on May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its moons at 10:30 p.m. May 14, 2014. Europa is being occulted by Jupiter. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Europa will disappear behind the moon at 9:48 p.m, and will reappear after Jupiter sets for northern Michigan. Places west of here will see Europa reappear before Jupiter sets.
Mars through a telescope at 10:30 p.m. on May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn through a telescope. on May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it would appear through binoculars at 10:30 p.m. May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in the east at 5:30 a.m. on May 15, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus through a telescope on May 15, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
05/07/2014 – Ephemeris – Wednesday is bright planet day here on Ephemeris
Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 7th. The sun rises at 6:24. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 8:54. The moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 3:09 tomorrow morning.
It’s Wednesday and once again time to locate the bright planets for this week. Brilliant Jupiter will be in the western sky as darkness falls tonight. It will set at 1:30 a.m. Reddish Mars is in Virgo and outshines the bright bluish star Spica below left of it as darkness falls. Mars is in the south-east as it gets dark. It will pass due south at 11:18 p.m. It’s 61.8 million miles away now, and moving away, and will set at 5:09 a.m. Saturn will rise at 8:50 p.m. It’s in the faint constellation of Libra the scales this year. It will pass due south at 1:53 a.m. Saturn will be opposite the sun in the sky this Saturday. Brilliant Venus will rise in the east at 4:56 a.m. in twilight.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The evening planets: Jupiter, Mars and Saturn with the Moon at 10 p.m. on April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium. Click to enlarge.
Jupiter with three of its bright satellites at 10 p.m. May 7, 2014. Io will go behind the planet at 10:28. Europa is in Jupiter’s shadow and will reappear at 12:04 a.m. Created using Cartes du Ciel.
Note: Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts) was used because it takes into consideration the light-time delay. Stellarium does not and showed the occultation of Io already in progress.
The Moon at 10 p.m. May 7, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars in a telescope at 10 p.m. May 7, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn with its largest moon Titan in a telescope at 10 p.m. May 7, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus low in the east at 5:30 a.m. May 8, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in a telescope at 5:30 a.m. May 8, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
04/30/2014 – Ephemeris – It’s Wednesday, do you know where your planets are?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 30th. The sun rises at 6:34. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 8:45. The moon, 1 day past new, will set at 10:25 this evening.
It’s Wednesday and once again time to locate the bright planets for this week. Brilliant Jupiter will be in the western sky as darkness falls tonight. It will set at 1:54 a.m. Reddish Mars is in Virgo and outshines the bright bluish star Spica below left of it as darkness falls. Mars is in the south-east as it gets dark. It will pass due south at 11:51 p.m. It’s 59.5 million miles away now, and moving away, and will set at 5:41 a.m. Saturn will rise at 9:24 p.m. It’s in the faint constellation of Libra the scales this year. It will pass due south at 2:23 a.m. The telescope will bring out Saturn’s beautiful rings, whose short dimensions now are as wide as the planet. Brilliant Venus will rise in the east at 5:05 a.m. and will stay pretty low to the horizon.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, the Moon and the setting winter constellations in the west at 10 p.m. on April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and satellites through a telescope at 10 p.m. on April 30, 2014. The satellite Io is being occulted by Jupiter and will reappear at 11:56 p.m. (3:56 UT May 1, 2014). Created using Stellarium.
The crescent Moon at 10 p.m. on April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars, Saturn and some spring constellation at 11 p.m. April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic view of Mars, 11 p.m. April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic view of Saturn and some of its moons at 11 p.m. April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in the twilight at 6 a.m. May 1, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic view of Venus on May 1, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
04/23/2014 – Ephemeris – Where are those bright planets this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 23rd. The sun rises at 6:45. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 8:37. The moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 4:06 tomorrow morning.
Wednesday is Bright Planets Day, or should I say classical planets day here on Ephemeris. Bright Jupiter will be in the western sky as darkness falls tonight. It will set at 2:17 a.m. Reddish Mars is in Virgo and outshines the bright bluish star Spica below it as darkness falls. Mars is up at sunset in the east. It will pass due south at 12:26 a.m. It’s 58.1 million miles (95.5 million kilometers) away now, and moving away. It will set at 6:14 a.m. Saturn will rise at 9:54 p.m. It’s in the faint constellation of Libra the scales this year. It will pass due south at 2:52 a.m. The telescope will bring out Saturn’s beautiful rings, whose short dimension now is as wide as the planet. Brilliant Venus will rise in the east at 5:14 a.m. and will stay pretty low to the horizon.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the setting winter constellations in the west at 10 p.m. on April 23, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and satellites through a telescope at 10 p.m. on April 23, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars, Saturn and some spring constellation at 10:30 p.m. April 23, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Mars. Actually Mars is much smaller in appearance than Jupiter. Interesting albedo features can be seen. For 10:30 pm. April 23, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Saturn at 11 p.m. April 23, 2014. You may want to wait a bit for it to rise some more for clearer views. Created using Stellarium.
Venus and the Moon looking eastward at 6 a.m. on April 24, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The moon as seen in binoculars at 6 a.m. on April 24, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus through a telescope at 6 a.m. April 24, 2014. Note that none of these planetary images are to the same scale. Created using Stellarium.
04/16/2014 – Ephemeris – It’s our weekly look at the classical planets
Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 16th. The sun rises at 6:56. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 31 minutes, setting at 8:28. The moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 10:14 this evening.
Wednesday is Bright Planets Day, or should I say classical planets day here on Ephemeris. Bright Jupiter will be in the western sky as darkness falls tonight. It will set at 2:42 a.m. Reddish Mars is in Virgo and outshines the bright bluish star Spica below it as darkness falls. Mars is up at sunset in the east. It will pass due south at 1:03 a.m. It’s 57.4 million miles away now, very near its closest. It will set at 6:48 a.m. Saturn will rise at 10:24 p.m. and be seen to the left of the bright moon tonight. It will pass due south at 3:22 a.m. The telescope will bring out Saturn’s beautiful rings, whose short dimension now is as wide as the planet. Brilliant Venus will rise in the east at 5:22 a.m. and will stay pretty low to the horizon.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the setting winter constellations in the west at 10 p.m. on April 16, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and satellites through a telescope at 10 p.m. on April 16, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and some low spring constellations in the southeast at 10 p.m. on April 16, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Mars. Actually Mars is much smaller in appearance than Jupiter. Interesting albedo* features can be seen. For 10 pm. April 16, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
* Albedo – reflectance value, dark and bright features. Values are 1 for perfectly reflectant (white), to 0 for black.
Saturn and the Moon rising in the southeast at 11 p.m. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Saturn at 11 p.m. April 16, 2014. You may want to wait a bit for it to rise some more for clearer views. Created using Stellarium.
Venus and Saturn at 6 a.m. April 17, 2014. Note that the Moon has scooted to the left of Saturn overnight. Created using Stellarium.
Venus through a telescope at 6 a.m. April 17, 2014. Note that none of these planetary images are to the same scale. Created using Stellarium.
04/14/2014 – Ephemeris – The total lunar eclipse is tonight after midnight.
Updated 4 p.m. EDT: See bottom of the post.
Ephemeris for Monday, April 14th. The sun will rise at 7:00. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 8:26. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:05 tomorrow morning.
We’re hoping for clear skies for tonight’s total lunar eclipse. Actually it’s in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. So if you’re a night owl, stay up tonight or otherwise catch all or part of it by setting your alarm clock. Here’s the timings: The partial phase begins as the Moon enters the earth’s inner shadow at 1:58 a.m. Totality starts at 3:06 a.m. Totality will last until 4:24,when the upper left edge of the moon again peeks into sunlight. The ending partial phase will end at 5:33 a.m. If it’s clear or at least partly cloudy there are two locations in the Grand Traverse area to view the eclipse, other than your own back yard, which is perfectly acceptable. The first is the NMC Rogers Observatory, and the other is the Dune Climb parking lot at Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The April 15, 2014 lunar eclipse simulated by Stellarium. Note that Mars and the star Spica will be nearby.
As of 24 hours before the eclipse the weather prospects don’t look good for northwestern lower Michigan or all the east coast for that matter. We’re on the edge of the clouds. The western shore Lake Michigan and parts of the U.P. may be clear. But things could change.
There will be a live webcast from University of Georgia at http://www.ccssc.org/webcast.html, who may be stuck with the same overcast we may have. Hat Tip to Spaceweather.com
There is also another live stream of the eclipse from Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. Or go to http://www.griffithobservatory.org and click on the Griffith TV button. Coverage starts at 9:45 PDT or 12:45 a.m. EDT which is a bit more than an hour before the partial phase of the eclipse starts. Hat Tip to Carla Johns of the NASA Museum Alliance for the links.
Here’s a link to the official NASA eclipse website for this eclipse.
Here’s a link to my in-depth discussion of the April 15, 2014 eclipse.
Update
Here’s another link to a live feed of the eclipse: Virtual Telescope Project.
Universe Today has more links.
The Sleeping Bear eclipse viewing has been canceled.
04/09/2014 – Ephemeris – Where are Mars and the other planets this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 9th. The sun will rise at 7:08. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 8:19. The Moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 4:40 tomorrow morning.
Wednesday is Bright Planets Day here on Ephemeris. Jupiter will be in the southwestern sky as darkness falls tonight. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. It will set at 3:06 a.m. in the west-northwest. Reddish Mars is in Virgo now above and a bit left of the bright star Spica in the late evening, which it now outshines. Mars is up at sunset in the east. It will pass due south at 1:40 a.m. It’s 57.7 million miles away now, almost as close as it will get this year. It will set at 7:23 a.m. Saturn will rise at 10:54 p.m. in the east-southeast and pass due south at 3:51 a.m.. It’s seen against the stars of Libra the scales this year. Venus will rise at 5:30 tomorrow morning and be seen low in the southeast.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, the Moon and the winter constellations at 10 p.m. on April 9, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and moons through a small telescope at 10 p.m. on April 9, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The gibbous Moon through a small telescope at 10 p.m. on April 9, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars rising at 10 p.m. on April 9, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars through a telescope at 11 p.m. on April 9, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and Saturn with some spring and summer constellations at 6 a.m. on April 10, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn through a telescope at 6 a.m. on April 10, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in twilight at 6:30 a.m. on April 10, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus through a telescope at 6:30 a.m. on April 10, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
04/02/2014 – Ephemeris – When it’s Wednesday it’s Planet Time!
Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 2nd. The sun will rise at 7:21. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 8:11. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 11:41 this evening.
Wednesday is Bright Planets Day here on Ephemeris. Jupiter will be in the south-southwestern sky as darkness falls tonight. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now, and moving slowly eastward after spending a couple of months backtracking to the west. It will set at 3:31 a.m. in the west-northwest. Reddish Mars is in Virgo now above and a bit left of the bright star Spica in the late evening, which it now outshines. Mars will rise at 8:39 p.m. It will pass due south at 2:18 a.m. It’s 58.6 million miles away now. Mars is 6 days from opposition and 12 days from closest approach this go round. Saturn will rise at 11:23 p.m. in the east-southeast and pass due south at 4:20 a.m.. It’s seen against the stars of Libra the scales this year. Venus will rise at 5:37 tomorrow morning and be seen in the southeast.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, the Moon and the winter constellations at 10 p.m. on April 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon through a small telescope at 10 p.m. on April 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and moons through a small telescope at 10 p.m. on April 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars rising at 10 p.m. on April 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars through a telescope at 11 p.m. on April 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and Saturn with some spring and summer constellations at 6 a.m. on April 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars through a telescope at 6 a.m. on April 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
In the morning Mars currently turns a more interesting face to us than in the evening. The big dark area on the lower left of Mars is Syrtis Major, which translates to the “Great Swamp”. I prefer the Latin. It is the most recognizable dark features on the planet. Where it appears on the face of Mars depends on the optical arrangement and eyepiece placement in your telescope.
Saturn through a telescope at 6 a.m. on April 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in twilight at 6:30 a.m. on April 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus through a telescope at 6:30 a.m. on April 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
03/26/2014 – Ephemeris – It’s Wednesday, do you know where the bright planets are?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 26th. The sun will rise at 7:34. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 8:02. The moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 5:31 tomorrow morning.
Wednesday is Bright Planets Day here on Ephemeris. Jupiter will be in the southern sky as darkness falls tonight. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now, and moving east after spending a couple of months backtracking to the west. It will set at 3:56 a.m. in the west-northwest. Reddish Mars is in Virgo now and left and a bit above bright star Spica in the late evening, which it now outshines. Mars will rise at 9:19 p.m. It will pass due south at 2:54 a.m. It’s 61 million miles away now. Saturn will rise at 11:53 p.m. in the east-southeast. It’s seen against the stars of Libra the scales this year. Venus will rise at 5:43 tomorrow morning. The crescent moon will appear above left of Venus then.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the winter constellations at 10 p.m. on March 26, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and the spring constellations at 10 p.m. on March 26, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn, Venus and the Moon with the constellations of summer at 6:30 a.m. on March 27, 2014. I’ve added Venus’ orbit and the ecliptic. Created using Stellarium.
Venus and the crescent Moon at 6:30 a.m. March 27, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Relative sizes of the planets as seen in a telescope using the same magnification. Created using Stellarium.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 