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10/30/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets and Comet ISON now?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 30th. The sun will rise at 8:17. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 16 minutes, setting at 6:33. The moon, half way from last quarter to new, will rise at 5:01 tomorrow morning.
Let’s check out the bright planets. Venus is brilliant in the west southwest after sunset. Friday it will be at its greatest separation or elongation from the sun. Venus will set at 8:44 p.m. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 10:55 p.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. It will pass due south at 6:31 a.m. Mars will rise at 3:08 a.m. also in the east northeast. Reddish Mars is below and left of the slightly brighter star Regulus in Leo now. It’s in the east at 6 a.m. Comet ISON is two-thirds the distance below Mars that Mars is below Regulus and nearly in line with the two. My guesstimate for magnitude is about 9, probably visible in telescopes. I haven’t seen it since earlier this month.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus in twilight at 7:15 p.m. on October 30, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Mars at 6:30 a.m. October 31, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Closeup of the Moon at 6:30 a.m. on October 31, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Comet ISON for October 30 to November 5, 2013. Created using Cartes du Ciel.
Click on the images to enlarge.
10/23/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets and Comet ISON for this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 23rd. The sun will rise at 8:08. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 35 minutes, setting at 6:44. The moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 10:08 this evening.
Time again to check out the bright planets. Venus is brilliant in the west southwest after sunset. It will set at 8:44 p.m. The next planetary action will have to wait till after 11 p.m. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 11:21 p.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. It will pass due south at 6:57 a.m. Mars will rise at 3:14 a.m. also in the east northeast. Reddish Mars is below and left of the slightly brighter star Regulus in Leo now. It’s in the east at 6 a.m. Comet ISON is a bit less than half the distance below Mars that Mars is below Regulus and in line with the two. The bright moon will interfere with spotting it. My guesstimate for magnitude is about 9.5, probably visible in telescopes if the moon wasn’t out.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum:
Venus low in the west southwest at 7:30 p.m. on October 23, 2013. Created using Stellarium
Jupiter, Mars and the Moon with the Winter and some spring constellations at 6:30 a.m. on October 24, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
The moon’s phase the morning of October 24, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and Comet ISON daily track from October 24th to the 30th, 2013. Be sure to match Mars dates with the comet dates. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
10/16/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets and Comet ISON this week
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 16th. The sun will rise at 7:59. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 56 minutes, setting at 6:55. The moon, 2 days before full, will set at 6:30 tomorrow morning.
Time again to check out the bright planets. Venus is brilliant in the west southwest after sunset it will set at 8:46 p.m.. We are losing Saturn in the sun’s glare for a few months. The rest of the planetary action will be in the morning sky, though the giant planet Jupiter will rise before midnight at 11:47 a.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. By 6 a.m it will be high in the southeast, the brightest object in that direction. Mars will rise at 3:19 a.m. also in the east northeast. It’s near Leo’s brightest star Regulus at the bottom of the constellation’s backward question mark. It’s in the east at 6 a.m. Comet ISON is about two moon width’s to the upper left of Mars, but the bright moon will interfere with spotting it.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus low in the west southwest at 7:45 p.m. on October 16, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Mars with the winter stars and constellations at 6 a.m., October 17, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and Comet ISON at 6 a.m. from October 17 to October 23, 2013. Star magnitude limit is 12. Created using Sky Charts (Cartes du Ciel)
10/15/2013 – Ephemeris – Correction to last Thursday’s Comet ISON program
Ephemeris for Tuesday, October 15th. The sun will rise at 7:58. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 6:57. The moon, 3 days before full, will set at 5:21 tomorrow morning.
Last week I went out to verify the statement that Comet ISON was visible in binoculars that I talked about last Thursday. That turned out to be incorrect. After two failed attempts last Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from my back yard. I had to find a darker location to out flank Traverse City and try to spot the comet with my 11 inch telescope. The comet turned out to be a faint smudge in the indicated spot. The sky wasn’t even dark in that direction, almost due east due to zodiacal light, visible on autumn mornings due to dust in the inner solar system. Zodiacal light is usually hard to spot until it becomes a nuisance. Advanced amateurs have indeed photographed it, tail and all, but visually the comet isn’t much at this stage.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Comet ISON and Mars at 6 a.m. for 7 days starting October 10, 2013. Created using SkyCharts (Cartes du Ciel).
I’ll have a new weekly chart tomorrow. Mars and Comet ISON are sliding past Regulus now. See spaceweather.com for images of Comet ISON. By the end of this week the Moon’s light will interfere.
10/09/2013 – Ephemeris – The Bright planets and Comet ISON for this week
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 9th. The sun will rise at 7:50. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 7:08. The moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 10:32 this evening.
Time again to check out the bright planets. Mercury has an unfavorable greatest elongation from the sun today. It’s too close to the horizon for all but the best observers to spot. Almost the same can be said of Saturn, right of and a bit below Venus tonight. Binoculars may be needed to it. Saturn will set at 8:15 while Venus will set at 8:50 p.m.. We are losing Saturn in the sun’s glare for a few months. The rest of the planetary action will be in the morning sky. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 12:12 a.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. By 6 a.m it will be high in the southeast, the brightest object in that direction. Mars will rise at 3:25 a.m. also in the east northeast. It’s nearing Leo.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus, Saturn and the Moon in the west southwest at 8 p.m. October 9, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Closeup of the moon. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Mars with the winter stars and constellations at 6 a.m., October 10, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Comet ISON and Mars at 6 a.m. for 7 days starting October 10, 2013. Created using SkyCharts (Cartes du Ciel).
Note that the comet is somewhat dimmer than predicted and barely visible in binoculars. The tail may not be visible except in photographs. I can’t really say since I haven’t seen it yet.
10/08/2013 – Ephemeris – Comet ISON spotted from Mars
Ephemeris for Tuesday, October 8th. The sun will rise at 7:49. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 7:09. The moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 9:36 this evening.
Tonight look in the southwest at 8 p.m. or so to see the crescent moon to the upper left of Venus. In other news last week Sunday the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took photographs of Comet ISON. These have been posted on the Internet. Google ISON Mars. The Satellite’s HiRISE camera wasn’t built for the task, and only revealed a faint blob of light. Earth bound amateur astronomers can do a lot better. The images are posted on the University of Arizona’s web site and are not affected by government shutdown. Any images of the comet from the Curiosity rover will have to wait until the shutdown is over to be posted. Operators of the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers are still at work since ongoing space operations are deemed essential.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
HiRISE images of Comet ISON on Sept. 29, 2013. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.
10/02/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets and one dim comet?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 2nd. The sun will rise at 7:41. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 38 minutes, setting at 7:20. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 6:14 tomorrow morning.
Time again to check out the bright planets. Saturn and Venus will be at the same height above the west southwestern horizon. Dimmer Saturn will be to the right of Venus by one and a half widths of a fist held at arm’s length. Binoculars may be needed to Saturn. Saturn will set at 8:40, while Venus will set at 8:56 p.m.. We are losing Saturn in the sun’s glare for a few months. The rest of the planetary action will be in the morning sky. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 12:36 a.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini this viewing season. By 6 a.m it will be high in the southeast, the brightest object in that direction. Mars will rise at 3:30 a.m. also in the east northeast. It’s in the east at 6 a.m.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus and Saturn low on the west southwestern horizon along with Saturn at 8:15 p.m. on October 2, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
I was out at the Lanphier Observatory of the Leelanau School in Glen Arbor Michigan Monday evening about this time, to show Venus to the audience for Andrea Wulf’s talk about some of her book Chasing Venus. If the book is like her talk, it should be fabulous. It’s about the 18th century expeditions of many nation to view a pair of transits of Venus in order to determine the size of the solar system. Anyway the sky was like this with Venus setting over the low Sleeping Bear Dunes across Sleeping Bear Bay.
Jupiter, Mars with the winter stars and constellations at 6 a.m. on October 3, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
The tracks of Mars and Comet ISON at 6 a.m. from October 3 to 9, 2013. The comet may still be too faint to view in binoculars. Chart created using Cartes duCiel.
The yellow line is the ecliptic. The blue line is the constellations lines for Leo. Comet ISON positions are blue dots. It’s too far away for the software to show a tail.
09/25/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 25th. The sun will rise at 7:33. It’ll be up for 12 hours, setting at 7:33. The moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 11:26 this evening.
Time again to check out the bright planets. Saturn and Venus will be at the same height above the west southwestern horizon. Dimmer Saturn will be to the right of Venus by nearly the width of a fist held at arm’s length. Binoculars may be needed to spot it. Venus will set at 9:04 p.m., while Saturn will set at 9:06. We will soon lose Saturn in the sun’s glare for a few months. The rest of the planetary action will be in the morning sky. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 12:59 a.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini this viewing season. By 6 a.m it will be high in the east southeast, the brightest object in that direction. Mars will rise at 3:34 a.m. also in the east northeast. It’s in the east at 6 a.m.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus and Saturn at 8:30 p.m. on September 25, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Mars against the winter constellations at 6 a.m., September 26, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Detail of the Moon at 6 a,m. on September 26, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
09/18/2013 – Ephemeris – Saturn and Venus appear closest tonight and the rest of the bright planets
Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 18th. The sun will rise at 7:25. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 7:46. The moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:38 tomorrow morning.
Time again to check out the bright planets. Saturn and Venus will be closest together tonight, low in the southwest after sunset. Dimmer Saturn will be on top. Binoculars may be needed to spot it. Venus will set at 9:13 p.m., while Saturn will set at 9:32. We will soon lose Saturn in the sun’s glare for a few months. The rest of the planetary action will be in the morning sky. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 1:22 a.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini this viewing season. By 6 a.m it will be high in the east southeast, the brightest object in that direction. Mars will rise at 3:39 a.m. also in then east northeast. It is a bright reddish second magnitude star passing through Cancer now.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus and Saturn at 8:30 p.m. on September 18, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Mars against the constellations of Winter at 6 a.m. on September 18, 2013
09/11/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are all the bright planets this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 11th. The sun will rise at 7:16. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 43 minutes, setting at 8:00. The moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 11:39 this evening.
Lets see what bright planets are out this week. Venus is now brilliant low in the west southwestern sky in evening twilight. It will set at 9:24 p.m. Saturn is about 8 degrees above and to the left of Venus. That’s a bit less that the width of a fist held at arm’s length. It has a date with Venus on the 18th. Saturn will set at 9:58 p.m. After midnight Jupiter will rise at 1:45 a.m. in the east northeast. Jupiter is seen among the stars of Gemini this year. The red planet Mars will rise at 3:43 a.m. Currently it is moving rapidly eastward through Cancer. At about 6 a.m. Jupiter will be the brightest star-like object in the east, with Mars visible below and left by two and a half widths of your fist held at arm’s length.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn and Venus at 9 p.m. September 11, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Mars with a preview of the winter constellations at 6 a.m. September 12, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 