Mercury | Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris: 01/22/2025 – Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

January 22, 2025 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 5:38, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:10. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 3:07 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. At 8 PM this evening four of the five naked eye planets will be out. Starting from the West we have Venus the brightest of all low in the west southwest. Directly below it will be the much dimmer Saturn. Jupiter, the second-brightest planet will be high in the southeast. Below and right of it is the letter V shape of stars that is the head of Taurus the bull. Farther below is the spectacular constellation of Orion the hunter. The 4th planet out is Mars, the third brightest planet now, with its distinctive reddish hue, near the star Pollux in Gemini. The fifth naked eye planet, Mercury, is too close to the Sun in the morning to be visible.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

An 8 PM January 22, 2025, planet panorama. — An 8 PM January 22, 2025 planet panorama. Venus and Saturn are in the west-southwest, and Jupiter is in the southeast. Mars is in the east. The orange line is the ecliptic, the path of the Sun in the sky, and near which all the planets are seen. Also shown are the zodiacal constellations. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.

*The Moon as it might appear through a small telescope tomorrow morning, January 23, 2025. Selected features are labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice draw, and GIMP.*

Telescopic Saturn, Venus, Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. All the planets are shown for tonight, 8 PM, January 22, 2025. Apparent diameters: *Saturn 16.1″, its rings 37.5″, 3.3 degrees from edge on (closing);* Venus 28.4″, 43.8% illuminated; Jupiter 44.6″; Mars, 14.3″. Planetary surface detail is more subtle than shown here. Jupiter’s moon Europa is behind the planet and will reappear on the east or trailing side of the planet around midnight EST (5:00 UT). The ” means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on January 22, 2025. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 23rd. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.

This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, January 22 and 23, 2025. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others not. The transit column is the time that the body crosses the meridian and is due south. Elong, for elongation, is the angle between the Sun and that body. RA is right ascension, which is the object’s east-west position on the celestial sphere in hours and minutes. Dec is declination which is the north-south position of the object on the celestial sphere in degrees and minutes. R is the distance of that object from the Sun in astronomical units. An astronomical unit is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. And Delta is the distance of that object from the Earth, also in astronomical units. I omit the ‘m’ in am and pm for compactness. The data was generated using my LookingUp for DOS app and displayed as a table by my Ephemeris Helper app.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing, Planets Tags: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

Ephemeris: 01/15/2025 – Our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

January 15, 2025 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 15th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 12 minutes, setting at 5:28, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:15. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 7:27 this evening.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. At 8 PM this evening four of the five naked eye planets will be out. Starting from the West we have Venus the brightest of all low in the west southwest. Left and a bit above it is Saturn. They will appear at their closest Friday and Saturday nights. Jupiter, the second-brightest planet will be high in the southeast. The 4th planet out is Mars, which is at opposition from the Sun tonight. Mars will not get this close to the Earth again until 2031. It shines with its reddish hue a third as bright as Jupiter in the eastern sky. On unusually close approaches, Mars can actually outshine Jupiter. The fifth naked eye planet, Mercury, is too close to the Sun on the morning side to be visible.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

A 8 PM January 15, 2025 planet panorama. Venus and Saturn are in the west-southwest, and Jupiter is in the southeast. Mars is in the east-northeast. The waning gibbous Moon is rising in the east-northeast. The first magnitude stars are also named. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.

*The Moon tonight at 9 PM, January 15, 2025, as it might appear in a small telescope. Selected features are labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.*

Translations of some lunar feature names according to Virtual Moon Atlas

Mare Cognitum – Sea of Knowledge
Mare Crisium – Sea of Crises
Mare Fecunditatis – Sea of Fruitfulness
Mare Frigoris – Sea of Cold
Mare Humorum – Sea of Moisture
Mare Imbrium – Sea of Showers
Mare Nectaris – Sea of Nectar
Mare Nubium – Sea of Clouds
Mare Serenitatis – Sea of Serenity
Mare Tranquillitatis – Sea of Tranquility
Mare Vaporum – Sea of Vapors
Montes Alpes – Alps Mountains
Montes Apenninus – Apennines Mountains
Oceanus Procellarum – Ocean of Storms
Sinus Iridium – Bay of Rainbows
Sinus Medii – Central Bay

Mare is pronounced Mar-e. Craters are named for persons, real or otherwise.

Telescopic Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. All the planets are shown for tonight, 8 PM, January 15, 2025. Apparent diameters: Venus 26.1″, 47.8% illuminated; Saturn 16.2″, its rings 37.8″, 3.7 degrees from edge on (closing); Jupiter 45.5″; Mars, 14.6″. Planetary surface detail is more subtle than shown here. Jupiter’s moon Europa is behind the planet and will reappear on Callisto’s side of the planet at 9:22 PM (2:22 UT). The ” means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on January 15, 2025. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 16th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.

This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, January 15 and 16, 2025. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others not. The transit column is the time that the body crosses the meridian and is due south. Elong, for elongation, is the angle between the Sun and that body. RA is right ascension, which is the object’s east-west position on the celestial sphere in hours and minutes. Dec is declination which is the north-south position of the object on the celestial sphere in degrees and minutes. R is the distance of that object from the Sun in astronomical units. An astronomical unit is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. And Delta is the distance of that object from the Earth, also in astronomical units. I omit the ‘m’ in am and pm for compactness. The data was generated using my LookingUp for DOS app and displayed as a table by my Ephemeris Helper app.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing, Planets Tags: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

Ephemeris: 01/08/2025 – A weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

January 8, 2025 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 1 minute, setting at 5:20, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:18. The Moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 4:05 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. At 8:00 PM this evening four of the five naked eye planets will be out. Starting from the West we have Venus the brightest of all low in the west southwest. Above and left of that is Saturn. The waxing gibbous moon is high in the South at that time. Jupiter, the second-brightest planet will be high in the southeast. The 4th planet out is Mars which is low in the east northeast with its reddish hue giving it away. Next Monday the Moon will pass directly over the planet Mars in our evening sky. The fifth naked eye planet, Mercury, is too close to the Sun on it morning side to be visible.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

A 7 PM January 8, 2025, planet panorama — A 7 PM January 8, 2025 planet panorama. Venus and Saturn are in the southwest, and Jupiter is in the east. Mars is just rising in the east-northeast. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.

*The Moon tonight, January 8, 2025, as it might appear in a small telescope. Selected features are labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.*

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on January 8, 2025. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 9th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.

A low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow — This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, January 8 and 9, 2025. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others not. The transit column is the time that the body crosses the meridian and is due south. Elong, for elongation, is the angle between the Sun and that body. RA is right ascension, which is the object’s east-west position on the celestial sphere in hours and minutes. Dec is declination which is the north-south position of the object on the celestial sphere in degrees and minutes. R is the distance of that object from the Sun in astronomical units. An astronomical unit is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. And Delta is the distance of that object from the Earth, also in astronomical units. I omit the ‘m’ in am and pm for compactness. The data was generated using my LookingUp for DOS app and displayed as a table by my Ephemeris Helper app.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing, Planets Tags: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

Ephemeris: 01/01/2025 – A New Year’s Day look at the naked-eye planets

January 1, 2025 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for New Year’s Day, Wednesday, January 1st, 2025. The Sun will rise at 8:20. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 5:13. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 7:02 this evening.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. Venus can be spotted in the south-southwestern sky by 5:45 PM, about 30 minutes after sunset, and will also be above and left of the thin crescent Moon. Venus will set at 9:10 PM. Saturn will be in the south-southwestern sky at 6 PM, above and left of Venus, which will be seen to cross paths with it on the 18th of this month. Jupiter is low in the east, about the same time Venus is first spotted. It will be a good object for the small telescope. Mars, rises tonight at 6:31. Mars is still considered a morning planet since it is still up at sunrise. But that will end on the 15th of this month, when Mars reaches opposition from the Sun.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Happy New Year! I do really hope it will be happy…

Addendum

This is a 7 PM planet panorama. Venus and Saturn are in the southwest, and Jupiter is in the east. Mars is just rising in the east-northeast. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.

*The waxing two day old Moon with earthshine on its night side. Created using Stellarium.*

Telescopic Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. All the planets are shown for tonight, Jupiter specifically for 7 PM, January 1, 2025. Apparent diameters: Venus 22.4″, 55% illuminated; Saturn 16.6″, its rings 38.6″, 4.3 degrees from edge on (closing); Jupiter 47.0″; Mars, 14.3″. Planetary surface detail is more subtle than shown here. The ” means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on January 1, 2025. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 2nd. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.

This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, January 1 and 2, 2025. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others not. The transit column is the time that the body crosses the meridian and is due south. Elong, for elongation, is the angle between the Sun and that body. RA is right ascension, which is the object’s east-west position on the celestial sphere in hours and minutes. Dec is declination which is the north-south position of the object on the celestial sphere in degrees and minutes. R is the distance of that object from the Sun in astronomical units. An astronomical unit is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. And Delta is the distance of that object from the Earth, also in astronomical units. I omit the ‘m’ in am and pm for compactness. The data was generated using my LookingUp for DOS app and displayed as a table by my Ephemeris Helper app.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing, Planets Tags: Jupiter, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

Ephemeris: 12/18/2024 – Taking our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

December 18, 2024 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 18th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:03, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:16. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 8:36 this evening.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. Venus can be spotted in the south-southwestern sky by 5:30 PM, about 30 minutes after sunset. It will set at 8:41 PM. Saturn will be in the south at 6 PM, way above the bright star Fomalhaut. Jupiter is low in the east-northeast, about the same time Venus is first spotted. It will be a good object for the small telescope about an hour later. Mars, rises tonight at 7:44, It will appear above the Moon in the evening. Mars is still considered a morning planet since it is still up at sunrise. By 6:00 AM tomorrow Jupiter will be low in the west-northwest, to the right of the setting Orion, while reddish Mars will be high in the west-southwest.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

This is what I call my 8:00 PM planet panorama. Venus is setting the southwest Saturn heading downwards in the southwest, Jupiter high in the east and Mars just rising in the east northeast. The waning gibbous Moon will rise shortly, trailing Mars. The only thing we’re really missing is Mercury which is close to the Sun in the morning sky. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.

*The Moon as it might appear through a small telescope 10 PM tonight, December 18, 2024. Selected features are labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice draw, and GIMP.*

The planet Mercury should be seen low in the southeast by 7:30 AM, tomorrow morning December 19, 2024. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. All the planets are shown for tonight, Jupiter specifically for 9 PM, December 18, 2024. Apparent diameters: Venus 19.7″, 61.1% illuminated; Saturn 16.9″, its rings 39.4″, 4.7 degrees from edge on (closing); Jupiter 47.9″; Mars, 13.3″, 96.3% illuminated. Saturn’s rings are actually much brighter than depicted here. Planetary surface detail is more subtle than shown here. The ” means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on December 18, 2024. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 19th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.

This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, December 18 and 19, 2024. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others not. The transit column is the time that the body crosses the meridian and is due south. Elong, for elongation, is the angle between the Sun and that body. RA is right ascension, which is the object’s east-west position on the celestial sphere in hours and minutes. Dec is declination which is the north-south position of the object on the celestial sphere in degrees and minutes. R is the distance of that object from the Sun in astronomical units. An astronomical unit is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. And Delta is the distance of that object from the Earth, also in astronomical units. I omit the ‘m’ in am and pm for compactness. The data was generated using my LookingUp for DOS app and displayed as a table by my Ephemeris Helper app.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing, Planets Tags: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

Ephemeris: 10/30/2024 – Our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

October 30, 2024 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 14 minutes, setting at 6:33, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:20. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:28 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. Venus can be spotted low in the southwestern sky by 7 PM, about half an hour after sunset. It will set at 8:18. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is definitely a binocular object and will be a third of the way up to the zenith in the southwest around 8 PM. It will set at 11:17 PM. Saturn will be in the southeast at 8 PM. Jupiter will rise at 8:42 PM in the east northeast, and be a good object for the small telescope about an hour later. By 7:00 AM tomorrow Jupiter will be high in the west southwest, among the winter stars, while Mars, which rises tonight near 11:30, will be high in the south.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

*Venus in evening twilight, approximately half an hour after sunset. For the Grand Traverse area of Michigan that would be about 7 PM, October 30, 2024. Created using Stellarium.*

*Saturn, keeping company with Fomalhaut, the loneliest star in the sky in the south-southeastern sky at 8 PM. Created using Stellarium*

*Jupiter low in the east-northeast at 11 PM. Created using Stellarium.*

*Jupiter and Mars among the stars of winter seen at 7 AM tomorrow morning October 31, 2024. Created using Stellarium.*

Telescopic Venus, Saturn and Jupiter (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. All the planets shown are for tonight, the evening of October 30, 2024. Apparent diameters: Venus 14.1″, 77.4% illuminated; Saturn 18.4″, its rings 42.8″, 5.2 degrees from edge on (opening up a bit); Jupiter 46.0″; Mars, too small to be represented here, is 9.2″. Saturn’s rings are actually much brighter than depicted here. The ” means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on October30, 2024. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 31st. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.

*A finder chart for Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS for tonight and for the next 7 days as it drops from 5th to 6th magnitude. *Click or tap on the image to enlarge it.* Created using Stellarium.*

Categories: Comet, Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing, Planets Tags: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Venus

Ephemeris: 10/16/2024 – Where are the naked-eye planets and the comet?

October 16, 2024 bobmoler Comments off

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 16th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 6:55, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:01. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 8:11 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. Venus might be spotted in the West southwest low on the horizon at 7:30 PM, 35 minutes after sunset. It will set at 8:19. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be west southwest way above and to the right of Venus. It will set at 9:46 PM. Saturn will be in the southeast at 8 PM. Jupiter will rise at 9:40 PM this evening and be a good object for the small telescope about an hour later. Jupiter and Mars are both mourning planets so they can be seen early in the morning before sunrise. By 7:00 AM tomorrow Jupiter will be high in the southwest while Mars will be high in the South.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

An animated finder for Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS and Venus for tonight and for the next 7 days. Venus is in the lower left on the horizon for tonight. The image contains 3 frames the first is tonight at 8 PM without any annotations. *The second adds names and constellation outlines.* The third is the comet’s position for tonight in the next 7 days. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.

*Saturn and the Moon tonight at 8:00 PM along with the star Fomalhaut just rising . Created using Stellarium*

*Jupiter low in the east northeast at 11 PM this evening. Created using Stellarium.*

*Jupiter and Mars among the stars of winter seen at 7 AM tomorrow morning. Created using Stellarium.*

Telescopic Venus, Saturn and Jupiter (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus and Saturn are from 8 pm, and Jupiter for 11 pm tonight, October 16, 2024. Apparent diameters: Venus 13.2″, 81.0% illuminated; Saturn 18.7″, its rings 43.6″, 5.0 degrees from edge on (opening up a bit); Jupiter 44.4″; Mars, too small to be represented here, is 8.3″. The ” means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on October16, 2024. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 17th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.

This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, October 16 and 17, 2024. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others not. The transit column is the time that the body crosses the meridian and is due south. Elong, for elongation, is the angle between the Sun and that body. RA is right ascension, which is the object’s east-west position on the celestial sphere in hours and minutes. Dec is declination which is the north-south position of the object on the celestial sphere in degrees and minutes. R is the distance of that object from the Sun in astronomical units. An astronomical unit is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. And Delta is the distance of that object from the Earth, also in astronomical units. I omit the ‘m’ in am and pm for compactness. The data was generated using my LookingUp for DOS app and displayed as a table by my Ephemeris Helper app.

Categories: Comet, Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing, Planets Tags: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, Venus

Ephemeris: 09/25/2024 – Looking for the naked-eye planets for this week

September 25, 2024 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 7:33, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:35. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 12:53 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. Venus might be spotted in the West southwest only 6° above the horizon at 8 PM, 30 minutes after sunset. It will set at 8:38. Saturn will be low in the east-southeast at that time, but you might have to wait another half hour for it to appear. Saturn may look disappointing in telescopes this year since its rings are nearly edge on and appearing as a line through the planet like it’s stapled onto the sky. Jupiter and Mars will be up in the morning sky, with Jupiter rising about 11 PM now and by 6:30 AM tomorrow, Jupiter will be brighter than the winter stars in the south-southeast. Mars and the Moon will be left and below Jupiter.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

*Saturn in the southeastern sky by 9 pm. Created using Stellarium.*

The morning planets Jupiter, Mars and the Moon are seen among the winter stars at 6:45 AM or about an hour before sunrise in the South southeast. Though Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS ia shown, it is too low and faint to be able to spot. Created using Stellarium.

*The Moon two days past last quarter. Selected features are labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.*

Telescopic Venus, Saturn and Jupiter (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus and Saturn are from the evening of the 25th 2024, Jupiter is for 6:45 am on the 26th. Apparent diameters: Venus 12.0″, 86.1% illuminated; Saturn 19.0″, its rings 44.5″, 4.4 degrees from edge on (opening up a bit); Jupiter 41.6″; Mars, too small to be represented here, is 7.4″. Saturn’s rings are actually much brighter than depicted here. The ” means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on September 25, 2024. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 26th. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is moving northeastward in the sky. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.

This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, September 25 and 26, 2024. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others not. The transit column is the time that the body crosses the meridian and is due south. Elong, for elongation, is the angle between the Sun and that body. RA is right ascension, which is the object’s east-west position on the celestial sphere in hours and minutes. Dec is declination which is the north-south position of the object on the celestial sphere in degrees and minutes. R is the distance of that object from the Sun in astronomical units. An astronomical unit is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. And Delta is the distance of that object from the Earth, also in astronomical units. I omit the ‘m’ in am and pm for compactness. The data was generated using my LookingUp for DOS app and displayed as a table by my Ephemeris Helper app.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing, Planets Tags: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

Ephemeris: 09/18/2024 – Checking out where the naked-eye planets are this week

September 18, 2024 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 18th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 7:46, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:27. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 8:08 this evening.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. Venus might be spotted in the West southwest only 5° above the horizon at 8:15 or 30 minutes after sunset. It will set at 8:48. Saturn will be low in the east-southeast at that time, with the Moon just rising in the east. Saturn may look disappointing in telescopes this year since its rings are nearly edge on and appearing as a line through the planet like it’s stapled onto the sky. Jupiter and Mars will be up in the morning sky, with Jupiter rising before midnight now and by 6:30 AM tomorrow, Jupiter will be the brightest starlike object in the sky among the winter stars in the south-southeast. Mars will be left and below Jupiter.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Venus in evening twilight, approximately 30 minutes after sunset. For the Grand Traverse area of Michigan that would be about 8:15 PM, where Venus is very close to the horizon, due to the low angle of the ecliptic, even though Venus is about 27 degrees east of the sun, it is only 10 degrees above the horizon at sunset. It would be higher from the south of us, below 45° N latitude, and lower for those north of us. Created using Stellarium.

At the same time we see Venus setting in the West around 8:15 PM we see the Moon rise in the east, and Saturn close by in the east-southeast. Saturn may not be quite as visible as this, but it will be shortly. Created using Stellarium.

*The Moon one day past the full Harvest Moon and shadows are beginning to creep onto the west, or right side of it. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.*

*The morning planets Jupiter and Mars are seen among the winter stars at 6:30 AM or about an hour before sunrise in the South southeast. Created using stellarium.*

Telescopic Venus, Saturn and Jupiter (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus and Saturn are from the evening of the 18th 2024, Jupiter is for 6:30 am on the 19th. Apparent diameters: Venus 11.7″, 87.6% illuminated; Saturn 19.2″, its rings 44.6″, 4.2 degrees from edge on (opening up a bit); Jupiter 40.7″; Mars, too small to be represented here, is 7.1″. The ” means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Low precision ephemeris — This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, September 18 and 19, 2024. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others not. The transit column is the time that the body crosses the meridian and is due south. Elong, for elongation, is the angle between the Sun and that body. RA is right ascension, which is the object’s east-west position on the celestial sphere in hours and minutes. Dec is declination which is the north-south position of the object on the celestial sphere in degrees and minutes. R is the distance of that object from the Sun in astronomical units. An astronomical unit is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. And Delta is the distance of that object from the Earth, also in astronomical units. I omit the ‘m’ in am and pm for compactness. The data was generated using my LookingUp for DOS app and displayed as a table by my Ephemeris Helper app.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing, Planets Tags: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

Ephemeris: 09/11/2024 – Where are the naked-eye planets now?

September 11, 2024 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 11th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 7:59, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:18. The Moon, at first quarter today, will set at 12:07 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. Venus might be glimpsed low in the west around 8:20 PM. It will set at 8:56. It is best seen over a very low or lake horizon. By 9 PM the gibbous Moon will be low in the south. Saturn will be low in the east-southeast, pretty much by itself. Saturn may look disappointing in telescopes this year since its rings are nearly edge on and appearing as a line through the planet. Jupiter and Mars will be up in the east in the morning, and by 6:15 AM tomorrow, Jupiter will be the brightest starlike object in the sky among the winter stars in the southeast. Mars will be left and below Jupiter. Mercury might be spotted near the horizon in the east.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.