Archive

Posts Tagged ‘Moon’

Ephemeris: 05/28/2026 – NASA’s first Moon program

May 28, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, May 28th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 15 minutes, setting at 9:17, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:02. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 4:32 tomorrow morning.

The United States first lunar mission to the moon was the Ranger Program of moon impactors, to televise pictures all the way to impact to see what the moon looked like up close and personal, so to speak. The program actually started before President Kennedy announced plans to send humans to the moon, although the first launch was made several months after that announcement. The program consisted of nine launches of three different variations of the spacecraft. The first two launches failed Then in the next four launches, the spacecraft either missed the moon or were dead on arrival. However, the last three were successful, showing that the moon was indeed mostly smooth enough to land a spacecraft.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Ranger Block III Spacecraft diagram.
Ranger Block III Spacecraft diagram. Credit NASA/JPL.
Alphonsus crater from Ranger 9.
Alphonsus crater from Ranger 9. The crater is 73 miles, 118 km, in diameter. Credit: NASA/JPL.
Ranger Image 2
Ranger 9 Image of Alphonsus #2. Credit NASA.
Ranger Inage 3
Ranger 9 Image of Alphonsus #3. Credit NASA.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Space History, Space Race Tags: , ,

Ephemeris: 05/27/2026 – Taking our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

May 27, 2026 Comments off

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 13 minutes, setting at 9:17, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:02. The Moon, halfway from first quarter to full, will set at 4:08 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 10 PM tonight, about 40 minutes after sunset, Venus may be seen in the western sky. A telescope will show a very tiny disc on Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 120 million miles (193 million km) away from us. Over the next 5 months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. Jupiter is the second-brightest star-like object in the western sky seen before 10 PM. It is above and left of Venus tonight. Venus will set at 12:04 AM, while Jupiter will hold out until 12:41 AM. Saturn rises in the east at 3:52 AM, followed by dimmer Mars at 4:42 AM.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Jupiter and Venus in the western sky, at 10 PM tonight, May 27, 2026. Jupiter and Venus are appearing to approach each other. They will be in conjunction on the evening of June 8th.
Jupiter and Venus at 10 PM tonight, May 27, 2026. Jupiter and Venus are appearing to approach each other. They will be in conjunction on the evening of June 8th. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon, 4 days after first quarter, as seen at 10 PM tonight, May 27, 2026. A view visible in small telescopes showing an image with and without selected features labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP
Saturn and Mars seen low in the east at 5 AM May 28, 2026.
Saturn and Mars at 5 AM May 28, 2026. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Venus and Jupiter at 10 PM on the 27th, and Saturn at 5 AM on the 28th.
Telescopic Venus and Jupiter at 10 PM on the 27th, and Saturn at 5 AM on the 28th (north up), as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 13.0″, and be 80.7% illuminated. It’s on the far side of the Sun. Jupiter will be 33.4″ in diameter, with its moons shown for the time listed. Saturn will be 17.0″ in diameter, and its rings extend to 38.7″ and are tilted 8.2º to our view. Mars will appear 4.3″ in diameter. The (”) symbol means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts), LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 27, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 28th.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 27, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 28th. 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, May 27 and 28th, 2026
This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, May 27 and 28th, 2026. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others are 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 Tags: , , , , ,

Ephemeris: 05/26/2026 – The Soviet Union’s Luna 3 provided first look at the far side of the Moon

May 26, 2026 Comments off

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, May 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 9:16, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:03. The Moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 3:48 tomorrow morning.

The space race with the Soviet Union started with the launch of Sputnik one in October 1957. The Soviets won the early milestones of the race, including less than two years after Sputnik 1, a flyby of Luna 3 around the moon, and taking the first photographs of the far side. Back then before CCDs, the best quality images from space were photographed onto film and then developed, then scanned on the satellite and the data is sent down to the earth. The images were rather crude and grainy. I was a senior in high school at the time and as interested in astronomy as I am today. We thought that the Far Side of the moon would be more of the same. The Far Side was completely different.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Comparing the Luna 3 photograph with a NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter composite. Labels are mine.

Categories: Space History, Space Race Tags: , ,

Ephemeris: 05/20/2026 – Taking our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

May 20, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours exactly, setting at 9:09, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:08. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 1:41 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 9:30 PM tonight, about 20 minutes after sunset, Venus may be seen in the western sky. A telescope will show a very tiny disc on Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 124 million miles (199 million kilometers) away from us. Over the next 5 months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. Jupiter is the second-brightest star-like object in the western sky seen before 10 PM. It is below and right of the Moon tonight. Venus will set at 11:53 PM, while Jupiter will hold out until 1:01 AM. Saturn may be first glimpsed just after it rises in the east at 4:18 AM, before morning twilight overwhelms it later on.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Jupiter, Venus and the Moon itself at twice actual size at 10 PM tonight, May 20, 2026. Jupiter and Venus are appearing to approach each other. They will be in conjunction on the evening of June 8th.
Jupiter, Venus and the Moon, itself at twice actual size, at 10 PM tonight, May 20, 2026. Jupiter and Venus are appearing to approach each other. They will be in conjunction on the evening of June 8th. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon, 4 days after new, as seen at 10 PM tonight, May 20, 2026. A view visible in small telescopes showing an image with and without selected features labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Saturn and Mars low in the east at 5:15 AM May 21, 2026. Mars may not actually be visible, being too low and faint.
Saturn and Mars at 5:15 AM May 21, 2026. Mars may not actually be visible, being too low and faint. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Venus and Jupiter at 10 PM on the 20th, and Saturn at 5:15 AM on the 21st (north up), as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification.
Telescopic Venus and Jupiter at 10 PM on the 20th, and Saturn at 5:15 AM on the 21st (north up), as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 13.0″, and be 82.8% illuminated. It’s on the far side of the Sun. Jupiter will be 33.9″ in diameter, with its moons shown for the time listed. Saturn will be 16.4″ in diameter, and its rings extend to 38.3″ and are tilted 8º to our view. Mars will appear 4.2″ in diameter. The (”) symbol means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts), LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 20, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 21st.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 20, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 21st. 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, May 20 and 21st, 2026. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others are 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 Tags: , , , , ,

Ephemeris: 05/13/2026 – Where are the naked-eye planets this week?

May 13, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 13th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 45 minutes, setting at 9:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:15. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 4:37 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 9:30 PM tonight, about a half hour after sunset, Venus may be seen in the western sky. A telescope will show a very tiny disc on Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 128 million miles (205 million kilometers) away from us. Over the next 5 months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. Jupiter is the second-brightest star-like object in the western sky seen before 10 PM. It is above and left of the brighter Venus. Venus will set at 11:38 PM, while Jupiter will hold out until 1:21 AM. Saturn may be glimpsed just after it rises in the east at 4:48 AM, before morning twilight overwhelms it sometime later.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Jupiter, and Venus with a few remaining winter stars at 10 PM tonight, May 13, 2026. The planets are appearing to approach each other. They will be in conjunction on the evening of June 8th.
Jupiter, and Venus with a few remaining winter stars at 10 PM tonight, May 13, 2026. The planets are appearing to approach each other. They will be in conjunction on the evening of June 8th. Created using Stellarium.
The waning crescent Moon and Saturn at 5:15 AM May 14, 2026
The waning crescent Moon and Saturn at 5:15 AM May 14, 2026. Created using Stellarium.
A binocular or low power view of the waning creacent Moon showing the expected earthshine on its night side.
A binocular or low power view of the waning creacent Moon showing the expected earthshine on its night side. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Telescopic Venus, Jupiter and Saturn (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification.
Telescopic Venus, Jupiter and Saturn (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification, at the times indicated. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 12.2″, and be 84.7% illuminated. It’s on the far side of the Sun. Jupiter will be 34.4″ in diameter, with its moons shown for the time listed. The (”) symbol means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts), LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 13, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 14th.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 13, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 14th. 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, May 13 and 14th, 2026.
This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, May 13 and 14th, 2026. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others are 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 Tags: , , , , ,

Ephemeris: 05/06/2026 – Taking our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

May 6, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 8:53, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:24. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 1:55 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 9:30 PM tonight or about 35 minutes or so after sunset, Venus may be seen very low in the West. A telescope will show a very tiny disc on Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 131 million miles (211 million kilometers) away from us. Over the next 5½ months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. Jupiter is the brilliant star-like object in the western before 10 PM. It is above and left of the brighter Venus. Venus will set at 11:26 PM, while Jupiter will hold out until 1:40 AM. Saturn may be glimpsed starting about next Monday just after it rises in the east around 5:15 AM, and before morning twilight overwhelms it sometime later.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Jupiter, and Venus with fading winter stars at 10 PM tonight, May 6, 2026.
Jupiter, and Venus with fading winter stars at 10 PM tonight, May 6, 2026. Jupiter and Venus are appearing to approach each other. They will be in conjunction on the evening of June 8th. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, as seen at 5 AM tomorrow morning, May 7, 2026. A view visible in small telescopes showing an image with and without selected features labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Telescopic Jupiter and Venus (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification.
Telescopic Jupiter and Venus (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus will be visible for a short time near the western horizon, while Jupiter will be visible until after midnight. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 11.9″, and be 86.5% illuminated. It’s on the far side of the Sun. Jupiter will be 35.0″ in diameter, with its moons shown here for 10 PM, tonight May 6, 2026. Callisto will begin to transit the face of Jupiter at 10:31 PM.. Europa will pass behind the planet (an occultation) beginning at 11:36 PM. The moons can shift noticably over an hour, especially Io and Europa. The (”) symbol means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts), LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 6, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 7th. 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, May 6 and 7th, 2026.
This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, May 6 and 7th, 2026. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others are 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 Tags: , , , , ,

Ephemeris: 04/29/2026 – Taking our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

April 29, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 29th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 9 minutes, setting at 8:45, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:34. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 5:42 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 9:30 PM tonight or about 45 minutes or so after sunset, Venus may be seen very low in the West. A telescope will show a very tiny disc on Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 136 million miles (217 million kilometers) away from us. Over the next 6 months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. Jupiter is the brilliant star-like object in the western before 10 PM. It is above and left of the brighter Venus. Venus will set at 11:11 PM, while Jupiter will hold out until 2:12 AM. Meanwhile, Mercury, Mars and Saturn are breaking up just west of the Sun, but are still overwhelmed by bright morning twilight.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Looking west to Jupiter, and Venus with fading winter stars at 9:30 PM tonight, April 29, 2026. Jupiter and Venus are appearing to approach each other. They will be in conjunction on the evening of June 8th.
Jupiter, and Venus with fading winter stars at 9:30 PM tonight, April 29, 2026. Jupiter and Venus are appearing to approach each other. They will be in conjunction on the evening of June 8th. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon, 2 days before full, as seen at 10 PM tonight, April 29, 2026. A view visible in small telescopes showing an image with and without selected features labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Telescopic Jupiter and Venus as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification.
Telescopic Jupiter and Venus (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus will be visible for a short time near the western horizon, while Jupiter will be visible until after midnight. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 11.6″, and be 88.2% illuminated. It’s on the far side of the Sun. Jupiter will be 35.7″ in diameter, with its moons shown here for 10 PM, tonight April 29, 2026. The moons can shift noticably over an hour, especially Io and Europa. The (”) symbol means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts), LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on April 29, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 30th. 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, April 29 and 30th, 2026.
This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, April 29 and 30th, 2026. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others are 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 Tags: , , , , ,

Ephemeris: 04/23/2026 – Where did the Moon come from?

April 23, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, April 23rd. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 8:37, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:43. The Moon, at first quarter today, will set at 3:42 tomorrow morning.

When one gazes upon the moon tonight the thought of where the moon came from might come to mind. Did it form with the Earth? Was it captured by the Earth? The latest thinking on the origin of the moon centers around a grazing collision with the Earth of a Mars sized body that has been given the name Theia, the mother of Selene, the goddess of the Moon, shortly after the Earth was formed. This is based on Apollo mission discoveries that the composition of the rocks on the moon are approximately the same as those of Earth’s crust. It’s been known for a while that there are two dense masses within the Earth about halfway to the center. One geologist has put forth that these masses could have been the core of Theia that sank into the Earth.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Collision spawning the Moon
The hypothetical collision of a Mars sized body with the young Earth. Credit: Joe Tucciarone via NASA
New moon formation
A new simulation on how the Moon formed. Credit: PBS.
Categories: Ephemeris Program, Origins Tags: , ,

Ephemeris: 04/22/2026 – Taking our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

April 22, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 8:36, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:45. The Moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 3:07 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 9 PM tonight or about 30 minutes or so after sunset, Venus may be seen very low in the West. A telescope will show a very tiny disc on Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 138 million miles (222 million kilometers) away from us. Over the next 6 months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. Jupiter is the brilliant star-like object high in the west-southwestern sky before 10 PM. It will appear just below the crescent Moon tonight. Venus will set at 10:54, while Jupiter will hold out until 2:30 AM. Meanwhile, Mercury, Mars and Saturn are still bunched up just west of the Sun, but are overwhelmed by bright morning twilight.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Jupiter, and Venus with the Moon and Sirius at 9 PM tonight.
Jupiter, and Venus with the Moon and Sirius at 9 PM tonight, April 22, 2026. Created using Stellarium.
A closer look at Jupiter and the Moon at 9 PM tonight.
A closer look at Jupiter and the Moon at 9 PM tonight, April 22, 2026. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon, a day before first quarter, as seen at 9:30 PM tonight, April 22, 2026. A view visible in small telescopes showing an image with and without selected features labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Telescopic Jupiter and Venus (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification.
Telescopic Jupiter and Venus (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus will be visible for a short time near the western horizon, while Jupiter is visible most of the night. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 11.3″, and be 89.7% illuminated. It’s on the far side of the Sun, 1.5 times the Sun’s distance from us. Jupiter will be 36.4″ in diameter, with its moons shown here for 9:30 PM, tonight April 22, 2026. The moons can shift noticably over an hour, especially Io and Europa. The (”) symbol means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts), LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on April 22, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 22nd.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on April 22, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 22nd. 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, April 22 and 23rd, 2026. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others are 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 Tags: , , , , ,

Ephemeris: 04/15/2026 – Taking our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

April 15, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 15th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 8:28, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:56. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 6:15 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 9:15 PM tonight or about 45 minutes or so after sunset, Venus may be seen very low in the West. A telescope will show a very tiny disc on Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 141 million miles (226 million kilometers) away from us. Over the next 6 months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. Jupiter is the brilliant star-like object high in the southwestern sky at the same time. Venus will set at 10:35, while Jupiter will hold out to 3 AM. Meanwhile, Mercury, Mars and Saturn are lined up just west of the Sun, but unfortunately are overwhelmed by bright morning twilight. Southern Hemisphere observers will them bunched up next week.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Jupiter and Venus with fading constellations of winter in the west at 9:30 PM.
Jupiter and Venus with fading constellations of winter at 9:30 PM tonight, April 15, 2026. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Jupiter and Venus as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification.
Telescopic Jupiter and Venus as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification at 9:30 PM tonight, April 15, 2026. Venus will be visible for a short time near the western horizon, while Jupiter is visible most of the night. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 11.1″, and be 91.2% illuminated. It’s on the far side of the Sun. Jupiter will be 37.1″ in diameter. Io will be behind Jupiter and in its shadow until 12:16 AM, when it will appear near Europa. The (”) symbol means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts), LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on April 15, 2026. 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.
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, April 15 and 16th, 2026. Some of the columns are self-explanatory, others are 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 Tags: , , , , ,