Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, May 9th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 35 minutes, setting at 8:57, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:20. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 1:56 tomorrow morning.

Today, the planet Uranus is in conjunction with the Sun. I don’t talk about Uranus that much, because it can’t be spotted in the sky with the naked eye. However, the James Webb Space Telescope observed it, and gave our clearest view of the planet since Voyager 2 flew past it in January 1986. Uranus has a system of rings, which were discovered in March 1977. Though not visible, they blocked the light of a star. Astronomers at the time were trying to get a more accurate diameter of the planet by timing the disappearance of a star behind the planet. Extra short dips in brightness before and after the main occultation revealed the existence of the rings. Uranus also has an extreme axial tilt of 98 degrees.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT –4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Uranus and its rings as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit NASA/ESA.

Uranus and its rings as photographed by the James Webb Space Telescope. The rings are much brighter in the infrared. Credit: NASA\CSA\ESA.

Closeup of the Uranian rings from Voyager 2. The stars are trailed due to the spacecraft turning to focus on the rings as it moves through the Uranian system in this time exposure. Credit NASA/JPL.