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Ephemeris: 07/01/2026 – Taking our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets

July 1, 2026 bobmoler Leave a comment

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 1st. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:01. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 11:01 this evening.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 10:30 PM tonight, nearly an hour after sunset, Venus is easily seen in the western sky, with Jupiter barely above the horizon, and may not be visible. A telescope will show a very tiny gibbous disc of Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 97 million miles (156 million kilometers) away from us. Over the next nearly 4 months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. In the morning, Saturn will rise at 1:41 AM, followed by dimmer Mars nearly 2 hours later. The Earth is now chasing down Mars, and later this year the launch window will open to send spacecraft to the Red Planet. Mars will be next closest to the Earth in February next year.

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

Venus in the western sky at 10:30 PM tonight. — *Venus in the western sky at 10:30 PM tonight, July1, 2026. Created using Stellarium.*

The Moon, 2 days after full moon, as seen at Midnight. 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 at 5 AM tomorrow morning. — *Saturn and Mars at 5 AM tomorrow morning July 2, 2026. Created using Stellarium.*

Telescopic Venus at 10:30 PM tonight, July 1, 2026, and Saturn at 5 AM on the 2nd. — Telescopic Venus at 10:30 PM tonight, July 1, 2026, and Saturn at 5 AM on the 2nd (north up), as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 16.1″, and be 68.4% illuminated. Saturn will be 17.5″ in diameter, and its rings extend to 40.9″ and are tilted 9.0º to our view. Mars, not shown, will appear 4.5″ 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. — The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on July 1, 2026. 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.

The naked-eye planets, from Mercury to Saturn in a low angle perspective view of the solar system. — The naked-eye planets, from Mercury to Saturn in a low angle perspective view of the solar system from above and a bit beyond Saturn’s orbit for today, July 1, 2026. Created using my LookingUp app, text and arrows created using LibreOffice Draw and created a unified image using GIMP.

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

Ephemeris: 06/24/2026 – Where are the naked-eye planets this week?

June 24, 2026 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, June 24th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:58. The Moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 2:36 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 10:30 PM tonight, nearly an hour after sunset, Venus and Jupiter are seen in the western sky, with Jupiter below and right of the brighter Venus. Mercury, though being just above the horizon at that time, is completely overcome by the twilight. A telescope will show a very tiny gibbous disc of Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 102 million miles (164 million kilometers) away from us. Over the next 4 months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. In the morning, Saturn will rise at 1:52 AM, followed by dimmer Mars nearly 2 hours later. The Earth is now chasing down Mars, and soon the launch window will open to send spacecraft to the Red Planet.

Addendum

Jupiter and Venus low in the western twilight at 10:30 PM tonight, June 24, 2026. This may be about it for Jupiter in the evening sky. — *Jupiter and Venus at 10:30 PM tonight, June 24, 2026. This may be about it for Jupiter in the evening sky. Created using Stellarium.*

The Moon, 3 days after first quarter, as seen at 10:30 PM tonight, June 24, 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 in the eastern sky at 5 AM tomorrow morning June 25, 2026. — *Saturn and Mars at 5 AM tomorrow morning June 25, 2026. Created using Stellarium.*

Telescopic Venus and Jupiter at 10:30 PM tonight, June 24, 2026, and Saturn at 5 AM on the 25th (north up), as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 15.4″, and be 71.3% illuminated. Jupiter will be 31.9″ in diameter, with its moons shown for the time listed, However, they will be probably invisible in the bright twilight. Saturn will be 17.1″ in diameter, and its rings extend to 40.4″ and are tilted 9.0º to our view. Mars, not shown, will appear 4.4″ 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, from Mercury to Saturn in a low angle perspective view from above and a bit beyond Saturn’s orbit for today, June 24, 2026. — *The naked-eye planets, from Mercury to Saturn in a low angle perspective view from above and a bit beyond Saturn’s orbit for today, June* 24, 2026. Created using my LookingUp app, text and arrows created using LibreOffice Draw and created a unified image using GIMP.

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

Ephemeris: 06/17/2026 – Checking out all the naked-eye planets for this week.

June 17, 2026 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, June 17th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:56. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 12:09 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 10:15 PM tonight, nearly an hour after sunset, Venus and Jupiter, and even Mercury may be seen in the western sky, with Jupiter below and right of the brighter Venus, and Mercury below and right of Jupiter. Jupiter appears to be chasing Mercury back toward the sun. But Mercury is getting dimmer, and will soon be lost in the twilight glow. A telescope will show a very tiny disc on Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 106 million miles (171 mil km) away from us. Over the next 4 months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. In the morning, Saturn will rise at 2:37 AM, followed by dimmer Mars an hour and a half later.

Addendum

The Moon, *Jupiter, Venus and Mercury at 10:30 PM tonight, June 17, 2026. Mercury may be visible now, and is getting fainter since its greatest separation from the sun two days ago. Created using Stellarium.*

The Moon, 3 days after new, as seen at 10:30 PM tonight, June 17, 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 at 5 AM tomorrow morning June 18, 2026. Created using Stellarium.*

Telescopic Venus and Jupiter at 10:30 PM tonight, June 17, 2026, and Saturn at 5 AM on the 18th (north up), as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 14.7″, and be 73.9% illuminated. Jupiter will be 32.2″ in diameter, with its moons shown for the time listed. Saturn will be 17.1″ in diameter, and its rings extend to 39.9″ and are tilted 8.9º to our view. Mars, not shown, will appear 4.4″ in diameter. Mercury, also not shown, will appear 8.6″ in diameter and be 34.0% illuminated. 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 June 17, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 18th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.

The naked-eye planets, from Mercury to Saturn in a low angle perspective view from above and a bit beyond Saturn’s orbit for today, June 17, 2026. *Created using my LookingUp app, text and arrows created using LibreOffice Draw and created a unified image using GIMP.*

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

Ephemeris: 06/10/2026 – Where are the naked-eye planets this week?

June 10, 2026 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, June 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 9:27, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:56. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 3 o’clock tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 10:15 PM tonight, nearly an hour after sunset, Venus and Jupiter may be seen in the western sky, with the brighter Venus above Jupiter. A telescope will show a very tiny disc on Venus, because it is still pretty much beyond the Sun, 111 million miles (179 million kilometers) away from us. Over the next 4 1/2 months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. Mercury is marginally visible below and right of Venus and Jupiter. Jupiter now sets at 11:52 PM, with Venus setting ten minutes later. Saturn will rise into the eastern sky at 3:04 AM, followed by dimmer Mars an hour later.

Addendum

Jupiter, Venus and Mercury appearing in the wester sky's fading twilight, at 10:30 PM tonight, June 10, 2026. — Jupiter, Venus and Mercury at 10:30 PM tonight, June 10, 2026. Jupiter and Venus are now appearing to separate after yesterday’s conjunction. Mercury may be visible now, and is nearing its greatest separation from the sun, and will be at greatest elongation from the sun on the 15th. Created using Stellarium.

Saturn and Mars appear with the waning crescent moon between them, in the east as morning twilight grows, at 5 AM June 11, 2026. — *Saturn and Mars with the waning crescent moon between them at 5 AM June 11, 2026. The moon is enlarged by a factor of 3 to better show its phase. Created using Stellarium.*

The Moon, 3 days after last quarter, as seen at 5 AM tomorrow morning, June 11, 2026. A view visible in small telescopes showing an image with and without selected features labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.

Telescopic Venus and Jupiter at 10:30 PM tonight, June 10, 2026, and Saturn at 5 AM on the 11th. — Telescopic Venus and Jupiter at 10:30 PM tonight, June 10, 2026, and Saturn at 5 AM on the 11th (north up), as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 14.1″, and be 76.3% illuminated. Jupiter will be 32.5″ in diameter, with its moons shown for the time listed. Saturn will be 16.9″ in diameter, and its rings extend to 39.5″ and are tilted 8.7º to our view. Mars, not shown, will appear 4.3″ in diameter. Mercury, also not shown, will appear 7.4″ in diameter and be 47.4% illuminated. 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, from Mercury to Saturn in a low angle perspective view from above and a bit beyond Saturn's orbit for today, June 10, 2026. — The naked-eye planets, from Mercury to Saturn in a low angle perspective view from above and a bit beyond Saturn’s orbit for today, June 10, 2026. *Created using my LookingUp app, text and arrows created using LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.*

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

Ephemeris: 06/03/2026 – Where are the naked-eye planets this week?

June 3, 2026 bobmoler Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, June 3rd. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 23 minutes, setting at 9:23, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:58. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 12:29 tomorrow morning.

Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 10:15 PM tonight, nearly an hour after sunset, Venus and Jupiter 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, 115 million miles (186 million kilometers) away from us. Over the next 4½ months it will be moving closer to us and becoming much larger. Jupiter is to the upper left of Venus, and the second-brightest star-like object in the sky. Venus will set at 12:05 AM, while Jupiter will hold out ten minutes longer. Venus will pass Jupiter on the afternoon of the 9th. Saturn rises into the eastern sky at 3:27 AM, followed by dimmer Mars an hour later.

Addendum

Jupiter, Venus and Mercury seen in the west at 10:15 PM tonight, June 3, 2026. Jupiter and Venus are appearing to approach each other. They will be in conjunction on the evening of June 8th & 9th. Mercury may not be visible now, but it is increasing its distance from the sun, and will be at greatest elongation or separation from the sun on the 15 — Jupiter, Venus and Mercury at 10:15 PM tonight, June 3, 2026. Jupiter and Venus are appearing to approach each other. They will be in conjunction on the evening of June 8th & 9th. Mercury may not be visible now, but it is increasing its distance from the sun, and will be at greatest elongation or separation from the sun on the 15th. Created using Stellarium.

The Moon, 3 days after full, as seen at 5 AM tomorrow morning, June 4, 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 will appear low in the east at 5 AM June 4, 2026 — *Saturn and Mars at 5 AM June 4, 2026. Created using Stellarium.*

Telescopic Venus and Jupiter at 10:15 PM on the 3rd, and Saturn at 5 AM on the 4th (north up), as they would be seen in a small telescope. — Telescopic Venus and Jupiter at 10:15 PM on the 3rd, and Saturn at 5 AM on the 4th (north up), as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 13.5″, and be 78.6% illuminated. It’s on the far side of the Sun. Jupiter will be 32.9″ in diameter, with its moons shown for the time listed. Saturn will be 16.8″ in diameter, and its rings extend to 39.0″ and are tilted 8.5º to our view. Mars, not shown, will appear 4.3″ in diameter. Mercury, also not shown, will appear 6.2″ in diameter and be 62.2% illuminated. 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 June 3, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 4th. 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, June 3rd and 4th, 2026. — This is a low precision ephemeris of the Sun Moon and naked eye planet positions for today and tomorrow, June 3rd and 4th, 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: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

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

May 27, 2026 bobmoler 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.

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. 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: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

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

May 20, 2026 bobmoler 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.

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. 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. 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: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

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

May 13, 2026 bobmoler 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.

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. Created using Stellarium.

*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. 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. 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: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

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

May 6, 2026 bobmoler 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.

Addendum

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. 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.

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: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Venus

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

April 29, 2026 bobmoler 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.