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05/14/2014 – Ephemeris – All 5 bright planets are visible this week
Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 14th. Today the sun will be up for 14 hours and 46 minutes, setting at 9:02. The moon, at full today, will rise at 9:05 this evening. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:14.
It’s Wednesday and once again time to locate the bright planets for this week. Mercury is beginning to show up in the west shortly after sunset, It will be at its farthest from the Sun on the 25th. It will set at 10:51. Brilliant Jupiter will be in the western sky as darkness falls tonight. It will set at 1:07 a.m. Reddish Mars is in Virgo in the southeast as darkness falls. It will pass due south at 10:47 p.m. It’s 64.6 million miles away now, and moving away, and will set at 4:38 a.m. Saturn will be low in the southeast as darkness falls. It’s in the faint constellation of Libra the scales this year. It will pass due south at 1:23 a.m. Brilliant Venus will rise in the east at 4:46 a.m. in twilight.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Mercury low in the west at 9:30 p.m. May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
All the evening planets from Mercury to Saturn plus the moon at 10:30 p.m. May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mercury through a telescope on May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its moons at 10:30 p.m. May 14, 2014. Europa is being occulted by Jupiter. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Europa will disappear behind the moon at 9:48 p.m, and will reappear after Jupiter sets for northern Michigan. Places west of here will see Europa reappear before Jupiter sets.
Mars through a telescope at 10:30 p.m. on May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn through a telescope. on May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it would appear through binoculars at 10:30 p.m. May 14, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in the east at 5:30 a.m. on May 15, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus through a telescope on May 15, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
05/08/2014 – Ephemeris – Saturn will reach opposition from the Sun this weekend
Ephemeris for Thursday, May 8th. The sun rises at 6:23. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 8:55. The moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 3:37 tomorrow morning.
In two days Saturn will be in opposition from the sun. That means the Earth will be nearly directly between the Sun and Saturn. Saturn will be the closest it gets to the earth all year, at 828 million miles (1,334 million km). Saturn, being about nine and a half times the earth’s distance from the sun, doesn’t vary its distance from the Earth by a great percentage, so it’s a great telescopic object at any time it’s visible. Mars, being closer and smaller is best seen near the time of opposition. One effect of opposition is the minimum amount of shadows between the planet and the rings visible. The shadows will increase until Saturn is 90 degrees from the sun, or quadrature, on August 10th. Then they will diminish again until it’s in conjunction with the sun.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn at opposition and quadrature showing the maximum shadow at quadrature. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Note that the different tilt of Saturn in these two views is due to the fact that Saturn is in the east at opposition and in the southwest at quadrature, helped out by the fact that we’re viewing it from 45 º north latitude. The different sizes of Saturn is due to Saturn’s greater distance of 919 million miles (1,481 million km) on August 10th. The little circle artifact in the center of the planet is due to telling the program that I’m tracking Saturn, so I wouldn’t have to re-find the planet when I shifted 3 months.
05/07/2014 – Ephemeris – Wednesday is bright planet day here on Ephemeris
Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 7th. The sun rises at 6:24. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 8:54. The moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 3:09 tomorrow morning.
It’s Wednesday and once again time to locate the bright planets for this week. Brilliant Jupiter will be in the western sky as darkness falls tonight. It will set at 1:30 a.m. Reddish Mars is in Virgo and outshines the bright bluish star Spica below left of it as darkness falls. Mars is in the south-east as it gets dark. It will pass due south at 11:18 p.m. It’s 61.8 million miles away now, and moving away, and will set at 5:09 a.m. Saturn will rise at 8:50 p.m. It’s in the faint constellation of Libra the scales this year. It will pass due south at 1:53 a.m. Saturn will be opposite the sun in the sky this Saturday. Brilliant Venus will rise in the east at 4:56 a.m. in twilight.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The evening planets: Jupiter, Mars and Saturn with the Moon at 10 p.m. on April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium. Click to enlarge.
Jupiter with three of its bright satellites at 10 p.m. May 7, 2014. Io will go behind the planet at 10:28. Europa is in Jupiter’s shadow and will reappear at 12:04 a.m. Created using Cartes du Ciel.
Note: Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts) was used because it takes into consideration the light-time delay. Stellarium does not and showed the occultation of Io already in progress.
The Moon at 10 p.m. May 7, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars in a telescope at 10 p.m. May 7, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn with its largest moon Titan in a telescope at 10 p.m. May 7, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus low in the east at 5:30 a.m. May 8, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in a telescope at 5:30 a.m. May 8, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
04/30/2014 – Ephemeris – It’s Wednesday, do you know where your planets are?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 30th. The sun rises at 6:34. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 8:45. The moon, 1 day past new, will set at 10:25 this evening.
It’s Wednesday and once again time to locate the bright planets for this week. Brilliant Jupiter will be in the western sky as darkness falls tonight. It will set at 1:54 a.m. Reddish Mars is in Virgo and outshines the bright bluish star Spica below left of it as darkness falls. Mars is in the south-east as it gets dark. It will pass due south at 11:51 p.m. It’s 59.5 million miles away now, and moving away, and will set at 5:41 a.m. Saturn will rise at 9:24 p.m. It’s in the faint constellation of Libra the scales this year. It will pass due south at 2:23 a.m. The telescope will bring out Saturn’s beautiful rings, whose short dimensions now are as wide as the planet. Brilliant Venus will rise in the east at 5:05 a.m. and will stay pretty low to the horizon.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, the Moon and the setting winter constellations in the west at 10 p.m. on April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and satellites through a telescope at 10 p.m. on April 30, 2014. The satellite Io is being occulted by Jupiter and will reappear at 11:56 p.m. (3:56 UT May 1, 2014). Created using Stellarium.
The crescent Moon at 10 p.m. on April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars, Saturn and some spring constellation at 11 p.m. April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic view of Mars, 11 p.m. April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic view of Saturn and some of its moons at 11 p.m. April 30, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in the twilight at 6 a.m. May 1, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic view of Venus on May 1, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
04/23/2014 – Ephemeris – Where are those bright planets this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 23rd. The sun rises at 6:45. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 8:37. The moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 4:06 tomorrow morning.
Wednesday is Bright Planets Day, or should I say classical planets day here on Ephemeris. Bright Jupiter will be in the western sky as darkness falls tonight. It will set at 2:17 a.m. Reddish Mars is in Virgo and outshines the bright bluish star Spica below it as darkness falls. Mars is up at sunset in the east. It will pass due south at 12:26 a.m. It’s 58.1 million miles (95.5 million kilometers) away now, and moving away. It will set at 6:14 a.m. Saturn will rise at 9:54 p.m. It’s in the faint constellation of Libra the scales this year. It will pass due south at 2:52 a.m. The telescope will bring out Saturn’s beautiful rings, whose short dimension now is as wide as the planet. Brilliant Venus will rise in the east at 5:14 a.m. and will stay pretty low to the horizon.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the setting winter constellations in the west at 10 p.m. on April 23, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and satellites through a telescope at 10 p.m. on April 23, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars, Saturn and some spring constellation at 10:30 p.m. April 23, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Mars. Actually Mars is much smaller in appearance than Jupiter. Interesting albedo features can be seen. For 10:30 pm. April 23, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Saturn at 11 p.m. April 23, 2014. You may want to wait a bit for it to rise some more for clearer views. Created using Stellarium.
Venus and the Moon looking eastward at 6 a.m. on April 24, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The moon as seen in binoculars at 6 a.m. on April 24, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus through a telescope at 6 a.m. April 24, 2014. Note that none of these planetary images are to the same scale. Created using Stellarium.
04/16/2014 – Ephemeris – It’s our weekly look at the classical planets
Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 16th. The sun rises at 6:56. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 31 minutes, setting at 8:28. The moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 10:14 this evening.
Wednesday is Bright Planets Day, or should I say classical planets day here on Ephemeris. Bright Jupiter will be in the western sky as darkness falls tonight. It will set at 2:42 a.m. Reddish Mars is in Virgo and outshines the bright bluish star Spica below it as darkness falls. Mars is up at sunset in the east. It will pass due south at 1:03 a.m. It’s 57.4 million miles away now, very near its closest. It will set at 6:48 a.m. Saturn will rise at 10:24 p.m. and be seen to the left of the bright moon tonight. It will pass due south at 3:22 a.m. The telescope will bring out Saturn’s beautiful rings, whose short dimension now is as wide as the planet. Brilliant Venus will rise in the east at 5:22 a.m. and will stay pretty low to the horizon.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the setting winter constellations in the west at 10 p.m. on April 16, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and satellites through a telescope at 10 p.m. on April 16, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and some low spring constellations in the southeast at 10 p.m. on April 16, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Mars. Actually Mars is much smaller in appearance than Jupiter. Interesting albedo* features can be seen. For 10 pm. April 16, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
* Albedo – reflectance value, dark and bright features. Values are 1 for perfectly reflectant (white), to 0 for black.
Saturn and the Moon rising in the southeast at 11 p.m. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Saturn at 11 p.m. April 16, 2014. You may want to wait a bit for it to rise some more for clearer views. Created using Stellarium.
Venus and Saturn at 6 a.m. April 17, 2014. Note that the Moon has scooted to the left of Saturn overnight. Created using Stellarium.
Venus through a telescope at 6 a.m. April 17, 2014. Note that none of these planetary images are to the same scale. Created using Stellarium.
04/09/2014 – Ephemeris – Where are Mars and the other planets this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 9th. The sun will rise at 7:08. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 8:19. The Moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 4:40 tomorrow morning.
Wednesday is Bright Planets Day here on Ephemeris. Jupiter will be in the southwestern sky as darkness falls tonight. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. It will set at 3:06 a.m. in the west-northwest. Reddish Mars is in Virgo now above and a bit left of the bright star Spica in the late evening, which it now outshines. Mars is up at sunset in the east. It will pass due south at 1:40 a.m. It’s 57.7 million miles away now, almost as close as it will get this year. It will set at 7:23 a.m. Saturn will rise at 10:54 p.m. in the east-southeast and pass due south at 3:51 a.m.. It’s seen against the stars of Libra the scales this year. Venus will rise at 5:30 tomorrow morning and be seen low in the southeast.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, the Moon and the winter constellations at 10 p.m. on April 9, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and moons through a small telescope at 10 p.m. on April 9, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The gibbous Moon through a small telescope at 10 p.m. on April 9, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars rising at 10 p.m. on April 9, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars through a telescope at 11 p.m. on April 9, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and Saturn with some spring and summer constellations at 6 a.m. on April 10, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn through a telescope at 6 a.m. on April 10, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in twilight at 6:30 a.m. on April 10, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus through a telescope at 6:30 a.m. on April 10, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
04/02/2014 – Ephemeris – When it’s Wednesday it’s Planet Time!
Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 2nd. The sun will rise at 7:21. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 8:11. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 11:41 this evening.
Wednesday is Bright Planets Day here on Ephemeris. Jupiter will be in the south-southwestern sky as darkness falls tonight. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now, and moving slowly eastward after spending a couple of months backtracking to the west. It will set at 3:31 a.m. in the west-northwest. Reddish Mars is in Virgo now above and a bit left of the bright star Spica in the late evening, which it now outshines. Mars will rise at 8:39 p.m. It will pass due south at 2:18 a.m. It’s 58.6 million miles away now. Mars is 6 days from opposition and 12 days from closest approach this go round. Saturn will rise at 11:23 p.m. in the east-southeast and pass due south at 4:20 a.m.. It’s seen against the stars of Libra the scales this year. Venus will rise at 5:37 tomorrow morning and be seen in the southeast.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, the Moon and the winter constellations at 10 p.m. on April 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon through a small telescope at 10 p.m. on April 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and moons through a small telescope at 10 p.m. on April 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars rising at 10 p.m. on April 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars through a telescope at 11 p.m. on April 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and Saturn with some spring and summer constellations at 6 a.m. on April 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars through a telescope at 6 a.m. on April 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
In the morning Mars currently turns a more interesting face to us than in the evening. The big dark area on the lower left of Mars is Syrtis Major, which translates to the “Great Swamp”. I prefer the Latin. It is the most recognizable dark features on the planet. Where it appears on the face of Mars depends on the optical arrangement and eyepiece placement in your telescope.
Saturn through a telescope at 6 a.m. on April 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus in twilight at 6:30 a.m. on April 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus through a telescope at 6:30 a.m. on April 3, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
03/26/2014 – Ephemeris – It’s Wednesday, do you know where the bright planets are?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 26th. The sun will rise at 7:34. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 8:02. The moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 5:31 tomorrow morning.
Wednesday is Bright Planets Day here on Ephemeris. Jupiter will be in the southern sky as darkness falls tonight. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now, and moving east after spending a couple of months backtracking to the west. It will set at 3:56 a.m. in the west-northwest. Reddish Mars is in Virgo now and left and a bit above bright star Spica in the late evening, which it now outshines. Mars will rise at 9:19 p.m. It will pass due south at 2:54 a.m. It’s 61 million miles away now. Saturn will rise at 11:53 p.m. in the east-southeast. It’s seen against the stars of Libra the scales this year. Venus will rise at 5:43 tomorrow morning. The crescent moon will appear above left of Venus then.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the winter constellations at 10 p.m. on March 26, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and the spring constellations at 10 p.m. on March 26, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn, Venus and the Moon with the constellations of summer at 6:30 a.m. on March 27, 2014. I’ve added Venus’ orbit and the ecliptic. Created using Stellarium.
Venus and the crescent Moon at 6:30 a.m. March 27, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Relative sizes of the planets as seen in a telescope using the same magnification. Created using Stellarium.
03/19/2014 – Ephemeris – Wednesday is bright planet day
Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 19th. The sun will rise at 7:47. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 6 minutes, setting at 7:53. The moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 11:19 this evening.
Wednesday is bright planet day on Ephemeris. Jupiter will be in the southern sky as darkness falls tonight. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now, and moving east after spending a couple of months backtracking to the west. It will pass due south at 8:39 p.m., and will set at 4:22 a.m. in the west-northwest. Reddish Mars is in Virgo now and left and a bit above bright star Spica in the late evening, which it now outshines. Mars will rise at 9:56 p.m. It will pass due south at 3:29 a.m. Saturn will rise at 12:21 a.m. in the east-southeast. It’s seen against the stars of Libra the scales this year. Venus will rise at 5:48 tomorrow morning and shines brightly in the southeast before sunrise. It will reach its greatest angle from the sun on Saturday.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the winter constellations at 10 p.m. on March 19, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
- Jupiter and moons at 10 p.m. on March 19, 2014. Created using Cartes du Ciel.
Note the Great Red Spot. It will transit the disk ( be centered) at 10:48 p.m. Since the 1960’s the Great Red Spot has not been that red. It’s faded quite a bit since then. I tend to think of it a a pastel pink. This is a north is up view, but most telescopes invert the image and/or show a mirror image, so don’t give up too soon.
Mars low in the east at 11 p.m. on March 19, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
- Mars, Saturn, and Venus with the constellations of summer at 6:30 a.m. on March 20, 2014. I’ve added Venus’ orbit and the ecliptic. Created using Stellarium.
Saturday Venus will be at its greatest western elongation from the sun of 47º. As can be seen it’s about there now. The ecliptic is the plane of the earth’s orbit, and the other planets stick reasonably close to it because the solar system is essentially flat. I’m sure the new Cosmos will cover how the solar system formed and the reason the solar system is flat and also one way.
Saturn and its moons at 6:30 a.m., March 20, 2014. Only the moon Titan can be easily seen in small telescopes. Created using Stellarium.
Venus at 6:30 a.m., March 20, 2014. I burned in the image of Venus because that’s what it looks like. Stellarium shows the Venusian clouds as seen in ultraviolet light. In white light Venus is a cue ball. Created using Stellarium.
Spring starts tomorrow!
