Archive
01/01/2014 – Ephemeris – A look at events the month and for the next few days and the planets
Note: The two paragraphs below were aired on IPR. They are not my usual Wednesday feature on the planets which is in the addendum. The first few days of January are busy with astronomical happenings. I’ll have a preview of this year’s eclipses on Monday the 6th with the daily and an extra post.
Ephemeris for New Years Day, Wednesday, January 1st, 2014. The sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 5:13. The moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
Happy New Year. We’re too busy with astronomical events to preview the year. Today and tomorrow we’ll cover the highlights of this month. We’re a day from the latest sunrise at about the same time as today and will back down to 8:02 by the 31st. Sunset is current increasing by a minute a day and will set at 5:50 at month’s end. Listeners on the shore of Lake Michigan will have about the same sunrise time from Ludington to Mackinaw City, but the sunset times will vary markedly. Jupiter will be in opposition from the sun and rise at sunset on the 4th. This is your last week to see Venus in the evening sky. It will leave the evening sky on the 11th and enter the morning sky. Start looking for the Quadrantid meteor shower that will peak on the 3rd.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
A star chart for January 15th at 9 p.m. Add a half hour to every week before the 15th and subtract and hour for every week after the 15th. Created using my LookingUp program.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here
This is our weekly look at the planets. Venus is brilliant in the southwest after sunset. It will set at 6:36 p.m. Venus is noticeably closing with the sun. It will be lost in the glare of the sun in less than a week. Venus is a thin crescent, and we’re at the point where the crescent can be visible in binoculars. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 5:24 p.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. It will pass due south at 1:04 a.m. It will be in opposition from the sun on the 4th, where it will rise at sunset and set at sunrise. Mars will rise at 12:51 a.m. in the east. Reddish Mars is to the upper right of the bright star Spica in Virgo. Saturn will rise at 4:12 a.m. in the east southeast. It will be in Libra this year. The ringed planet will best be seen in the evening next summer. There is a comet visible in binoculars in the morning sky. It’s Comet Lovejoy (C/2013R1).
Venus in the west southwest at 6 p.m. on January 1, 2014. Venus will be harder and harder to spot between now and its inferior conjunction with the sun on the 11th. Created using Stellarium.
Venus’ thin crescent on January 1, 2014 at 6 p.m. The crescent will be bright but the night side will not be visible as Stellarium suggests. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and the constellations of winter at 9 p.m. on January 1, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its satellites as seen in a telescope at 9 p.m. on January 1, 2014. That actual rotation of the image depends on the telescope. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and Saturn among the spring constellations at 6 a.m. January 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The track of Comet Lovejoy, which still should be visible in binoculars from 01/02/14 to 01/31/14 at 6:30 a.m. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
12/25/2015 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets and Comet Lovejoy this week?
Ephemeris for Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25th. The sun will rise at 8:18. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:07. The moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 1:34 tomorrow morning.
This is our weekly look at the planets. Venus is brilliant in the southwest after sunset. It will set at 7:08 p.m. Venus is noticeably closing with the sun. It will be lost in the glare of the sun in less than 2 weeks. Venus is a thin crescent, and we’re at the point where the crescent can be visible in binoculars. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 5:56 p.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. It will pass due south at 1:35 a.m. Mars will rise at 1:02 a.m. in the east. Reddish Mars is to the upper right of the bright star Spica. It will be above the moon tomorrow morning. Saturn will rise at 4:36 a.m. in the east southeast. The ringed planet will best be seen in the evening next summer. There is a comet visible in binoculars in the morning sky. It’s Comet Lovejoy.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus in the southwest at 6 p.m. on December 25, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
The thin crescent of Venus seen in a telescope. December 25, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and the constellations of winter at 9 p.m. on December 25, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Apparent traffic jam of Jovian satellites as seen in a telescope at 9 p.m. on December 25, 2013. That actual rotation of the image depends on the telescope. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and Saturn among the spring constellations at 6 a.m. December 26, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as seen in binoculars or telescope at 6 a.m. December 26, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
The track of Comet Lovejoy, which still should be visible in binoculars from 12/26/2013 to 01/01/2014 at 6 a.m. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Note that Stellarium and Cartes du Ciel as free programs. Links to them can be found at the right under Free Astronomical Programs.
12/19/2013 – Ephemeris – The mystery of the Star of Bethlehem
Ephemeris for Thursday, December 19th. The sun will rise at 8:15. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:04. The moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 7:34 this evening.
The Star of Bethlehem is one of the great mysteries of Christmas. The Chinese of that time were the only ones that recorded the happenings in the heavens. There were no bright stars that appeared near the time of Christ’s birth. That leads us to the Magi themselves, if that’s who they were. Magi were astrologer priests of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. They saw signs in the positions of the planets that would go unnoticed to the Jews to which astrology was forbidden. Conjunctions where two or more planets gathered together were the most powerful of these configurations. There was a triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in seven BC, and two extremely close conjunctions between Jupiter and Venus in 3 and 2 BC. Could one of those be it?
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Jupiter-Saturn triple conjunction of 7 BC. Click on the image to enlarge and animate. Created using Cartes du Ciel.
Animation of the Jupiter-Venus conjunction of August 3, 3 BC. in the morning twilight. Created using Stellarium.
Click on the image to enlarge and show the animation. Jupiter is rising while Venus, the brighter one, is heading back to the sun. Jupiter will seem to mate with Venus. 9 months later, the human gestation period their paths seem to cross again.
June of 2 BC just after sunset Jupiter and Venus again cross paths. Created using Stellarium.
Click on the image to enlarge and show the animation.
12/18/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets and Comet Lovejoy?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 18th. The sun will rise at 8:14. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:03. The moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 6:38 this evening.
This is our weekly look at the planets. Venus is brilliant in the southwest after sunset. It will set at 7:30 p.m. Venus us beginning to noticeably close with the sun. It will be gone from our evening sky in a month. Venus is a crescent, and we’re coming to the point where the crescent can be visible in binoculars. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 6:28 p.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. It will pass due south at 2:07 a.m. Mars will rise at 1:13 a.m. in the east. Reddish Mars is closer to Spica in Virgo than to Regulus in Leo. Saturn will rise at 5 a.m. in the east southeast. There is a comet visible in binoculars in the morning sky. It’s Comet Lovejoy. A finder chart for the next week will be at bobmoler.wordpress.com with today’s transcript.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus in the southwest at 6 p.m. on December 18, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Venus as seen in a telescope at 6 p.m. December 18, 2013. The disk will be blindingly bright with no detail. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and the Moon at 9 p.m. on December 18, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its moons as seen in a telescope at 9 p.m. December 18, 2013. The orientation may be rotated or even mirror image. Created using Stellarium.
Mars, Saturn and the ghost of Comet ISON at 6 a.m. on December 19, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Comet Lovejoy finder chart for the next week at 6 a.m. We’re stuck also with the ghost of Comet ISON. Look in the northeast at the constellation Hercules. Created using Cartes du Ciel.
12/11/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets this week, plus a consolation comet
Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 11th. The sun will rise at 8:09. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 5:02. The moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 3:23 tomorrow morning.
Let’s see where the bright planets are this week. Venus is brilliant in the southwest after sunset. It will set at 7:44 p.m. Venus has a crescent appearance because it is between the Earth and Sun which is easily seen in telescopes and can be detected in binoculars now. Venus is 57 million kilometers away from us now or 35.4 million miles. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 7 p.m.. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. It will pass due south at 2:37 a.m. Mars will rise at 1:22 a.m. in the east. Mars is a bit closer to Spica in Virgo than Regulus in Leo, and can be distinguished by its yellow-orange color. Saturn will rise at 5:24 a.m. and should be visible low in the east south east by 6 a.m.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus in the southwest at 6 p.m. on December 11, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Venus as seen in a telescope at 6 p.m. December 11, 2013. The disk will be blindingly bright with no detail. Created using Stellarium.
The gibbous Moon magnified at 9 p.m. on December 11, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and some winter constellations at 9 p.m. on December 11, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its moons as seen in a telescope at 9 p.m. December 11, 2013. The orientation may be rotated or even mirror image. Created using Stellarium.
Mars, Saturn and the ghost of Comet ISON at 6 a.m. on December 12, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Comet Lovejoy finder chart for the next week at 6 a.m. There a bit of a tail at the right edge from the ghost of ISON (It’s not visible). Look in the northeast at the constellation Hercules with binoculars. Created using Cartes du Ciel.
Comet Lovejoy is an easy binocular object. It’s brighter than Comet ISON was in dark skies.
12/04/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 4th. The sun will rise at 8:02. It’ll be up for 9 hours even, setting at 5:02. The moon, 2 days past new, will set at 7:15 this evening.
Let’s see where the bright planets are this week. Venus is brilliant in the southwest after sunset. It will set at 7:51 p.m. The thin crescent moon will be to the right and a bit below Venus tonight. Venus is itself a crescent, and we’re coming to the point where the crescent can be visible in binoculars. Venus is as close to us now as the debris from Comet ISON will ever get to us. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 7:31 p.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. It will pass due south at 3:08 a.m. Mars will rise at 1:31 a.m. in the east. Reddish Mars is midway between Regulus in Leo and Spica in Virgo. Saturn will rise at 5:47 a.m. and should be visible low in the east south east by 6:30.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus and the Moon in the southwest at 6 p.m. on December 4, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon magnified at 6 p.m. on December 4, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Venus as seen in a telescope at 6 p.m. December 4, 2013. The crescent will be blindingly bright with no detail. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and some winter constellations at 9 p.m. on December 4, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its moons as seen in a telescope at 9 p.m. December 4, 2013. The orientation may be rotated or even mirror image. Created using Stellarium.
Mars, Saturn and the ghost of Comet ISON at 6:30 a.m. on December 5, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
11/27/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets and what’s up with Comet ISON?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 27th. The sun will rise at 7:54. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 10 minutes, setting at 5:05. The moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 2:46 tomorrow morning.
Let’s see where the bright planets are this eventful week. Venus is brilliant in the southwest after sunset. It will set at 7:53 p.m. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 8:01 p.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. It will pass due south at 3:38 a.m. Mars will rise at 1:47 a.m. also in the east northeast. Reddish Mars is midway between Regulus in Leo and Spica in Virgo and tomorrow morning will be about 12 moon diameters above left of the moon. Mercury and Saturn will be together in the east southeast by 7 a.m. Mercury is the lower and brighter of the two. Comet ISON is now too close to the sun to be seen. Check bobmoler.wordpress.com (see below) for how to view Comet ISON near the sun.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus as it should appear at 6 p.m. on 11/27/2013. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic view of Venus as it should appear at 6 p.m. on 11/27/2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and some winter constellations as they should appear at 10 p.m. on 11/27/2013. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic view of Jupiter and its satellites as they should appear at 10 p.m. on 11/27/2013. The satellite Io is behind the planet and won’t appear until after midnight. Created using Stellarium.
The morning planets Mars, Saturn and Mercury plus the Moon at 6:45 a.m. November 28, 2013. Created using Stellarium
The Moon at 6:45 a.m. November 28, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Comet ISON
Phil Plait the Bad Astronomer reported Monday that Comet ISON had suddenly decreased the amount of ices that it was emitting and pretty much simultaneously greatly increased the amount of dust it was producing. One of the possible explanations was that its nucleus had been disrupted. The comet’s nucleus is the small, maybe 2 km diameter, solid part of the comet. All the other parts of the comet are the thin ejected gas and dust from that nucleus. The head and tail of the comet is still a pretty good vacuum by earthly standards. There is still questions about it today. Here’s a YouTube video posted by the Planetary Society’s Emily Lakdawalla created by Emily from images taken by the STEREO Ahead spacecraft. It seems to be holding its own:
Here is the Planetary Society Blog entry that discusses Comet ISON’s then current status.
At the time of this posting (10 p.m. 11/26) the STEREO Behind COR 2 image shows Comet ISON entering on the lower left. Also SOHO’s LASCO C3 imager shows Comet ISON entering the view from the lower right. There’s also a coronal mass ejection (CME) erupting toward the comet. It could pass behind it, in front of it or actually toward it. It should be interesting.
Live programming of NASA-TV Thanksgiving Day
November 28, Thursday
1 – 3:30 p.m. – NASA Google+ Hangout: Comet ISON – GSFC (All Channels)
Here’s a link to NASA-TV: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/
11/22/2013 – Ephemeris – President Kennedy and the quest for the Moon plus Comet ISON finder charts
Ephemeris for Friday, November 22nd. The sun will rise at 7:48. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 5:08. The moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 9:43 this evening.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Yes I remember where I was when I heard the news. Being a program about astronomy and space I’d like to think about the challenge he laid down “to send a man to the moon and return him safely to the Earth by the end of the decade”. This was in the midst of the Cold War in response to the Soviet’s triumph in sending Yuri Gagarin into orbit. It was made almost a sacred vow due to Kennedy’s assassination. No NASA program since was funded to the extent that the Gemini and Apollo programs were, so that on July 20, 1969 that promise was fulfilled. All of money spent in NASA’s 55 years is actually less than that of the recent bank bailout.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Comet ISON
Finder charts for Comet ISON for this morning, Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings.
Chart for finding Comet ISON this morning (November 22, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.). Chart created using Cartes du Ciel.
Chart for finding Comet ISON Saturday morning (November 23, 2013 at 7:00 a.m.). Chart created using Cartes du Ciel.
Chart for finding Comet ISON Sunday morning (November 24, 2013 at 7:00 a.m.). Chart created using Cartes du Ciel.
Chart for finding Comet ISON Monday morning (November 25, 2013 at 7:15 a.m.). Chart created using Cartes du Ciel.
10/15/2013 – Ephemeris – Correction to last Thursday’s Comet ISON program
Ephemeris for Tuesday, October 15th. The sun will rise at 7:58. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 6:57. The moon, 3 days before full, will set at 5:21 tomorrow morning.
Last week I went out to verify the statement that Comet ISON was visible in binoculars that I talked about last Thursday. That turned out to be incorrect. After two failed attempts last Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from my back yard. I had to find a darker location to out flank Traverse City and try to spot the comet with my 11 inch telescope. The comet turned out to be a faint smudge in the indicated spot. The sky wasn’t even dark in that direction, almost due east due to zodiacal light, visible on autumn mornings due to dust in the inner solar system. Zodiacal light is usually hard to spot until it becomes a nuisance. Advanced amateurs have indeed photographed it, tail and all, but visually the comet isn’t much at this stage.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Comet ISON and Mars at 6 a.m. for 7 days starting October 10, 2013. Created using SkyCharts (Cartes du Ciel).
I’ll have a new weekly chart tomorrow. Mars and Comet ISON are sliding past Regulus now. See spaceweather.com for images of Comet ISON. By the end of this week the Moon’s light will interfere.
10/09/2013 – Ephemeris – The Bright planets and Comet ISON for this week
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 9th. The sun will rise at 7:50. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 7:08. The moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 10:32 this evening.
Time again to check out the bright planets. Mercury has an unfavorable greatest elongation from the sun today. It’s too close to the horizon for all but the best observers to spot. Almost the same can be said of Saturn, right of and a bit below Venus tonight. Binoculars may be needed to it. Saturn will set at 8:15 while Venus will set at 8:50 p.m.. We are losing Saturn in the sun’s glare for a few months. The rest of the planetary action will be in the morning sky. The giant planet Jupiter will rise at 12:12 a.m. in the east northeast. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. By 6 a.m it will be high in the southeast, the brightest object in that direction. Mars will rise at 3:25 a.m. also in the east northeast. It’s nearing Leo.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus, Saturn and the Moon in the west southwest at 8 p.m. October 9, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Closeup of the moon. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Mars with the winter stars and constellations at 6 a.m., October 10, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Comet ISON and Mars at 6 a.m. for 7 days starting October 10, 2013. Created using SkyCharts (Cartes du Ciel).
Note that the comet is somewhat dimmer than predicted and barely visible in binoculars. The tail may not be visible except in photographs. I can’t really say since I haven’t seen it yet.
