Archive
07/27/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets this week
Wednesday, July 27th. The sun rises at 6:23. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 9:14. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 4:00 tomorrow morning.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the west southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 11:58 p.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. We are now slowly seeing Saturn slip into evening twilight. We have a few more weeks of good viewing of Saturn before its image deteriorates by being too low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 12:50 a.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. Mars will rise at 3:15 also in the east northeast and is located near the lower tip of the horn of Taurus the bull.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Wednesday, July 27th. The sun rises at 6:23. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 9:14. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 4:00 tomorrow morning. | It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the west southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 11:58 p.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. We are now slowly seeing Saturn slip into evening twilight. We have a few more weeks of good viewing of Saturn before its image deteriorates by being too low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 12:50 a.m. in the east northeast and is seen against the stars of the constellation Aries now. Mars will rise at 3:15 also in the east northeast and is located near the lower tip of the horn of Taurus the bull.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
07/20/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets visible this week
Wednesday, July 20th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 9:21. The moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:33 this evening. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:16.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the west southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 12:29 a.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. We are now slowly seeing Saturn slip into evening twilight. We have about another month of good viewing of Saturn before its image deteriorates by being too low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 1:15 a.m. in the east and is seen against the stars of Aries now. Mars will rise at 3:24 in the east northeast and is located against the horns of Taurus the bull.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
07/13/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets visible this week
Wednesday, July 13th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 16 minutes, setting at 9:26. The moon, 2 days before full, will set at 5:29 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:10.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the west southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 12:55 a.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. The shadows of the rings on the planet and planet on the rings are now near their maximum extent. We are now slowly seeing Saturn slip into evening twilight. We have about another month of good viewing of Saturn before its image deteriorates by being too low in the sky. Jupiter will rise at 1:40 a.m. in the east. Mars will rise at 3:33 in the east northeast.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
07/08/11 – Ephemeris – Viewing night Saturday at the Rogers Observatory
Friday, July 8th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 23 minutes, setting at 9:29. The moon, at first quarter today, will set at 1:14 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:06.
Tomorrow evening there will be a viewing night at Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H. Rogers Observatory. On tap if it’s clear will be Saturn and the moon plus the brighter deep sky objects, that is telescopic objects that are beyond the solar system. Saturn is the planet to see in a telescope with it’s fantastic rings. The moon will reveal its wonders including the great Copernicus crater, 56 miles wide and two miles deep with a triple central peak and terraced walls. The observatory hill is also good vantage point to view the Cherry Festival fireworks where they’re not so loud. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Road between Garfield and Keystone roads.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
07/06/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets this week
Wednesday, July 6th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 25 minutes, setting at 9:29. The moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 12:15 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:04.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 1:26 a.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. The shadows of the rings on the planet and planet on the rings are now near their maximum extent. Its bright moon Titan is also visible. Folks with good telescopes and good eyesight can also see up to four of Saturn’s fainter moons. Jupiter will rise at 2:05 a.m. in the east. Mars will rise at 3:43 in the east northeast. Venus and Mercury are too close to the sun to be seen.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
06/29/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets this week
Wednesday, June 29th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 31 minutes, setting at 9:31. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 5:14 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:00.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 1:57 a.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. The shadows of the rings on the planet and planet on the rings are now near their maximum extent. Its bright moon Titan is also visible. Folks with good telescopes and good eyesight can also see up to four of Saturn’s fainter moons. Jupiter will rise at 2:30 a.m. in the east. Mars will rise at 3:54. Venus now rises too close to sunrise to be seen in the twilight as is Mercury.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
06/22/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets visible this week
Wednesday, June 22nd. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 9:31. The moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 1:07 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 5:57.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the south southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its lower left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 2:21 a.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. The shadows of the rings on the planet and planet on the rings are now near their maximum extent. Its bright moon Titan is also visible. Folks with good telescopes and good eyesight can also see up to four of Saturn’s fainter moons. Jupiter will rise at 2:55 a.m. in the east. Mars will rise at 4:06. Venus now rises too close to sunrise to be seen in the twilight as is Mercury.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
06/15/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets for this week and a Lunar Eclipse
Wednesday, June 15th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 9:29. The moon, at full today, will rise at 9:35 this evening. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 5:56.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the south southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its lower left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 2:44 a.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. Jupiter will rise at 3:19 a.m. in the east. Mars will rise at 4:19. Venus now rises too close to sunrise to be seen in the twilight as is Mercury. There will be a total lunar eclipse this afternoon our time, making it completely invisible from here. However it will be perfectly visible from Asia where among others my grandson Chris is serving as a Marine. I’ve emailed him the times which are also available on the Ephemeris Blog.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Here’s the poop on the Total Lunar Eclipse on the night of the 15th-16th.
I’m giving the timings in both Universal Time (UT), also known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Zulu and Afghanistan Standard Time (AST) (UT+4.5 hours).
Event UT AST Partial Eclipse Starts 15th 18:22 15th 22:52 Total Phase Starts 15th 19:22 15th 23:52 Total Phase Ends 15th 21:03 16th 01:33 Partial Eclipse Ends 15th 02:02 16th 02:32
The moon will enter the earth’s shadow from right to left.
During the total phase of the eclipse (we call it totality), the moon will probably appear red in color with gray near the edge of the earth’s shadow.
If you were on the moon, looking back at the earth at maximum eclipse the earth will appear as a red ring, the total of all the sunrises and sunsets around the earth.
06/08/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets this week
Wednesday, June 8th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 9:25. The moon, at first quarter today, will set at 1:44 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 5:57.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the south southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its lower left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 3:12 a.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. The shadows of the rings on the planet and planet on the rings are now near their maximum extent. Its bright moon Titan is also visible. Folks with good telescopes and good eyesight can also see uo to fours of Saturn’s fainter moons. Jupiter will rise at 3:40 a.m. in the east. Mars will rise at 4:30. Venus now rises too close to sunrise to be seen in the twilight as is Mercury.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
06/01/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets for this week
Wednesday, June 1st. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 9:20. The moon is new today, and won’t be visible. | Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:00.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the south as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its lower left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will cross the meridian due south at 9:45 p.m. and will set at 3:40 a.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. Its bright moon Titan is also visible. Jupiter will rise at 4:07 a.m. in the east. Mars will rise at 4:46. Venus now rises too close to sunrise to be seen in the twilight as is Mercury. There will be a partial solar eclipse this afternoon for most of Alaska. Parts of Canada from the Yukon to Nova Scotia and Greenland. That means it won’t be visible from here.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
