Archive
Ephemeris: 10/24/2024 – Looking at Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS for the rest of the month
This is Ephemeris for Thursday, October 24th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 31 minutes, setting at 6:42, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:12. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 1:01 tomorrow morning.
Looking at the rest of the month in viewing Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in dark skies, we find it moving away from us and dimming rapidly. It will be moving across the constellation of Ophiuchus and it will be mostly in the west southwestern sky, And will need a pair of binoculars or a small telescope to spot. The comet has an easily seen tail, even when it becomes dim and only visible in binoculars. It should still have a tail. Comets sport two tails, a dust tail the bright tail that we see on comets, and a narrower ion tail. The ionized gas of the ion tail is driven back by the solar wind while the dust tail is predominantly affected by the pressure of sunlight itself. When close to the Sun it is moving more sideways, so the tails will appear to separate.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 10/23/2024 – Taking a look at this week’s brighter solar system bodies
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 23rd. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 6:44, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:10. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 11:50 this evening.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. Venus might be spotted in the West southwest low on the horizon at 7:15 PM, 29 minutes after sunset. It will set at 8:17. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be west after 8:30 PM the end of astronomical twilight. It will set at 10:55 PM. Saturn will be in the southeast at 8 PM. Jupiter will rise at 9:11 PM this evening in the east northeast, and be a good object for the small telescope about an hour later. By 7:00 AM tomorrow Jupiter will be high in the southwest while Mars will be high in the south to the right of the Moon.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 10/22/2024 – Reviewing last week’s showing of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, October 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 37 minutes, setting at 6:45, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:09. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 10:40 this evening.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS continues to head out away from the Sun and the Earth, heading back to the Oort Cloud from whence it came. It’s best showing for us came last week. Unfortunately, it was cloudy the weekend before and the first part of the week when the comet was its brightest. However, by Wednesday evening I was able to spot the comet, but not with the naked eye. I could see it in binoculars and I photographed it. Between the twilight and bright moonlight my poor eyes were not able to spot it. Now that the Moon is leaving the evening sky, and the comet is moving up above the horizon in the west, it should be easily spotted with binoculars towards 9 pm. It has faded significantly and will continue as it speeds away from us.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Wednesday, October 16th
October 17th
Comet track
Ephemeris: 10/18/2024 – Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS can barely compete with the bright Moon
This is Ephemeris for Friday, October 18th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 6:52, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:04. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 7:21 this evening.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be visible by 8:00 PM in the west-southwest. It’s a bit higher than it was last night and tomorrow night it’ll be a bit higher still. It also is fading and must also compete with the bright moonlight. It is the brightest comet that we’ve seen around here this century. We’ve been looking forward to this comet for more than a year and a half, since it’s discovery in January of last year. Comets were not always objects to look forward to. In ancient times when they suddenly appeared, they struck fear. They were thought to portend disasters. In fact the word disaster means ill-starred. The word comet basically comes from the Latin meaning hairy star. The Chinese had a similar name for them, they called them broom stars.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 10/17/2024 – Comets look a lot bigger than they actually are
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, October 17th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 6:53, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:02. The Moon, at full today, will rise at 6:53 this evening. | Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will have its greatest competition with the Moon tonight since it’s full. However, in succeeding nights the Moon will get dimmer and also rise later. At 8 PM the comet will be nearly 18° above the west-southwestern horizon with its tail pointing to up into the bit to the left.* What makes comets spectacular is that they contain volatile materials, like frozen gases, water, and carbon compounds. The solid body of the comet, called the nucleus is quite small, from less than a mile to up to 25 miles in diameter, which on the solar system scale is tiny. They live quite happily in the outer solar system where it’s cold. When approaching the Sun the gases sublimate liberating the included dust, producing the tails the comets are famous for.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
* I was able to spot the comet last night at around 8:10 PM but only through binoculars. It was not visible to my unaided eye. However, it was visible in binoculars. It also photographed well with the image showing a lot more than what was visible even through binoculars and the amount of clouds that were actually in the sky. However, the clouds were light and generally did not hinder the comet too much. The photograph of the comet below has been processed to increase its brightness and contrast with the sky.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 10/16/2024 – Where are the naked-eye planets and the comet?
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 16th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 6:55, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:01. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 8:11 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. Venus might be spotted in the West southwest low on the horizon at 7:30 PM, 35 minutes after sunset. It will set at 8:19. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be west southwest way above and to the right of Venus. It will set at 9:46 PM. Saturn will be in the southeast at 8 PM. Jupiter will rise at 9:40 PM this evening and be a good object for the small telescope about an hour later. Jupiter and Mars are both mourning planets so they can be seen early in the morning before sunrise. By 7:00 AM tomorrow Jupiter will be high in the southwest while Mars will be high in the South.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 10/15/2024 – Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should be visible this week if clouds allow
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, October 15th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 58 minutes, setting at 6:57, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:00. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 6:47 tomorrow morning.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has been visible in our evening skies for the last three nights and will be at least bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. And it should be so for most of the rest of the month. However, this week so far has been cloudy, and it will be cloudy until possibly Wednesday night however Thursday and Friday look like the best for viewing of the comet. Of course this is Michigan, so don’t hold me to it. The comet has been pretty much living up to expectations as far as its brightness and the length of its tail. The comet peak brightness which came early last week, when it could only be seen during the daytime, was as bright as the planet Venus. Now that it is headed away from the Sun and the Earth it will rapidly fade.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
What we’ve missed
It was partly cloudy on the evening of 14th, last night. I went out a little after 8 PM to see if I could spot the comet. I could see Arcturus, however I could not spot the comet or the planet Venus. However, I believe someone in our area could have spotted the comet, if they were in the right location.
Ephemeris: 10/11/2024 – Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be visible as early as tonight
This is Ephemeris for Friday, October 11th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 10 minutes, setting at 7:04, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:55. The Moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 1:22 tomorrow morning.
While I think the first time the spot Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be tomorrow night, sharp-eyed observers with binoculars might be able to find the comet tonight just about due west near the horizon after 7:30 PM it will be a difficult task being so close to the sun The comet will set at 8:09 PM, however if the tail is bright enough it may still be visible. The comet’s tail should be relatively short since it’s actually pointing back towards us. That may also make the tail somewhat brighter since we’re looking down through the thicker part of the tail rather than through its side. I’ve seen a lot of comets in my time, the first ones in 1957. There were two bright comets that year.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 10/08/2024 – Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be brighter than expected
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, October 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 7:09, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:51. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 10:00 this evening.
You are going to hear a lot about a bright comet visible in the evening starting this weekend. The comet with a long name Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will begin to be visible in the evening sky, and it will be very bright. It will be the brightest comet we’ve had in some time visible in the Northern Hemisphere since Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. The reason for this comet’s great brightness is that the comet is passing between the Earth and the Sun. This comet is very dusty with an extensive dust tail. Since the comet is passing between the Earth and Sun the dust scatters sunlight in a forward direction like seeing sunbeams through holes in the clouds near sunset. This is making the comet brighter than originally predicted.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 10/01/2024 – Previewing the skies of October
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, October 1st. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 40 minutes, setting at 7:22, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:42. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 7:30 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the skies for the month of October. The Sun will still be moving south rapidly. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will drop from 11 hours and 40 minutes today to 10 hours, 11 minutes at month’s end. The altitude of the Sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be 42 degrees today, and will descend to 31 degrees on Halloween, also in the Interlochen area. Sunrise times will increase from 7:41 today all the way to 8:20 a.m. in Interlochen and Traverse City on the 31st. Sunset times will decrease from 7:22 p.m. today to 6:32 on Halloween.
The big event of October will be the appearance of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the evening sky which may become quite bright, but being a comet, all bets are off until you actually see it. It will become visible in the evening sky starting October 12th.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
October path of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS
October Evening Star Chart
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 9 p.m. EDT in the evening and 6 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian, West 75° longitude. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 1 hour 45 minutes earlier than the current time.
October Morning Star Chart
or a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations, click here.
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris, the North Star.
- Leaky dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus.
- The Summer Triangle is in red.
- DracR – Draconid Radiant – Peaks the 8th – Zenithal Hourly Rate < 10 with rare outbursts of a thousand an hour. It’s hindered this year by the full moon.
- OriR – Orionid Radiant – Peak 21st – Zenithal Hourly Rate = 20
Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical
| EDT | |||||||
| Morning | Twilight | Evening | Twilight | Dark | Night | Moon | |
| Date | Astro. | Nautical | Nautical | Astro. | Start | End | Illum. |
| 2024-10-01 | 6h06m | 6h40m | 20h28m | 21h03m | 21h03m | 6h06m | 0.00 |
| 2024-10-02 | 6h07m | 6h41m | 20h27m | 21h01m | 21h01m | 6h07m | 0.00 |
| 2024-10-03 | 6h08m | 6h42m | 20h25m | 20h59m | 20h59m | 6h08m | 0.02 |
| 2024-10-04 | 6h09m | 6h43m | 20h23m | 20h57m | 20h57m | 6h09m | 0.05 |
| 2024-10-05 | 6h11m | 6h45m | 20h21m | 20h55m | 20h55m | 6h11m | 0.10 |
| 2024-10-06 | 6h12m | 6h46m | 20h19m | 20h53m | 20h53m | 6h12m | 0.17 |
| 2024-10-07 | 6h13m | 6h47m | 20h17m | 20h51m | 21h15m | 6h13m | 0.25 |
| 2024-10-08 | 6h14m | 6h48m | 20h16m | 20h50m | 22h01m | 6h14m | 0.34 |
| 2024-10-09 | 6h16m | 6h50m | 20h14m | 20h48m | 22h58m | 6h16m | 0.44 |
| 2024-10-10 | 6h17m | 6h51m | 20h12m | 20h46m | – | 6h17m | 0.55 |
| 2024-10-11 | 6h18m | 6h52m | 20h10m | 20h44m | 0h06m | 6h18m | 0.65 |
| 2024-10-12 | 6h19m | 6h53m | 20h09m | 20h43m | 1h22m | 6h19m | 0.76 |
| 2024-10-13 | 6h21m | 6h54m | 20h07m | 20h41m | 2h42m | 6h21m | 0.85 |
| 2024-10-14 | 6h22m | 6h56m | 20h05m | 20h39m | 4h03m | 6h22m | 0.92 |
| 2024-10-15 | 6h23m | 6h57m | 20h04m | 20h37m | 5h25m | 6h23m | 0.98 |
| 2024-10-16 | 6h24m | 6h58m | 20h02m | 20h36m | – | – | 1.00 |
| 2024-10-17 | 6h26m | 6h59m | 20h00m | 20h34m | – | – | 0.99 |
| 2024-10-18 | 6h27m | 7h01m | 19h55m | 20h33m | – | – | 0.96 |
| 2024-10-19 | 6h28m | 7h02m | 19h53m | 20h31m | – | – | 0.89 |
| 2024-10-20 | 6h29m | 7h03m | 19h52m | 20h29m | 20h29m | 20h40m | 0.81 |
| 2024-10-21 | 6h31m | 7h04m | 19h50m | 20h28m | 20h28m | 21h36m | 0.72 |
| 2024-10-22 | 6h32m | 7h05m | 19h49m | 20h26m | 20h26m | 22h41m | 0.62 |
| 2024-10-23 | 6h33m | 7h07m | 19h47m | 20h25m | 20h25m | 23h51m | 0.51 |
| 2024-10-24 | 6h34m | 7h08m | 19h46m | 20h23m | 20h23m | – | 0.41 |
| 2024-10-25 | 6h35m | 7h09m | 19h44m | 20h22m | 20h22m | 1h01m | 0.32 |
| 2024-10-26 | 6h37m | 7h10m | 19h43m | 20h21m | 20h21m | 2h10m | 0.23 |
| 2024-10-27 | 6h38m | 7h12m | 19h42m | 20h19m | 20h19m | 3h16m | 0.16 |
| 2024-10-28 | 6h39m | 7h13m | 19h40m | 20h18m | 20h18m | 4h19m | 0.10 |
| 2024-10-29 | 6h40m | 7h14m | 19h39m | 20h17m | 20h17m | 5h22m | 0.05 |
| 2024-10-30 | 6h41m | 7h15m | 19h37m | 20h15m | 20h15m | 6h25m | 0.02 |
| 2024-10-31 | 6h43m | 7h16m | 19h36m | 20h14m | 20h14m | 6h43m | 0.00 |
Twilight calendar was generated using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
See my blog post: Twilight Zone for the definitions of the different periods of twilight here: https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
Oct 1 Tu Venus: 31.4° E
2 We 7:52 am Moon Descending Node
2 We 2:46 pm Annular Solar Eclipse
2 We 2:49 pm New Moon
2 We 3:40 pm Moon Apogee: 406500 km
5 Sa 4:26 pm Moon-Venus: 3.3° N
7 Mo 2:48 pm Moon-Antares: .2° N
9 We 7:53 am Moon South Dec.: 28.7° S
10 Th 2:55 pm First Quarter
14 Mo 2:05 pm Moon-Saturn: .1° S
16 We 3:05 am Moon Ascending Node
16 We 8:46 pm Moon Perigee: 357200 km
17 Th 7:26 am Full Moon
18 Fr 7:50 pm Mars-Pollux: 5.7° S
19 Sa 3:59 pm Moon-Pleiades: .1° S
21 Mo 1:58 am Orionid Shower: ZHR = 20
21 Mo 8:50 pm Moon North Dec.: 28.7° N
23 We 1:16 pm Moon-Pollux: 1.8° N
23 We 3:55 pm Moon-Mars: 4.2° S
24 Th 4:03 am Last Quarter
24 Th 1:35 pm Moon-Beehive: 3.3° S
25 Fr 7:43 pm Venus-Antares: 3.1° N
29 Tu 12:44 pm Moon Descending Node
29 Tu 5:50 pm Moon Apogee: 406200 km
Nov 1 Fr Venus: 38.2° E
All event times are given for UTC-4 hr: Eastern Daylight Saving Time.
Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC),
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html.
If you go to the above site, you can print out a list like the above for the entire year or calendar pages for your time zone.
Sun and Moon Rising and Setting Times
LU Ephemeris of Sky Events for Interlochen/TC
October, 2024 Local time zone: EDT
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM |
| | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Tue 1| 07:41a 07:22p 11:40 | 08:25p 06:38a | Rise 07:30a 1%|
|Wed 2| 07:42a 07:20p 11:37 | 08:23p 06:39a |New Set 07:16p 0%|
|Thu 3| 07:43a 07:18p 11:34 | 08:21p 06:40a | Set 07:33p 1%|
|Fri 4| 07:45a 07:16p 11:31 | 08:19p 06:42a | Set 07:51p 4%|
|Sat 5| 07:46a 07:14p 11:28 | 08:17p 06:43a | Set 08:13p 9%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 6| 07:47a 07:13p 11:25 | 08:15p 06:44a | Set 08:40p 15%|
|Mon 7| 07:48a 07:11p 11:22 | 08:14p 06:45a | Set 09:15p 23%|
|Tue 8| 07:50a 07:09p 11:19 | 08:12p 06:47a | Set 10:00p 32%|
|Wed 9| 07:51a 07:07p 11:16 | 08:10p 06:48a | Set 10:57p 42%|
|Thu 10| 07:52a 07:05p 11:13 | 08:08p 06:49a |F Qtr Set 12:05a 52%|
|Fri 11| 07:53a 07:04p 11:10 | 08:07p 06:50a | Set 01:22a 63%|
|Sat 12| 07:55a 07:02p 11:07 | 08:05p 06:51a | Set 02:41a 73%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 13| 07:56a 07:00p 11:04 | 08:03p 06:53a | Set 04:03a 83%|
|Mon 14| 07:57a 06:58p 11:01 | 08:02p 06:54a | Set 05:24a 91%|
|Tue 15| 07:58a 06:57p 10:58 | 08:00p 06:55a | Set 06:47a 97%|
|Wed 16| 08:00a 06:55p 10:55 | 07:58p 06:56a | Set 08:11a 100%|
|Thu 17| 08:01a 06:53p 10:52 | 07:57p 06:58a |Full Rise 06:53p 100%|
|Fri 18| 08:02a 06:52p 10:49 | 07:55p 06:59a | Rise 07:21p 96%|
|Sat 19| 08:04a 06:50p 10:46 | 07:54p 07:00a | Rise 07:55p 91%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 20| 08:05a 06:48p 10:43 | 07:52p 07:01a | Rise 08:40p 83%|
|Mon 21| 08:06a 06:47p 10:40 | 07:50p 07:02a | Rise 09:35p 74%|
|Tue 22| 08:08a 06:45p 10:37 | 07:49p 07:04a | Rise 10:40p 64%|
|Wed 23| 08:09a 06:44p 10:34 | 07:47p 07:05a | Rise 11:50p 53%|
|Thu 24| 08:10a 06:42p 10:31 | 07:46p 07:06a |L Qtr Rise 01:01a 43%|
|Fri 25| 08:12a 06:40p 10:28 | 07:45p 07:07a | Rise 02:09a 34%|
|Sat 26| 08:13a 06:39p 10:25 | 07:43p 07:09a | Rise 03:15a 25%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 27| 08:14a 06:37p 10:23 | 07:42p 07:10a | Rise 04:19a 17%|
|Mon 28| 08:16a 06:36p 10:20 | 07:40p 07:11a | Rise 05:22a 11%|
|Tue 29| 08:17a 06:34p 10:17 | 07:39p 07:12a | Rise 06:24a 6%|
|Wed 30| 08:18a 06:33p 10:14 | 07:38p 07:14a | Rise 07:28a 2%|
|Thu 31| 08:20a 06:32p 10:11 | 07:36p 07:15a | Rise 08:34a 0%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunset and sunrise
Generated using my LookingUp for DOS program.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 