Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:04, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:16. The Moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 2:21 tomorrow morning.

Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Three of those five planets are now visible, but Mercury sets too close to sunset to be seen. And Mars rises too close to sunrise. Saturn and Jupiter are the only evening planets visible. Saturn can be seen moving from low in the south-southwest to setting in the west-southwest at 10:19 pm. Jupiter will be moving from the high in the southeast to the west-southwest, and will be up most of the night until 3:53 am. The slightly waxing gibbous Moon will be seen to the right of Jupiter tonight. Venus, the brilliant morning star, will rise in the east-southeast at 4:56, am, and be a brilliant beacon in the morning, shining in the southeast by 7 am.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 13th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 5:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:12. The Moon, 1 day past new, will set at 5:22 this evening.

Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Three of those five planets are now visible, but Mercury sets too close to sunset to be seen. And Mars rises too close to sunrise. Saturn and Jupiter are the only evening planets visible. Saturn can be seen moving from low in the south-southwest to setting in the west-southwest at 10:44 pm. Jupiter will be moving from the high in the southeast to southwest, and will be up most of the night until 4:22 am. Venus, the brilliant morning star, will rise in the east-southeast at 4:40 am, and be a brilliant beacon in the morning, shining in the southeast by 7 am. Tonight is the first of two nights when the Geminid meteor shower will be at its peak.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 5:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:06. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 2:15 tomorrow morning.

Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Three of those five planets are now visible, but Mercury sets too close to sunset to be seen. Mars rises too close to sunrise. Saturn and Jupiter are the only evening planets visible. Saturn can be seen moving from the south-southwest to setting in the west-southwest at 11:12 pm. Jupiter will be moving from the southeast to southwest and will be much higher in the sky during the evening hours than Saturn is, and will be up most of the night until 4:56 am. Venus, the brilliant morning star, will rise in the east-southeast at 4:22 am, and be a brilliant beacon in the morning. It will be far below and left of the fat crescent Moon.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 29th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 5:04, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:58. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 6:42 this evening.

Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Three of those five planets are now visible, but Mercury sets too close to sunset to be seen, and Mars rises too close to sunrise. Saturn and Jupiter are the only evening planets visible. Saturn can be seen moving from the south-southwest to setting in the west-southwest in the evening. Ringed planet will be setting at 11:34 pm. Jupiter will be moving from the east-southeast to southwest and will be much higher in the sky during the evening hours than Saturn is, and will be up most of the night until 5:22 am. Venus, the brilliant morning star, will rise in the east-northeast at 4:09 am, and be a brilliant beacon in the morning.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 5:08, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:50. The Moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 3:17 tomorrow morning.

Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Three of those five planets are now visible, but Mercury sets too close to sunset to be seen. Mars is now a morning planet after passing conjunction with the Sun last Friday. So, Saturn and Jupiter are the only evening planets visible. Saturn can be seen moving from the south to the southwest in the evening. Saturn will be visible until 12:04 am. Jupiter is seen moving from low in the east-southeast to south-southeast in the evening. Only the Moon is brighter in the evening. Jupiter will be up most of the night until 5:54 am. The gibbous Moon is almost exactly centered between Saturn and Jupiter. Venus, the brilliant morning star, will rise in the east-northeast at 3:57 am.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 15th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 35 minutes, setting at 5:14, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:40. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 6:35 this evening.

Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Three of those five planets are now visible but both Mars and Mercury set too close to sunset to be seen. Mars will actually be in conjunction with the Sun Friday and become a morning planet thereafter. So, Saturn and Jupiter are the only evening planets visible. Saturn, seen against the stars of Aquarius, can be seen moving from the south to the southwest in the evening. Saturn will be visible till almost 12:45 am. Jupiter is seen moving from low in the east to the high south in the evening, the brightest object in the sky. In Aries this year, Jupiter will be up most of the night. Venus, the brilliant morning star, will rise in the east-northeast at 3:41 am.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 6:42, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:12. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 5:16 tomorrow morning.

Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Three of those five planets are now visible, but Mars sets too close to sunset to be seen, and Mercury rises too close to sunrise. Saturn is the sole official evening planet visible. It can be spotted in the southeast to south in the evening. And it will still be visible in the morning hours until it sets at 2:49 am. Saturn is seen against the stars of Aquarius this year and next. Jupiter and Venus are the visible morning planets. Jupiter, still a morning planet for one more week, will rise at 7:04 pm. It’s in Aries this year. Jupiter has to rise before sunset to be an evening planet. Venus, the brilliant morning star, will rise in the east-northeast at 4:09 am.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT –4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum