Archive
12/23/2022 – Ephemeris – Hunting for the Star of Bethlehem: Venus and Jupiter appear to merge… twice!
This is Ephemeris for Friday, December 23rd. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:06, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:18. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
My favorite astronomical solution to the puzzle of the Star of Bethlehem are two conjunctions of Jupiter and Venus that occurred against the stars of the constellation of Leo the lion 10 months apart on August 12th 3 BCE and June 16th 2 BCE. Leo at that time was associated with Jacob’s son Judah and the land of Judea. The first conjunction occurred in morning twilight. The second in the evening. The first conjunction was close, though someone with excellent eyesight might pick them apart, but the second, would be impossible to separate without a telescope, which wouldn’t be invented for another 16 centuries. And Jesus would have been born in the spring during lambing season when shepherds would have been out all night with their flocks, protecting them. The eclipse that Herod died after would have been on January 10th, 1 BCE, which occurred three months before Passover, enough time for all the palace intrigue* to happen between the lunar eclipse and Passover.
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.
* See yesterday’s post for more information here.
Addendum
The Babylonian concept of the constellation Leo. They called it Urgulu, meaning lion. It represented their god Latarak. The star they called Sharru, meaning King we know as Regulus, which is the diminutive of king.
Here is an animation created using Stellarium of Jupiter and Venus, the brighter of the two seeming to coalesce on August 12, 3 BC in the early morning twilight. That ghost object that flashed on for one date was the Moon. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
On June 16th 2 BC, this time in the evening, Venus and Jupiter seem to coalesce as one, at least to the naked eye. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Venus appeared among Jupiter’s moons on June 16, 2 BC. Of course, no one had a telescope back then. The telescope wouldn’t be invented for another 16 centuries. Stellarium cannot create the real brightness difference between Jupiter and Venus. Venus would be simply dazzling compared to Jupiter, being 12 times brighter. Venus, being an inner planet, shows phases like the Moon. At this time, Venus would have been near its greatest eastern elongation or separation from the Sun, so it would appear as a tiny first quarter moon. Galileo discovered that Venus had phases and orbited the Sun, in the early 17th century. Created using Stellarium.
Merry Christmas!
12/21/2022 – Ephemeris – Winter starts today plus our weekly look at the bright planets
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 21st. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:05, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:17. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:41 tomorrow morning.
Winter begins today at 4:48 pm, just before sunset, from then on until next June the 21st, the Sun, being its farthest south in our skies, will be heading northward again. Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible this evening, in the east to southwestern sky at 6 pm. Jupiter is the brightest of the three in the south-southeast, while dimmer Saturn is low in the south-southwest at that hour. Mars is above Orion in the east. Saturn, the westernmost of the bright planets, will set around 9:16 this evening. Venus and Mercury are also in the evening sky, but too close to the setting Sun to be easily spotted. At 6 pm, both will be very low on the southwestern horizon.
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.
Addenda
Winter solstice today
Comparing the sun’s path at the summer and winter solstices. This is a stereographic representation of the whole sky, which distorts the sky and magnifies the size of the sun’s path near the horizon. This chart is for Traverse City, Michigan, about a third of a degree south of 45º north latitude. Created using my LookingUp app.
The bright planets this week
Panoramic view of planets this evening at 7 pm, December 21, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic views of Saturn Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The image of Mars doesn’t show it, but the white north polar cap will appear at the top or north limb of Mars. The planets are shown at 7 pm tonight, December 21, 2022. Apparent diameters: Saturn 15.95″, its rings 37.15″; Jupiter 40.64″. Mars 15.92″. Mars’ distance is 54.6 million miles (88.0 million kilometers). The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on December 21, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 22nd. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
12/14/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week, and a second look at the Geminid meteor shower near its peak
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 5:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:13. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:10 this evening.
Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. The Geminid meteor shower will be near peak again this evening, and the Moon will not interfere with it until just after 11 pm. The meteors will appear all over the sky, but will be seen to come from the constellation Gemini, high above Orion the hunter. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible from east to south-southwest this evening by 6 pm. Jupiter is the brightest of the three in the southeast, while dimmer Saturn is in the south-southwest at that hour. Mars will end up being above and to the right of Orion later on this evening. They will be shifting westward throughout the evening. Saturn, the westernmost of the bright planets, will set around 9:41 this evening. Venus and Mercury are also in the evening sky, but too close to the setting Sun to be easily spotted.
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
Evening planets at 8 pm in this panorama from east to southwest with the zodiacal constellations. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The waning gibbous Moon in as it might look like in binoculars or a telescope at low power at 6 am, Thursday, December 15, 2022. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
Telescopic views of Saturn Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The image of Mars doesn’t show it, but the white north polar cap will appear at the top or north limb of Mars. The planets are shown at 8 pm tonight, December 14, 2022. Apparent diameters: Saturn 16.09″, its rings 37.49″; Jupiter 41.58″. Mars 16.61″. Mars’ distance is 52.4 million miles (84.4 million kilometers). The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on December 14, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 15th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
12/07/2022 – Ephemeris – An occultation of Mars and a look at the other naked eye planets.
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 5:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:07. The Moon, at full today, will rise at 4:31 this evening.
Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible this evening, in the southeastern sky by 6 pm. At that time, Mars will be below, left of the bright full Moon. Jupiter is the brightest of the three in the southeast, while dimmer Saturn is in the south-southeast at that hour. Mars will be hidden behind the Moon from about 10:15 to 11:15 pm tonight for the IPR area. Being a full moon, Mars might be difficult to spot. It may take binoculars to spot it below, left of the Moon by 9:30, and a small telescope when Mars is near the edge of the Moon. The disappearance of Mars will be at the Moon’s 7 o’clock position, and reappearance at the 4 o’clock position. Bobmoler.wordpress.com (you are already here) has more information.
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
Panoramic view of planets and Moon this evening at 7 pm tonight, December 7, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.
Mars occultation animation in half hour steps for 9:15 pm, 9:45 pm, 10:15 pm (Ingress), 10:45 pm (mid-occultation), 11:15 pm (egress), 11:45 pm. The Moon and the apparent path of Mars rotates as they cross the sky from east to west. In actuality, the Moon is much brighter than Mars, so picking the planet out tonight will be a challenge. It will take the Moon almost a minute to completely cover Mars, and nearly another minute to uncover it. The plot is centered on the Moon here, but the Moon provides most of the motion here. On average, the Moon moves 12 degrees a day, while Mars moves less than a degree against the starry background. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Telescopic views of Saturn Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The image of Mars doesn’t show it, but the white north polar cap will appear at the top or north limb of Mars. The planets are shown at 8 pm tonight, December 7, 2022. Apparent diameters: Saturn 16.25″, its rings 37.86″; Jupiter 42.55″. Mars 17.05″. Mars’ distance is 51.0 million miles (82.1 million kilometers). This is the closest it comes to the Earth this orbit. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on December 7, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 8th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
World map showing the area that the occultation of Mars will be visible. Occultation visibility will move from west to east. Credit: Occult version 4. This evening in the EST zone is the 8th for Universal Time (UT), or GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) if you’re older.
11/30/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 5:04, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:59. The Moon, at first quarter today, will set at 12:44 tomorrow morning.
Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Jupiter and Saturn will be visible this evening, in the southeastern sky, by 6 pm. Jupiter is the brighter of the two to the left, in the southeast, while dimmer Saturn is in the south at that hour. The Moon will be between them. The red planet Mars, though a morning planet for six more days, will be seen low on the east-northeast horizon at that hour. It’s located between the long horns of Taurus the bull. Mars is moving westward in its retrograde motion as the Earth will pass it a week from now. This evening, Mars will be as close as it can get to the Earth this close approach, 50.61 million miles (81.45 million kilometers). That same night, the full Moon will pass in front of it for an hour. So on the same night, in our area, we will have Mars opposition from the Sun and it being occulted by the 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.
Addendum
Panoramic view of planets and Moon this evening at 7 pm tonight, November 30, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.
First Quarter Moon as it might be seen tonight in binoculars or low power telescope with labels for tonight, November 30, 2022. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
Telescopic views of Saturn Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The image of Mars doesn’t show it, but the white north polar cap will appear at the top or north limb of Mars. The planets are shown at 8 pm tonight, November 30, 2022. Apparent diameters: Saturn 16.43″, its rings 38.26″; Jupiter 43.56″. Mars 17.20″. Mars’ distance is 50.5 million miles (81.4 million kilometers). This is the closest it comes to the Earth this orbit. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on November 30, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on December 1st. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
11/23/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 23rd. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 5:07, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:51. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Jupiter and Saturn will be visible this evening, in the southeastern sky, as soon after sunset as it will be dark enough to see them, which would be by 6 pm. Jupiter is the brighter of the two to the left, in the southeast, while dimmer Saturn is in the south at that hour. The red planet Mars, though a morning planet, will rise tonight at 6:05 pm in the northeast. It’s located nearly between the tips of the long horns of Taurus the bull, but toward the letter V of stars that is the face of Taurus. Mars is moving westward in its retrograde motion as the Earth will pass it in a couple of weeks. Venus and Mercury, though in the evening sky, are too close to the Sun to be seen.
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
A panorama from northeast to southwest of the planets Mars, Jupiter and Saturn at 7 pm tonight, November 23, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Telescopic views of Saturn Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The image of Mars doesn’t show it, but the white north polar cap will appear at the top or north limb of Mars. The planets are shown at 7 pm on the 23rd. Apparent diameters: Saturn 16.61″, its rings 38.69″; Jupiter 44.57″. Mars 17.05″. Mars’ distance is 51.0 million miles (82.1 million kilometers). The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on November 23, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 24th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
11/16/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 16th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 5:13, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:42. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 12:19 tomorrow morning.
Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Jupiter and Saturn will be visible this evening, in the southeastern sky, as soon after sunset as it will be dark enough to see them, which would be by 6 pm. Jupiter is the brighter of the two to the left, in the southeast, while dimmer Saturn is in the south. The red planet Mars, though a morning planet, will rise tonight at 6:43 pm in the east-northeast. It’s located between the tips of the long horns of Taurus the bull. Mars is beginning to move westward in its retrograde motion as the Earth is starting to pass it. Which it will do in three weeks time. Venus and Mercury, though in the evening sky, are too close to the Sun to be seen.
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
A panorama from northeast to southwest of planets and Zodiac constellations in the evening. Showing between just the sky and constellation lines and labels alternately. For tonight at 8 pm, November 16, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Fat waning crescent Moon with labels showing alternately for 6 am tomorrow, November 17, 2022. Labels are centered on their features, unless a pointer is used in congested areas. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Telescopic views of Saturn Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The image of Mars doesn’t show it, but the white north polar cap will appear at the top or north limb of Mars. Saturn and Jupiter are shown at 9 pm on the 16th, Mars at 6 am on the 17th. Apparent diameters: Saturn 16.80″, its rings 39.14″; Jupiter 45.55″. Mars 16.67″. Mars’ distance is 52.0 million miles (83.8 million kilometers). The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
At 9 pm, only two of Jupiter’s moons will be visible next to the planet. They are Ganymede and Callisto. Io is behind the planet, while Europa is transiting the planet. In actuality, a transiting moon is very difficult to spot. However, its shadow crossing the planet is easier to spot. Europa’s shadow will start to cross the face of Jupiter at 11:42 pm EST, with Io popping out from Jupiter’s shadow 5 minutes later. The phenomena of Jupiter’s moons are printed each month in Sky and Telescope Magazine.
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on November 16, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 17th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
11/02/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 2nd. The Sun will rise at 8:22. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 6:29. The Moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 2:38 tomorrow morning.
Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Jupiter and Saturn will be visible this evening, in the southeastern sky with the bright moon between them, as soon after sunset as it will be dark enough to see them, which would be by 7:45 pm. Jupiter is the brighter of the two to the left of the Moon, while dimmer Saturn is closer to the Moon on the right. The red planet Mars, though a morning planet, will rise tonight at 8:46 pm in the northeast. It’s located between the tips of the long horns of Taurus the bull, slowly moving northward between those horn tip stars in its big torn to the west among the stars. By seven tomorrow morning, the red planet Mars will be fairly high in the southwestern sky, above and right of the winter constellation of Orion.
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
Planets and the Moon visible in the evening. Jupiter and Saturn in the south with Mars, rising in the northeast. Mars is not yet an evening planet. It’s still more than a month away from rising before sunset and becoming one. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars or small telescope tonight, November 2, 2022 with labels of prominent features. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
Translations of some lunar feature names according to Virtual Moon Atlas
Mare Crisium – Sea of Crises
Mare Fecunditatis – Sea of Fertility
Mare Imbrium – Sea of Showers
Mare Nubium – Sea of Clouds
Mare Serenitatis – Sea of Serenity
Mare Tranquillitatis – Sea of Tranquility
Mare Vaporum – Sea of Vapors
Montes Apenninus – Apennines Mountains
Sinus Asperitatis – Golfe des Asperites
Sinus Medii – Bay of the Center
Craters are generally named after astronomers, people of science, or explorers
Note that Mare is pronounced Mar-é
Mars in the at 7 am tomorrow morning, November 3, 2022. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic views of Saturn Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The image of Mars doesn’t show it, but the white north polar cap will appear at the top or north limb of Mars. Saturn and Jupiter are shown at 9 pm, Mars at 11 pm. Apparent diameters: Saturn 17.20″, its rings 40.07″; Jupiter 47.37″. Mars 15.34″. Mars’ distance is 56.7 million miles (91.4 million kilometers). The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
A note on Jupiter and its moons: Before 7:56 pm, Io will be in Jupiter’s shadow. At 8:22 pm, Ganymede’s shadow will begin to cross the face of Jupiter. In the image above, the shadow, a small dot, is seen on the lower left of the disk. Europa’s shadow was on the disk prior to 9 pm. Ganymede’s shadow will leave the disk at 11:08 pm. Shadows cross Jupiter’s disk from east to west (right to left) in this view.
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on November 2, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 3rd. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
10/26/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 6:40, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:14. The Moon, 1 day past new, will set at 7:21 this evening.
Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Jupiter and Saturn will be visible this evening, in the east-southeast and south-southeast respectively, as soon after sunset as it will be dark enough to see them, which would be by 7:45 pm. Jupiter is seen against the stars of Pisces the fish, while Saturn is spotted in the eastern end of Capricornus the sea goat. The red planet Mars, though a morning planet, will rise tonight at 9:15 pm in the northeast. It’s located between the tips of the long horns of Taurus the bull. By seven tomorrow morning, the red planet Mars will be high in the southwestern sky, above the winter constellation of Orion. Mars has traveled about as far east as it will get for a while. It will head back westward after Sunday.
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
Jupiter and Saturn with label animation for 8 pm tonight, October 26, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Though Mars is a morning planet, since it is in the sky at sunrise, perhaps the best time to vies it is in the evening after it rises in the east-northeast at 9:15 pm. By 11 pm, as seen here, Mars should be high enough to present a decent image in a telescope. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic views of Saturn Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The image of Mars doesn’t show it, but the white north polar cap will appear at the top or north limb of Mars. Saturn and Jupiter are shown at 8 pm, Mars at 11 pm. Apparent diameters: Saturn 17.41″, its rings 40.55″; Jupiter 48.16″. Mars 14.58″. Mars’ distance is 59.7 million miles (96.2 million kilometers). The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on October 26, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 27th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program and GIMP.
09/28/2022 – Ephemeris – Searching for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 28th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 7:28, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:38. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 8:51 this evening.
Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week. The thin sliver of a waxing crescent Moon may be visible very low in the southwest at 8 pm. We’re back to two naked-eye planets in the evening sky. Jupiter was in opposition from the Sun on Monday, and closest to the Earth. As it gets darker, Jupiter will be seen first low in the east. At that time, Saturn can be seen in the southeast. Jupiter is seen against the stars of Pisces the fish, while Saturn is spotted in the eastern end of Capricornus the sea goat. At 6:45 tomorrow morning, Mars will be high in the south, above the winter constellation of Orion, and Jupiter will be very low in the west. Venus will rise in the east at 7:02 into bright twilight.
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
What the three-day-old Moon might look like in binoculars in twilight at 8 pm tonight, September 28, 2022. Illumination of the night part of the Moon will be provided by the bright gibbous Earth in its sky. The phenomenon is called earth shine. Created using Stellarium.
Evening planet finder animation by showing Jupiter and Saturn with and without the constellation lines. For 9 pm this evening, September 28, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Morning planet Mars with the last gasp of the new evening planet Jupiter and bright winter stars at 6:45 tomorrow morning, September 29, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic views of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The image doesn’t show it, but the white north polar cap will appear at the top or north limb of Mars. Saturn and Jupiter are shown at 10 pm, Mars at 6 am. Apparent diameters: Saturn 18.17″, its rings 42.33″; Jupiter 49.86″. Mars 11.01″. Mars’ distance is 73.8 million miles (118.7 million kilometers). The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
One surprising thing about Mars in a telescope is how bright it is. That’s because it’s much closer to the Sun than Jupiter or Saturn, even thought it has a lower albedo (reflectance) than those planets.
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on September 28, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 29th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program and GIMP.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 