Archive
06/03/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, June 3rd. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 24 minutes, setting at 9:23, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:58. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 5:15 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week. This afternoon Venus will pass between the Earth and the Sun and head toward the morning sky. It’s only 26.8 million miles (43.2 million km) away, and quite invisible. Mercury is visible in the northwest after sunset, coming to greatest separation or elongation from the Sun of 23.6 degrees It will set tonight at 11:16 pm. In the morning sky there are three planets in the south and southeast. Bright Jupiter will rise first at 12:10 am, followed by Saturn at 12:26 am. Mars, is stretching its lead left of Saturn and will rise at 2:27 a.m. Its now down to 91.9 million miles (148.0 million km) away, as the Earth slowly overtakes it at the rate of about 4.4 million miles (7.0 million km) a week.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Mercury in the evening tonight at 10 pm June 3, 2020. This is 11 hours before greatest eastern elongation, 23.6° east of the Sun. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon in binoculars or a low power telescope. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in the growing twilit skies of 5 am tomorrow morning, June 4, 2020. Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope with the same magnification. Jupiter and Saturn tomorrow morning of June 4, 2020. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 45.06″; Saturn, 17.87″, rings, 41.62″. Mars at 9.49″ won’t be added until it reaches 10″, which looks like next week. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree). Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on June 3, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 4th. The closeness of Jupiter and Saturn in the morning sky unfortunately overlays planets and labels. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
05/27/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 14 minutes, setting at 9:17, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:02. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 1:49 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week. Venus is our evening star shining brightly in the northwest. It will be our evening star for only another week and defeated by twilight for most of that time. A tiny crescent can now be seen in binoculars. It will cross between the Earth and the Sun on June 3rd. It will set tonight at 10:16 p.m. It’s only 27.6 million miles (44.5 million km) away. Mercury is making an appearance above and left of Venus now. In the morning sky there are three planets in the south and southeast. Bright Jupiter will rise first at 12:39 a.m. Followed by Saturn at 12:54 a.m. Mars, is stretching its lead left of Saturn and will rise at 2:44 a.m. Its now down to 96 million miles (155 million km) away, as the Earth slowly overtakes it at the rate of about 5 million miles (8 million km) a week.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus & Mercury in twilight tonight at 10 p.m. May 27, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon in a small telescope this evening May 27, 2020 with some seas and craters labeled. Created using Stellarium.
The Morning planets at 5 am. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope with the same magnification. Venus, Jupiter and Saturn on the night of May 27/28, 2020. Apparent diameters: Venus, 56.49″. larger than Jupiter, at 44.24″; Saturn, 17.70″, rings, 41.22″. Mars at 9.06″ won’t be added until it reaches 10″. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Chart).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on May 27, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 29th. The closeness of Jupiter and Saturn in the morning sky unfortunately overlays planets and labels. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
05/22/2020 – Ephemeris – Venus hangs out with Mercury and the Moon this weekend
This is Ephemeris for Friday, May 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 9:12, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:06. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible
Low in the northwest shortly after sunset our brilliant evening star Venus may be seen. It’s getting closer to the Sun every evening. This is an illusion because Venus is in the process of passing between the Earth and the Sun, so it’s not getting closer to the Sun, but it is getting closer to us at 29 million miles (46.8 million km) today. Mercury has passed Venus and is now to the left and a bit above Venus as seen at 10 p.m. Both are pretty close to the horizon, so you may have to move to a spot with a low northwestern horizon. Tomorrow night the day old sliver of the Moon will be spotted just below both of them. It should be quite a sight with these two planets and the Moon in the twilight, just after sunset.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus, Mercury, Moon animation for 10 pm May 22nd, 23rd and 24th, 2020. The Moon is shown 3 times actual size in an attempt to show its phase. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
05/20/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 1 minute, setting at 9:10, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:08. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 5:49 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week. Venus is our evening star shining brightly in the west northwest. It will be our evening star for only the next 2 weeks. A tiny crescent can now be seen in binoculars. It will cross between the Earth and the Sun on June 3rd. It will set at 11:05 p.m. It’s only 30 million miles (48 million km) away. Mercury is making an appearance just below Venus now. In the morning sky there are three planets close together in the south and southeast. Bright Jupiter will rise first at 1:07 a.m. Followed by Saturn at 1:22 a.m. Mars, is stretching its lead left of Saturn and will rise at 3:00 a.m. Mars continues to get closer. Its now down to 101million miles (163 million km) away, as the Earth slowly overtakes it at the rate of about 5 million miles (7 million km) a week.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus and Mercury as it should appear at 10 pm low in the northwest over the Lake Michigan horizon. May 20, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter, Saturn and Mars seen in the southern sky at 5:30 am tomorrow morning May 21, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope with the same magnification. Venus, Jupiter and Saturn on the night of May 13/14, 2020. Apparent diameters: Venus, 52.76″, larger than Jupiter, at 43.37″; Saturn, 17.51″, rings 40.80″. Mars at 8.66″ won’t be added until it reaches 10″. Mercury is gibbous at 6.04″. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Note that Jupiter has two moons in transit, with another behind the planet. The transiting moons are nearly invisible, so only one moon, Callisto is visible. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Jovian satellite events (Subtract 4 hours from UT to get EDT)
Moon Event Date UT Europa: Shadow start: 21 May 2020 2:36 Ganymede: Shadow end: 21 May 2020 5:50 Europa : Shadow start: 21 May 2020 6:13 Ganymede: Transit start: 21 May 2020 7:02 Europa: Transit start: 21 May 2020 8:22 Europa: Shadow end: 21 May 2020 8:58 Ganymede: Transit end: 21 May 2020 10:24
Source: The Pluto Project https://www.projectpluto.com/jevent.htm
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on May 20, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 21st. The closeness of Jupiter and Saturn in the morning sky unfortunately overlays planets and labels. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
05/13/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 13th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 46 minutes, setting at 9:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:15. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 3:08 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week. Venus is our evening star shining brightly in the west. It will be our evening star for only the next 3 weeks. A tiny crescent can now be seen in binoculars. It will cross between the Earth and the Sun on June 3rd. It will set at 11:43 p.m. It’s only 33 million miles (53 million km) away. In the morning sky there are three planets fairly close together in the south-southeast with the Moon among them tomorrow morning. Bright Jupiter will rise first at 1:35 a.m. Followed by Saturn at 1:50 a.m. Mars, is stretching its lead left of Saturn and will rise at 3:14 a.m. Mars is getting closer to us all the time now, until it closest to us in October of this year.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus in evening twilight and bright evening stars tonight at 10 p.m. May 13, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
Morning planets and the Moon in twilight at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning, May 14, 2020. The Moon is shown at three times its actual size. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow May 14, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope with the same magnification. Venus, Jupiter and Saturn on the night of May 13/14, 2020. Apparent diameters: Venus, 47.88″. larger than Jupiter, at 42.46″; Saturn, 17.32″, rings, 40.35″. Mars at 8.28″ won’t be added until it reaches 10″. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on May 13, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 14th. The closeness of Jupiter and Saturn in the morning sky unfortunately overlays planets and labels. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
05/06/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 8:54, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:23. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 6:46 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week. Venus is our evening star shining brightly in the west. It will set at 12:10 a.m. It’s closing in on the Sun in our sky, by approaching the Earth at only 37 million miles (59 million km) away. In the morning sky there are three planets fairly close together in the south-southeast. Bright Jupiter will rise first at 2:02 a.m. Followed by Saturn at 2:17 a.m. Mars, stretching its lead left of Saturn, will rise at 3:31 a.m. Mars is now down to 110 million miles (177 million km) away, as the Earth slowly overtakes it at the rate of about 4 million miles (7 million km) a week. Mars will be closest to us in October at 38 and a half million miles away. That’s only 3 million miles (5 million km) further than it was 2 years ago.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus, the Moon and bright evening stars tonight at 10 p.m. May 6, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The nearly full Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 10 p.m. tonight May 6, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
Morning planets in twilight at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning, May 7, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope with the same magnification. Venus in the evening and Jupiter and Saturn in the morning on the night of May 6/7, 2020. Apparent diameters: Venus, 42.88″. larger than Jupiter, at 41.54″; Saturn, 17.12″, rings, 39.89″. Mars at 7.92″ won’t be added until it reaches 10″. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on May 6, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 7th. The closeness of Jupiter and Saturn in the morning sky unfortunately overlays planets and labels. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
04/29/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 29th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 8:45, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:33. The Moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 3:07 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week. Venus is our evening star shining brightly in the west. It will set at 12:29 a.m. It’s a couple of days past its greatest brilliancy, and only 41 million miles away. In the morning sky there are three planets fairly close together in the south-southeast. Bright Jupiter will rise first at 2:29 a.m. Followed by Saturn at 2:44 a.m. Mars, stretching its lead left of Saturn, will rise an hour after Saturn. It’s now down to 114 million miles (184 million km) away, as the Earth slowly overtakes it at the rate of about 5 million miles (8 million km) a week. Mars will be closest to us in October. It’s not as close as it was 2 years ago, but closer than it will get for the next 15 years.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus and the fat crescent Moon tonight at 10 p.m. April 29, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might appear in binoculars tonight April 29, 2020. Created using Stellarium,
Morning planets in twilight at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, April 30, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope with the same magnification. Venus in the evening and Jupiter and Saturn in the morning on the night of April 29/30, 2020. Apparent diameters: Venus, 40.58″; Jupiter, 40.62″; Saturn, 16.92″, rings, 39.42″. Mars at 7.59″ won’t be added until it reaches 10″. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on April 29, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 30th. The closeness of Jupiter and Saturn in the morning sky unfortunately overlays planets and labels. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
04/22/2020 – Ephemeris – Our weekly look at the naked-eye planets
This is Ephemeris for Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 8:37, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:44. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week. Venus is our evening star shining brightly in the west. It will set at 12:35 a.m. The rest of the planet action is in the morning sky where there are three planets fairly close together in the south-southeast. Bright Jupiter will rise first at 2:55 a.m. Followed by Saturn at 3:11 a.m. Mars, stretching its lead left of Saturn, will rise at 4 a.m. It’s now down to 120 million miles (193 million km) away, as the Earth slowly overtakes it at the rate of about 5 million miles (8 million km) a week. Mars will be closest to us in October at about 39 million miles (62 million km). That’s not as close as it was 2 years ago, but closer than it will get for the next 15 years.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus in the west-northwest at 10 p.m. tonight, April 22, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The Morning planets and the southern summer stars at 6 a.m. tomorrow April 23, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope with the same magnification. Venus in the evening and Jupiter and Saturn in the morning on the night of April 22/23, 2020. Apparent diameters: Venus, 34.36″; Jupiter, 39.72″; Saturn, 16.73″, rings, 38.96″. Mars at 7.28″ won’t be added until it reaches 10″. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on April 22, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 23rd. The closeness of Jupiter and Saturn in the morning sky unfortunately overlays planets and labels. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
04/15/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 15th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 8:28, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:55. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 4:34 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week. Venus is our evening star shining brightly in the west above the Pleiades. It will set at 12:37 a.m. The rest of the planet action is in the morning sky where there are three planets nearly evenly spread out in the southeast. Bright Jupiter will rise first at 3:21 a.m. Followed by Saturn at 3:38 a.m. Mars, left of Saturn and nearest to the Moon tomorrow morning, will rise at 4:14 a.m. It’s now down to 125 million (201 million km) miles away, as the Earth slowly overtakes it at the rate of about 5 million miles (8 million km) a week. Mars will be closest to us in October at about 39 million miles (62 million km). Not quite as close as it was 2 years ago, but closer than it will get for the next 15 years.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus in twilight at 9 p.m. tonight April 15, 2020, a half hour or so after sunset. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The Morning planets and the Moon at 6 a.m. tomorrow April 16, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The crescent Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 6 a.m. tomorrow April 16, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope with the same magnification. Venus in the evening and Jupiter and Saturn in the morning on the night of April 15/16, 2020. Apparent diameters: Venus, 31.01″; Jupiter, 38.84″; Saturn, 16.53″, rings, 38.51″. Mars at 6.99″ won’t be added until it reaches 10″. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on April 15, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 16th. The planet traffic jam in the morning sky unfortunately overlays planets and labels. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
04/08/2020 – Ephemeris – Morning planets are not practicing social distancing
Note: It seems the title is appropriate to our current predicament even though I hadn’t thought about it when I wrote and recorded the radio script that follows last Sunday.
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 9 minutes, setting at 8:19, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:08. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 9:16 this evening.
Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week. Venus is our evening star shining brightly in the west above the Pleiades. It will set at 12:33 a.m. The rest of the planet action is in the morning sky where there are three planets nearly evenly spread out in the southeast. Bright Jupiter will rise first at 3:46 a.m. Followed by Saturn at 4:05 a.m. Mars, left and below Saturn will rise at 4:27 a.m. It’s now as bright as a first magnitude star because it’s down to 130 million miles (209 million km) away, as the Earth slowly overtakes it at the rate of about 5 million miles (8 million km) a week. It’s brighter than the star Antares in the southwest. Mars will be closest to us in October, which makes a good time to launch spacecraft to it few months before then.
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus in the evening with the setting winter stars including those in Orion and Taurus at 10 p.m. April 8, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 10 p.m. April 8, 2020. Created using Stellarium.
The morning planets and the southern summer stars in the moonlight at 6 a.m. April 9, 2020. The bright star on the right is Antares. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The planets as seen in a telescope with the same magnification. Venus in the evening and Jupiter and Saturn in the morning on the night of April 8/9, 2020. Apparent diameters: Venus, 28.21″; Jupiter, 38.00″; Saturn, 16.34″, rings, 38.07″. Mars at 6.72″ won’t be added until it reaches 10″. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on April 8, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 9th. The planet traffic jam in the morning sky unfortunately overlays planets and labels. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 