04/12/2017 – Ephemeris – It’s Wednesday, do you know where your bright planets are?

Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 12th.  The Sun will rise at 7:03.  It’ll be up for 13 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 8:23.  The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 9:53 this evening.

Tonight is Yuri’s Night the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first human orbital flight in 1961.  Now celebrated around the world.  Mars is still in the west after sunset and fading.  It will set at 11:08 p.m.  Coming to dominate the evening sky low in the east in evening twilight is Jupiter.  It will rise to be low in the east-southeast at 10 p.m.   At 6 a.m. Jupiter is still hanging on in the western sky, and will be below and right of the Moon at that time.  At the same time Saturn be about due south.  It will rise in the east-southeast at 1:38 a.m. tomorrow.  Venus is beginning to make an appearance in the morning sky.  It will rise at 5:40 tomorrow morning but will have to compete with the ever brightening twilight in the morning, but each morning it will rise about 6 minutes earlier.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Mars in the west with bright stars at 9 p.m. April 12, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

Jupiter in dark skies with some southern spring constellations on April 12, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

Jupiter and moons at 10 p.m. April 12, 2017 The Great Red Spot is near the central meridian of the planet at that time.  Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sly Charts).

Jupiter, the Moon, Saturn and Venus at the eastern horizon at 6 a.m. April 13, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

The waning gibbous Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 6 a.m. April 13, 2017. Created using Stellarium.

Saturn and moons in telescopes at 6 a.m. April 13, 2017. 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 12, 2017. The night ends on the left with sunrise on April 13. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.