10/24/2018 – Ephemeris – Looking for the bright planets tonight

Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 24th. The Sun will rise at 8:10. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 6:43. The Moon, at full today, will rise at 7:13 this evening.

Let’s look at the bright planets for tonight. Three of them are visible in the evening sky. Venus, though still officially an evening planet for two more days sets before the Sun because it is south of the Sun’s path. Jupiter will be very low in the west-southwest after sunset. It will set at 7:53 p.m. Saturn, the ringed planet, will start the evening low in the southwestern sky and will set at 10:14 p.m. Mars will be low in the south as the skies darken tonight. and is now 68.9 million miles (111.0 million km) away. Mars will be due south at 8:51 p.m., and it will set at 1:39 a.m. Mars is picking up speed moving eastward, crossing the constellation of Capricornus this month. It’s currently in eastern Capricornus.

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

Addendum

Mars and Saturn in the evening with the full moon at 8 p.m. October 24, 2018. Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

The full Moon as it should appear tonight in binoculars. Created using Stellarium.

Saturn and Mars with the same magnification at 8 p.m. 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 October 24, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 25th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.