10/23/2019 – Ephemeris – Our weekly look at the bright planets

Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 23rd. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 36 minutes, setting at 6:45, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:09. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 3:24 tomorrow morning.

Let’s look at the bright planets for this week. Venus and Mercury are too close to the Sun to be seen. They are on the evening or east side of the Sun. Bright Jupiter will be low in the southwestern sky as it gets dark. It will set at 9:23 p.m. Jupiter is moving at nearly its fastest to the east now and next year will be where Saturn is now. Saturn, the ringed planet, will be in the south-southwestern sky in the evening, and will set at 11:06 p.m. Next year it will be a bit farther east. Jupiter is approaching Saturn in our sky. They will cross paths late next year on December 21st, something they do about every 20 years. Mars will rise in the east at 6:36 a.m.

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

Addendum

Saturn and JUpiter with the Teapot of Sagittarius in the southwest tonight at 8 p.m. October 23, 2019. Created with Stellarium.

Telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn with the same magnification at 8 p.m. tonight October 23, 2019. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Mars and the Moon at 7 a.m. tomorrow October 24, 2019. At thi scale the program shows the Moon as a blob. Created using Stellarium.

The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars, including earth shine, at 7 a.m. tomorrow October 24, 2019. Created using Stellarium.

Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on October 23, 2019. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 24th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.