06/30/2020 – Ephemeris – Previewing the skies of July 2020

This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, June 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 31 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:01. The Moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 3:15 tomorrow morning.

Lets preview July’s skies. The Sun, having reached its northern solstice, is beginning to slide southward again, at first imperceptibly, then with greater speed. The daylight hours will decrease from 15 hours and 30 minutes tomorrow to 14 hours 40 minutes at month’s end. The daylight hours will be slightly shorter south of Interlochen, and slightly longer to the north. The altitude of the Sun at local noon, when it is due south will decrease from 68 degrees tomorrow to 63 degrees at month’s end. Despite the warmth, the Earth will reach its greatest distance from the Sun on Saturday the 4th. Both Jupiter and Saturn reach opposition from the Sun this month and officially become evening planets.

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

Addendum

July Evening Star Chart

Star Chart for July 2020 (11 p.m. EDT July 15, 2019). Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.

The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 11 p.m. EDT in the evening and 4:30 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian, West 75° longitude. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 1 hour 45 minutes earlier than the current time.

Note the chart times are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th add ½ hour (28 minutes if you’re picky). For each week after the 15th subtract ½ hour. The planet positions are updated each Wednesday on this blog. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th.

July Morning Star Chart

Star Chart for July mornings 2020 (4:30 a.m. EDT July 15, 2019). Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.

For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.

• Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
• Leaky dipper drips on Leo.
• Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus, and
• Extend like a spike to Spica.
• The Summer Triangle is in red.
• DAqR is the radiant of the South Delta Aquariid meteor shower (Peaks on the 27th)

Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical

			EDT
	Morning twilight		Evening twilight		Dark night		Moon
Date	Astro.	Nautical	Nautical	Astro.	Start	End	Illum.
2020-07-01	3h38m	4h41m	23h00m	0h03m	3h15m	3h38m	0.88
2020-07-02	3h39m	4h42m	22h59m	0h02m	–	–	0.95
2020-07-03	3h40m	4h43m	22h59m	0h01m	–	–	0.95
2020-07-04	3h42m	4h43m	22h58m	0h00m	–	–	0.99
2020-07-05	3h43m	4h44m	22h58m	23h59m	–	–	1
2020-07-06	3h44m	4h45m	22h57m	23h58m	–	–	0.99
2020-07-07	3h46m	4h46m	22h56m	23h57m	–	–	0.95
2020-07-08	3h47m	4h47m	22h56m	23h56m	23h56m	–	0.89
2020-07-09	3h49m	4h48m	22h55m	23h54m	23h54m	0h05m	0.82
2020-07-10	3h50m	4h49m	22h54m	23h53m	23h53m	0h30m	0.74
2020-07-11	3h52m	4h51m	22h53m	23h52m	23h52m	0h52m	0.65
2020-07-12	3h54m	4h52m	22h52m	23h50m	23h50m	1h13m	0.55
2020-07-13	3h55m	4h53m	22h51m	23h49m	23h49m	1h33m	0.45
2020-07-14	3h57m	4h54m	22h50m	23h47m	23h47m	1h55m	0.36
2020-07-15	3h59m	4h55m	22h49m	23h46m	23h46m	2h19m	0.26
2020-07-16	4h01m	4h57m	22h48m	23h44m	23h44m	2h47m	0.18
2020-07-17	4h02m	4h58m	22h47m	23h43m	23h43m	3h20m	0.11
2020-07-18	4h04m	4h59m	22h46m	23h41m	23h41m	4h01m	0.05
2020-07-19	4h06m	5h01m	22h45m	23h39m	23h39m	4h06m	0.01
2020-07-20	4h08m	5h02m	22h44m	23h38m	23h38m	4h08m	0
2020-07-21	4h10m	5h03m	22h42m	23h36m	23h36m	4h10m	0.01
2020-07-22	4h12m	5h05m	22h41m	23h34m	23h34m	4h12m	0.06
2020-07-23	4h14m	5h06m	22h40m	23h32m	23h32m	4h14m	0.12
2020-07-24	4h16m	5h08m	22h38m	23h30m	23h58m	4h16m	0.21
2020-07-25	4h17m	5h09m	22h37m	23h28m	–	4h17m	0.32
2020-07-26	4h19m	5h10m	22h35m	23h26m	0h24m	4h19m	0.44
2020-07-27	4h21m	5h12m	22h34m	23h24m	0h50m	4h21m	0.56
2020-07-28	4h23m	5h13m	22h32m	23h22m	1h18m	4h23m	0.67
2020-07-29	4h25m	5h15m	22h31m	23h20m	1h49m	4h25m	0.77
2020-07-30	4h27m	5h16m	22h29m	23h18m	2h27m	4h27m	0.86
2020-07-31	4h29m	5h18m	22h28m	23h16m	3h11m	4h29m	0.93

Twilight calendar was generated using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

See my blog post: Twilight Zone for the definitions of the different periods of twilight here: https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/.

NASA Calendar of Planetary Events

Date       Time      Event
Jul 1  We            Venus: 34.3° W
    3  Fr  11:18 pm  Moon Descending Node
    4  Sa  10:59 am  Aphelion: 1.0167 AU
    4  Sa  09:37 pm  Moon South Dec.: 24.1° S
    5  Su  12:30 am  Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
	                    (Americas, sw Europe, Africa)
    5  Su  12:44 am  Full Moon
    5  Su  05:37 pm  Moon-Jupiter: 1.9° N
    6  Mo  04:45 am  Moon-Saturn: 2.6° N
   11  Sa  08:17 am  Venus-Aldebaran: 1° N
   11  Sa  03:36 pm  Moon-Mars: 2.2° N
   12  Su  03:27 pm  Moon Apogee: 404200 km
   12  Su  07:29 pm  Last Quarter
   14  Tu  03:03 am  Jupiter Opposition
   17  Fr  03:26 am  Moon-Venus: 3.4° S
   18  Sa  08:33 am  Moon Ascending Node
   19  Su  07:51 am  Moon North Dec.: 24.1° N
   20  Mo  01:33 pm  New Moon
   20  Mo  05:33 pm  Saturn Opposition
   22  We  10:59 am  Mercury Greatest Elongation: 20.1° W
   25  Sa  12:54 am  Moon Perigee: 368400 km
   27  Mo  08:32 am  First Quarter
   27  Mo  05:08 pm  Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower: ZHR = 20
   31  Fr  05:32 am  Moon Descending Node
Aug 1  Sa            Venus: 45.2° W

All event times are given for UTC-4 hr: Eastern Daylight Saving Time.

Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC),
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html.

If you go to the above site you can print out a list like the above for the entire year or calendar pages for your time zone.

Sun and Moon Rising and Setting Events

     LU                  Ephemeris of Sky Events for Interlochen/TC
July, 2020    Local time zone: EDT
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE |  SUN     SUN  DAYLIGHT|   TWILIGHT*    |MOON  RISE OR    ILLUM |
|      |  RISE    SET    HOURS |  END    START  |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Wed  1| 06:01a  09:31p  15:30 | 10:57p  04:35a |      Set  03:49a   87%|
|Thu  2| 06:01a  09:31p  15:29 | 10:56p  04:36a |      Set  04:29a   94%|
|Fri  3| 06:02a  09:31p  15:28 | 10:56p  04:37a |      Set  05:18a   98%|
|Sat  4| 06:03a  09:31p  15:27 | 10:55p  04:38a |      Set  06:15a  100%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun  5| 06:03a  09:30p  15:26 | 10:55p  04:39a |Full  Rise 10:19p   99%|
|Mon  6| 06:04a  09:30p  15:25 | 10:54p  04:40a |      Rise 11:02p   96%|
|Tue  7| 06:05a  09:29p  15:24 | 10:53p  04:41a |      Rise 11:37p   91%|
|Wed  8| 06:06a  09:29p  15:23 | 10:53p  04:42a |      Rise 12:05a   85%|
|Thu  9| 06:06a  09:29p  15:22 | 10:52p  04:43a |      Rise 12:30a   77%|
|Fri 10| 06:07a  09:28p  15:20 | 10:51p  04:44a |      Rise 12:52a   68%|
|Sat 11| 06:08a  09:27p  15:19 | 10:50p  04:45a |      Rise 01:12a   59%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 12| 06:09a  09:27p  15:17 | 10:49p  04:46a |L Qtr Rise 01:33a   50%|
|Mon 13| 06:10a  09:26p  15:16 | 10:48p  04:47a |      Rise 01:55a   40%|
|Tue 14| 06:11a  09:25p  15:14 | 10:47p  04:49a |      Rise 02:19a   31%|
|Wed 15| 06:11a  09:25p  15:13 | 10:46p  04:50a |      Rise 02:47a   23%|
|Thu 16| 06:12a  09:24p  15:11 | 10:45p  04:51a |      Rise 03:20a   15%|
|Fri 17| 06:13a  09:23p  15:09 | 10:44p  04:52a |      Rise 04:01a    8%|
|Sat 18| 06:14a  09:22p  15:08 | 10:43p  04:54a |      Rise 04:52a    4%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 19| 06:15a  09:21p  15:06 | 10:41p  04:55a |      Rise 05:52a    1%|
|Mon 20| 06:16a  09:21p  15:04 | 10:40p  04:56a |New   Set  09:45p    0%|
|Tue 21| 06:17a  09:20p  15:02 | 10:39p  04:58a |      Set  10:26p    2%|
|Wed 22| 06:18a  09:19p  15:00 | 10:38p  04:59a |      Set  11:01p    7%|
|Thu 23| 06:19a  09:18p  14:58 | 10:36p  05:00a |      Set  11:31p   14%|
|Fri 24| 06:20a  09:17p  14:56 | 10:35p  05:02a |      Set  11:58p   22%|
|Sat 25| 06:21a  09:16p  14:54 | 10:33p  05:03a |      Set  12:24a   33%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 26| 06:22a  09:15p  14:52 | 10:32p  05:05a |      Set  12:50a   44%|
|Mon 27| 06:24a  09:13p  14:49 | 10:30p  05:06a |F Qtr Set  01:18a   55%|
|Tue 28| 06:25a  09:12p  14:47 | 10:29p  05:08a |      Set  01:49a   67%|
|Wed 29| 06:26a  09:11p  14:45 | 10:27p  05:09a |      Set  02:27a   77%|
|Thu 30| 06:27a  09:10p  14:42 | 10:26p  05:11a |      Set  03:11a   85%|
|Fri 31| 06:28a  09:09p  14:40 | 10:24p  05:12a |      Set  04:04a   92%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset

06/29/2020 – Vega, brightest star of the Summer Triangle

This is Ephemeris for Monday, June 29th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 31 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:00. The Moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 2:46 tomorrow morning.

Vega is the highest star In the east and brightest star of the Summer Triangle also rising in that direction. It is an important and much studied star, first as a standard for brightness for thr star brightness magnitude scale at magnitude of almost exactly zero. It also has two fields of debris orbiting it. In 1983 the Infrared Astronomy Satellite discovered an excess of infrared radiation coming from the star. It seems now that there are two orbiting rings, one warm, and the other cold orbiting the star. This is somewhat like the two disks the Sun has: The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and the Kuiper belt, beyond Neptune. No planets have been discovered around Vega, but I wouldn’t bet against it.

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

Addendum

Vega possesses two debris fields, similar to our own solar system’s asteroid and Kuiper belts. Astronomers continue to hunt for planets orbiting Vega, but as of May 2020 none have been confirmed. More info: bit.ly/VegaSystem Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Summer Triangle. Created using Stellarium.

 

 

06/26/2020 – Ephemeris – The stars known as the Horse and Rider

Jun 26. This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, June 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:59. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 1:28 tomorrow morning.

The most interesting star in the Big Dipper is Mizar and its dim companion Alcor. It is the second star from the end of the handle, where the bend in the handle takes place. Folks with good vision can see the dimmer star right next to Mizar. In ancient times it was used as an eye test for visual acuity for warriors. As such it was known as the “Horse and the Rider”. Mizar is second magnitude, in the second rank of star brightness invented by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus in the 2nd century BC. He ranked stars in 6 classes, from first magnitude for the brightest to 6th for the dimmest visible to the naked eye. Alcor comes in at 4th magnitude. It does suffer a bit by being very close to Mizar which is 6 times brighter.

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

Addendum

Mizar finder animation for the Big Dipper’s orientation in late June at 11 pm where I live or an hour and a half after sunset. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.

Mizar and Alcor as they might appear in a telescope. Mizar is a binary star in a telescope. The other star in the field is apparently a background star. The brighter star of Mizar is Mizar A, while the dimmer is Mizar B. It turns out that Mizar A and B plus Alcor are all spectroscopic binaries, meaning the companion stars are too close to resolve in telescopes, but whose motion shows up in the spectra of the stars. Mizar and Alcor are around 80 light years away. Created using Stellarium.

06/25/2020 – Ephemeris – The bright star Spica

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, June 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:58. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 12:59 tomorrow morning.

Low in the southwest at 11 p.m. is the bright star Spica which can be found from all the way back overhead to the Big Dipper. Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the bright star Arcturus high in the southwest. Then straighten the curve of the arc to a straight spike which points to Spica. Arcturus is much brighter than Spica and has an orange tint to Spica’s bluish hue. In fact Spica is the bluest of the 21 first magnitude stars. That means that it is hot. Actually Spica is really two blue stars orbiting each other in 4 days. Spica is 250 light years away, which is reasonably close. Spica was an important star to the ancient Greeks. One temple was built, and aligned to its setting point.

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

Addendum

Spica finder chart using my LookingUp program fo 11 p.m. tonight June 25.

06/24/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, June 24th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:58. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 12:27 tomorrow morning.

Let’s look at the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter now rises in the evening, tonight it’s at 10:42 pm in the east-southeast. Saturn will rise 18 minutes later at 11pm right behind Jupiter. Mars, is stretching its lead left of Saturn and will rise at 1:36 am in the east. Its now down to 83.4 million miles (134.3 million km) away, as the Earth slowly overtakes it at the rate of about 4 million miles (6.4 million km) a week. Jupiter and Saturn will be hanging out between Sagittarius and Capricornus this year while Mars is slowing its rapid eastward motion now two constellations over in Pisces. Finally, Venus will rise at 4:26 am in the east-northeast low in the twilight as our Morning Star.

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

Addendum

The Moon as seen through binoculars or small telescope tonight June 24, 2020. Note earthshine on the night side of the Moon. Created using Stellarium.

Jupiter & Saturn at midnight. Note the Teapot of Sagittarius to the right of Jupiter and the stars of Scorpius including Antares farther right. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Four of the five naked-eye planets stretched out on this panorama from northeast to southwest at 5 am tomorrow morning June 25, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification tomorrow morning June 25, 2020. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 46.96″; Saturn, 18.28″, rings, 42.58″, Mars, 10.99″, and Venus 47.10″. Mars also shows an enlargement showing surface detail. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge. 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 24, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 25th. 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.

06/23/2020 – Ephemeris – Arcturus: a look at the Sun’s future

This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, June 23rd. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:58. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 11:49 this evening.

Arcturus, a red giant star is about two thirds the way up the sky in the southwest at 11 p.m. It’s one of the earliest stars to appear in twilight, being nearly tied in brightness with Vega, a white star nearly as high in the east. A pointer to Arcturus is the handle of the Big Dipper, following the arc of the handle to Arcturus. Though only 37 light years away, it’s not from around here. It’s passing through the galactic disk from north to south. Arcturus is about 7 billion years old, and is about 8% more massive than our Sun. It appears to be starting its red giant phase, after running out of hydrogen to fuse to helium in its core and is beginning to fuse helium. It’s a preview of coming attractions for our Sun when it gets that old.

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

Addendum

Arcturus is easy to find. It’s the brightest star in the southwest in the evening. This is 11 pm tonight June 23, 2020. Note the Big Dipper and its handle to the upper right. Created using Stellarium.

06/22/2020- Ephemeris – Summer has begun

This is Ephemeris for Monday, June 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:57. The Moon, 1 day past new, will set at 11:04 this evening.

On Friday’s program I was way too busy with the summer solstice and the annular eclipse in Asia to properly give summer its due, so here goes. Last Saturday the northern end of the Earth’s axis was tilted toward the Sun to its maximum extent, giving the northern hemisphere its most direct sunlight, and the longest daylight hours. North of the arctic circle of 66 ½ degrees latitude got 24 hours of daylight, and the north pole midday in its six months of continuous sunlight. At the south pole it’s literally midnight of its six months night. The northern hemisphere got its greatest amount of heat from the Sun that day, however this part of the Earth is still warming up, so our hottest days average in late July when the shortening daylight hours and the lowering of the Sun in the south can’t maintain the heat anymore and we begin to cool.

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

Addendum

Earth’s position at the solstices and equinoxes. This is an not to scale oblique look at the Earth’s orbit, which is nearly circular. The Earth is actually farthest from the Sun on July 4th. Click on the image to enlarge. Credit: ESO (European Southern Observatory which explains the captions in German and English.

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.

06/19/2020 – Ephemeris – Summer arrives tomorrow with an eclipse of the Sun the next day

This is Ephemeris for Friday, June 19th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:57. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 5:25 tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow afternoon at 5:43 pm summer will begin, as the Sun reaches its greatest northerly excursion, right over the tropic of Cancer, 23 ½ degrees north latitude on the Earth’s surface. It’s called the summer solstice for those of us north of the equator. Early Sunday morning there will be an annular eclipse of the Sun. We won’t see it in the United States, however it will be visible for parts of Africa and southern Asia. The Moon will be too far away to completely cover the face of the Sun leaving a ring or annulus at maximum eclipse, a so-called Ring of Fire. It is the second of a triad of eclipses this eclipse season. Two weeks ago there was a slight eclipse of the Moon and two weeks from now another slight eclipse of the Moon to finish the season.

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

Addenda

Annular Eclipse

Areas of the Earth where the solar eclipse of June 21, 2020 will be visible. The central double red line delineates the path of annularity. Click on the image to see the original chart. Credit NASA GSFC, Fred Espenak.

My photograph of the Annular eclipse May 10 1994 taken east of Toledo, Ohio, May 10, 1994.

Summer Solstice

Earth and magnified local area near summer solstice. Image taken near local noon June 17, 2020. Credit NOAA DSCOVR satellite orbiting the Sun-Earth L1 point 994,970 miles (1,601,432 kilometers) sunward from the Earth. For once it’s clear enough to see the mitten of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

The Sun’s path through the sky on the summer solstice day from Traverse City, MI. Created using my LookingUp program..

06/18/2020 – Ephemeris – Finding the constellation Hercules

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, June 18th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:56. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 4:48 tomorrow morning.

Orion, the hard luck mythological Greek hunter gets a splashy constellation in the winter sky, but the greatest hero of all, Hercules, gets a dim group of stars on the border between the spring and summer stars. At 11 p.m. Hercules is very high in the east-southeast. It is located above and right of the bright star, Vega in the east. Hercules’ central feature is a box shaped of star wider at the top than the bottom, called the Keystone, which represents the old boy’s shorts. From each top corner extend lines of stars that are his legs, from the bottom stars, the rest of his torso and arms extend. So in one final indignity he’s upside down in our sky. Some see him crouched down, club upraised holding the Hydra about to throttle it. For those with a telescope it contains the beautiful globular star cluster M13.

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

Addendum

Hercules animation showing neighboring stars at 11 p.m. for mid June, Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

M13, the Great Globular Star Cluster in Hercules. Credit: Scott Anttila

Stars and M13 (Great Star Cluster in Hercules) visible in binoculars in the Keystone of Hercules. Click in the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

06/17/2020 – Ephemeris – Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, June 17th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:56. The Moon, half way from last quarter to new, will rise at 4:18 tomorrow morning.

Let’s look for the naked-eye planets for this week. Jupiter now rises before midnight at 11:12 pm in the east-southeast. Saturn will rise 17 minutes later at 11:29 right behind Jupiter. Mars, is stretching its lead left of Saturn and will rise at 1:53 am in the east. Its now down to 83.4 million miles (134.3 million km) away, as the Earth slowly overtakes it at the rate of about 4.3 million miles (7.0 million km) a week. Jupiter and Saturn will be hanging out between Sagittarius and Capricornus this year while Mars is slowing its rapid eastward motion now two constellations over in Pisces. Finally, Venus will rise at 4:51 am in the east-northeast low in the twilight as our new Morning Star.

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

Addendum

Jupiter and Saturn finder animation for midnight June 18, 2020. For other locations, approximately 2 1/2 hours after sunset. Also showing the stars of the Teapot of Sagittarius to the upper right of the SE compass point and most, except the bottom stars of Scorpius in the south. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.

Panorama of the morning planets at 5:15 am or about 45 minutes before sunrise tomorrow June 18, 2020. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars tomorrow morning before sunrise June 18, 2020. Created using Stellarium.

The planets as seen in a telescope (north up) with the same magnification. Jupiter and Saturn tomorrow morning of June 18, 2020. Apparent diameters: Jupiter, 46.34″; Saturn, 18.14″, rings, 42.36″ and Mars, 41.38″. Mars also shows an enlargement showing surface detail. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge. 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 17, 2020. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 18th. 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.