09/14/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 7:55, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:21. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 10:02 this evening.

Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week. Two of the naked-eye planets are in the evening sky. Mercury sets too close to the Sun to be seen in the evening. But as it gets darker, Saturn can be seen in the southeast. Jupiter, still officially a morning planet, rises in the east around 8:23 pm. It is seen against the stars of Pisces now, moving slowly retrograde or westward. At 6:30 am tomorrow the three morning planets will be spread out from brilliant Venus on the horizon in the east-northeast, if you can see it at all, to Mars high in the south-southeast below the Moon and next to the bright reddish star Aldebaran to Jupiter in the west-southwest. Mars is among the stars seen rising on late autumn and early winter evenings.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Jupiter and Saturn at 9 pm tonight, September 14, 2022. Created using Stellarium.

The waning gibbous moon as seen in binoculars or low power telescope at 10:30 tonight, September 14, 2022. Labels are centered on their feature. Created using Stellarium, labels using LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP for animation.

The morning planets with the Moon and the bright winter stars at 6:30 am tomorrow, September 15, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic views of Saturn Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The times vary for each planet. Saturn is shown at 9 pm. Jupiter is shown twice, at 9 pm and 6:30 am, since its moons, especially Io and Europa, move rapidly. Mars is shown at 6:30 am. I do not show planets less than 10 seconds of arc in diameter, so Venus isn’t shown. Apparent diameters: Saturn 18.47″, its rings 43.02″; Jupiter 49.66″. Mars 10.70″, 86.0% illuminated; Venus (not shown) 9.89″, 98.5% illuminated. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts) and GIMP.

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on September 14, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 15th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program, and GIMP.