Archive
05/31/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 31st. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 9:20 pm, and it will rise tomorrow at 6 am. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 4:19 am tomorrow.
Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Venus is our blazing Evening Star, seen in the west all evening. It will set after midnight. The red planet Mars has moved into Cancer, and is seen above and left of Venus by 12 degrees, or a bit more than the width of one’s fist held at arm’s length. Venus is closing the gap between them, but will never quite reach Mars while they are in the evening sky. The closest they will get is three and a half degrees or 7 moon diameters apart, before Venus pulls back toward the Sun faster than Mars will. In the morning, Saturn will be visible low in the southeast at 5 am, rising at 2:28 am. Jupiter makes its morning appearance and is low in the east-northeast at that hour, rising at 4:27 am.
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
05/24/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 24th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 9:13, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:05. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 1:59 tomorrow morning.
Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Venus is our blazing Evening Star, seen in the west all evening. It will set after midnight. The red planet Mars will appear below the Moon tonight. It has moved into Cancer, and is seen above and left of Venus by 14 degrees, or one and a half times the width of one’s fist held at arm’s length. Venus is closing the gap between them, but will never quite reach Mars while they are in the evening sky. The closest they will get is three and a half degrees or 7 moon diameters apart, before Venus pulls back toward the Sun faster than Mars will. In the morning, Saturn will be visible and low in the southeast at 5 am, rising at 2:47 am. Jupiter makes its morning appearance and is very low in the east-northeast at that hour.
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
Evening planets and the Moon at 10 pm tonight, May 24, 2023. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
5 day old Moon with selected features labeled for May 24, 2023, at 10 pm. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice and GIMP.
Saturn and Jupiter in early morning twilight at 5:00 am tomorrow, May 25, 2023. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Venus, Saturn and Jupiter (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. Apparent diameters: Venus 21.03″ and is 55.4% illuminated; Saturn 16.96″, its rings 39.52″; Jupiter 34.07″. Mars, too small to be represented here, is 4.81″ in diameter. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 24, 2023. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 25th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
05/17/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 17th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 9:06, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:11. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 5:30 tomorrow morning.
Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Venus is our blazing Evening Star, seen in the west all evening. It will set after midnight. The red planet Mars has moved into Cancer, left of the namesake stars of the Gemini twins, with Pollux closest to Mars and Castor farther right. Mars is above and left of Venus by 18 degrees, or a bit less than two times the width of one’s fist held at arm’s length. Venus is closing the gap between them, but will never quite reach Mars while they are in the evening sky. The closest they will get is three and a half degrees or 7 moon diameters apart, before Venus pulls back toward the Sun faster than Mars will. In the morning, Saturn will be visible, low in the east-southeast by 5 am, rising at 3:18 am. This morning, the Moon is covering or occulting Jupiter. Daylight is making this a telescopic event.
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
Evening planets with the stars at 10 pm tonight, May 17, 2023. Created using Stellarium and LibreOffice Draw.
Saturn in morning twilight at 5:30 am tomorrow, May 18, 2023. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Venus and Saturn (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. Apparent diameters: Venus 19.65″ and is 58.9% illuminated; Saturn 16.77″, its rings 39.05″. Mars, too small to be represented here, is 4.96″ in diameter. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 17, 2023. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 18th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
05/10/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 37 minutes, setting at 8:58, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:19. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 2:42 tomorrow morning.
Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Venus is our blazing Evening Star, seen in the west all evening. It will set after midnight. The red planet Mars is in Gemini, left and a bit below Pollux, the leftmost of the namesake stars of the twins, with Castor on the right. Mars is above and left of Venus. By 20 degrees, or two times the width of one’s fist held at arm’s length. Venus is closing the gap between them, but will never quite reach Mars while they are in the evening sky. The closest they will get is three and a half degrees or 7 moon diameters apart, before Venus pulls back toward the Sun faster than Mars will. In the morning, Saturn will be visible and low in the east-southeast by 5 am, rising at 3:37 am. Both Jupiter and Mercury are too close to the direction of the Sun to be seen.
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
Venus and Mars among the setting winter stars at 10 pm tonight, May 10, 2023. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
Saturn and the Moon in the morning sky at 5:30 am. Note the Sagittarius’ Teapot asterism on the right. Created using Stellarium.
Waning gibbous Moon animation with selected features labeled. Labels are centered on their feature. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice, and GIMP.
Telescopic Venus and Saturn (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification tonight, the night of May 10/11, 2023. Apparent diameters: Venus 18.45″ and is 62.1% illuminated; Saturn 16.58″, its rings 38.61″. Mars, too small to be represented here, is 5.12″ in diameter. Both Venus and Saturn are getting larger as they approach us. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 10, 2023. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 11th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
05/03/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 3rd. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 8:49, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:28. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 5:56 tomorrow morning.
Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Venus is our blazing Evening Star, seen in the west all evening. It will set after midnight. The red planet Mars is in Gemini, below Pollux, left of Castor, the namesake stars of the twins. Mars is above and left of Venus by 24 degrees, or almost two and a half times the width of one’s fist held at arm’s length. Venus is closing the gap between them, but will never quite reach Mars while they are in the evening sky. The closest they will get is three and a half degrees or 7 moon diameters apart, before Venus pulls back toward the Sun faster than Mars will. Saturn, low in the southeast by 6 am, is emerging from morning twilight, rising at 4:07 am. Both Jupiter and Mercury are too close to the direction of the Sun to be seen.
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
Venus and Mars among the setting winter stars tonight, at 10 pm, May 3rd, 2023. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium, Libreoffice Draw and GIMP.
Moon 2 days before full, annotated for 10 pm, May 3, 2023. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Telescopic Venus and Saturn (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. Apparent diameters: Venus 17.43″ and is 65.2% illuminated; Saturn 16.39″, its rings 38.19″. Mars, too small to be represented here, is 5.30″ in diameter. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on May 3, 2023. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 4th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
04/26/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, April 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours even, setting at 8:41, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:39. The Moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 3:28 tomorrow morning.
Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Venus is our blazing Evening Star, seen in the west all evening. It will set after midnight. It’s in Gemini, below the namesake stars of the twins Castor on the right and Pollux on the left. Pollux is a bit below and to the right of the Moon tonight. Mars is above and left of Venus. Venus is closing the gap between them, but will never quite reach Mars while they are in the evening sky. The closest they will get is three and a half degrees or 7 moon diameters apart, before Venus pulls back toward the Sun faster than Mars. They won’t cross paths until February of next year. Saturn is emerging from morning twilight, rising at 4:33 am in the east-southeast. Both Jupiter and Mercury are too close to the direction of the Sun to be seen.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Evening planets and stars looking westward at 10 pm tonight, April 26, 2023. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
The Moon, one day before first quarter tonight, April 26, 2023, with prominent features labeled. Created using Stellarium, GIMP and LibreOffice Draw.
Saturn, low in the east-southeast at 5:30 am, April 27, 2023. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Venus and Saturn (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. Apparent diameters: Venus 16.51″ and is 68.1% illuminated; Saturn 16.23″, its rings 37.80″. Mars is too small to be represented here. It is 5.5″ in diameter. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on April 26, 2023. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 27th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
04/25/2023 – Ephemeris – The Moon is passing Mars today
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, April 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 8:40, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:40. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 2:50 tomorrow morning.
Tonight, the Moon and the planet Mars will appear close to each other. The Red Planet will appear just below and left of the waxing crescent Moon. Mars is a lot dimmer than it was last December. That’s because it is a lot farther away than it was back then, 157 versus 51 million miles (253 versus 82 million kilometers). Mars is the planet with the greatest distance variation percentage over its synodic period, that is, from opposition to the next opposition. It also has the longest synodic period, at 26 months on average. That’s why opportunities to launch spacecraft only occur every 26 months. The least energy it takes to get to Mars occurs when a spacecraft is launched a few months before opposition, when Mars is at its closest, to arrive several months after opposition.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Moon and Mars as they should appear in the west tonight, April 25, 2023, at 10 pm. Created using Stellarium.
Illustration of the route Mars 2020 (Perseverance) took to arrive at the Red Planet, including several trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs) to adjust its flight path. Credit NASA/JPL.
02/08/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, February 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 6:01, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:52. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 9:02 this evening.
Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Very early after sunset, Venus can be spotted low in the southwest by 6:30 pm. Mars, and Jupiter will be visible this evening by 7 pm. Mars will be above Orion in the southeast and is pulling away from the Pleiades. Jupiter will be in the southwest. Saturn is way below Venus now, so it’s gone until it reappears in the morning sky in a few months. It will make the crossing to the morning sky with its solar conjunction on the 16th. Jupiter will cross paths with Venus on March 1st. Mercury is now in the morning sky, but too close to the Sun to be visible.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on February 8, 2023. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 9th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
02/01/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, February 1st. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:51, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:00. The Moon, halfway from first quarter to full, will set at 6:31 tomorrow morning.
Let’s find where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Very early after sunset. Venus can be spotted low in the southwest by 6:30 pm. Mars, and Jupiter will be visible this evening by 7 pm. Mars will be above Orion in the southeast and is pulling away from the Pleiades. Jupiter will be in the southwest. Saturn is way below Venus now, so it’s gone until it reappears in the morning sky in a few months. It will make the crossing to the morning sky with its solar conjunction on the 16th. Mercury is now in the morning sky. It has a few more days visibility around 7 am in the southeastern sky after reaching greatest western elongation from the Sun last Sunday.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus low in the west-southwestern twilight at 6:30 pm tonight, February 1, 2023. Created using Stellarium.
Evening planets at 7 pm tonight, February 1, 2023. The orange line is the ecliptic, which is the plane of the Earth’s orbit. The sun appears on that line throughout the year. Notice that all the other planets are very close to that line. That is an artifact of the accretion disk from which the planets formed some 4 1/2 billion years ago. The planets still maintain the nearly same plane for their existence to this day. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.
The gibbous Moon tonight at 7:00 pm, labeled. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
This is what Mercury might look like in the southeast around 7:20 tomorrow morning, February 2nd from Interlochen/Traverse City. At that time, it’ll be 5 degrees above a sea horizon, which is half the width of a fist held at arm’s length. Any trees of course will reduce it. Created using Stellarium.
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on February 1, 2023. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 2nd. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.
01/25/2023 – Ephemeris – Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, January 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 5:41, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:08. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 10:42 this evening.
Let’s see where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week. Very early after sunset, Venus might be spotted very low in the southwest by a little past 6 pm. Mars, and Jupiter will be visible this evening, in the east to southwestern sky by 6:30 or 7 pm. Mars will be above Orion in the east-southeast and is pulling away from the Pleiades. Jupiter is brighter than Mars, and will be in the south-southwest, and tonight it’s directly above the crescent Moon. Saturn is below Venus now, so it’s pretty much gone until it reappears in the morning sky in a few months. Mercury is now in the morning sky, after it passed inferior conjunction with the Sun on the 7th, that is, it passed between the Earth and the Sun. It should be briefly visible before sunrise by month’s end.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
\
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 