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The Sharpless Catalog


Planets In The Sky

Below is a table and information about the planets and where they are in the sky. It includes rise and set times, distances, magnitude, position in the sky, and more. This information updates every hour. You can change the date for the information, however, the text description is for the current month.  

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Planet Infomation on Saturday, May 17, 2008 for TUCSON 

MERCURY  Mercury makes a great appearance this month after sunset. Early in the month, you will find Mercury close to the famous star cluster known as the Pleiades. As the month continues the 2 day old moon passes by the small planet as it climbs higher in the sky reaching its highest point on May 13th. Mercury starts off the month at bight -0.9 magnitude but will dim as time goes on. After Mercury reaches its greatest elongation, it will start to fall fast back in the glow of the twilight where it is lost by end of the month
 
Constellation Taurus    RA Position 5 hr 6 min
Distance from Sun 37,677,534 Miles    Dec Position 25° 3'
Distance from Earth 71,941,141 Miles    Magnitude 1
Light Travel Time 0 hr 6 min    Rise Time 6:36 AM
Phase 29%    Transit Time 1:49 PM
Angular Size 8.71 sec of arc    Set Time 8:56 PM
VENUS  Venus is too close to the sun this month to be seen. Look for the sister planet to return in June.
 
Constellation Aries    RA Position 3 hr 12 min
Distance from Sun 67,270,347 Miles    Dec Position 17° 0'
Distance from Earth 159,985,716 Miles    Magnitude -4
Light Travel Time 0 hr 14 min    Rise Time 5:06 AM
Phase 99%    Transit Time 11:55 AM
Angular Size 9.84 sec of arc    Set Time 6:38 PM
MARS  The red planet has now drifted into the Gemini/Cancer border and is even smaller now to the point it is not worth looking at anymore.

 

Constellation Cancer    RA Position 8 hr 26 min
Distance from Sun 154,931,372 Miles    Dec Position 20° 53'
Distance from Earth 164,599,318 Miles    Magnitude 1
Light Travel Time 0 hr 14 min    Rise Time 10:09 AM
Phase 91%    Transit Time 5:08 PM
Angular Size 5.29 sec of arc    Set Time 12:07 AM
JUPITER  Jupiter rises a just after midnight by mid May in the low southeastern part of the sky. The best time to see Jupiter this time of year is just as daylight returns and most of the fainter stars are lost. The brightening sky helps boost the contrast of the planet and helps bring out more details. Sitting in the constellation of Sagittarius for the remaining of 2008, Jupiter will be well placed this year for a nice summer planet.

 

Constellation Sagittarius    RA Position 19 hr 36 min
Distance from Sun 483,347,865 Miles    Dec Position -21° 39'
Distance from Earth 424,184,273 Miles    Magnitude -3
Light Travel Time 0 hr 37 min    Rise Time 11:09 PM
Phase 99%    Transit Time 4:16 AM
Angular Size 43.13 sec of arc    Set Time 9:23 AM
SATURN  Saturn is still in great viewing for most of the night and is high in the sky after sunset. Still in the constellation of Leo the ring system is now at 10 degrees tilt so more of the northern hemisphere is now visible. Saturn is stationary this month which means it is a 90 degree angle with the sun. Therefore, the planets shadow shows up the best on the ring system. Next year the ring system becomes edge on as the planet drifts south of our orbital planet. As the rings become less of a tilt, you will start to pick up more moons because the planet is not as bright as when the rings are at a full tilt
 
Constellation Leo    RA Position 10 hr 18 min
Distance from Sun 865,344,030 Miles    Dec Position 12° 25'
Distance from Earth 851,584,075 Miles    Magnitude 1
Light Travel Time 1 hr 16 min    Rise Time 12:24 PM
Phase 100%    Transit Time 7:00 PM
Angular Size 18.08 sec of arc    Set Time 1:35 AM
URANUS  Uranus rises a couple of hours after sunrise so it will be better place later in late May. In the dim constellation of Aquarius, the 5.7 magnitude planet can be spotted in any size telescope. A larger scope will reveal the planetary disk and possibly some of its moons if you have a larger enough telescope.
 
Constellation Pices    RA Position 23 hr 32 min
Distance from Sun 1,869,954,365 Miles    Dec Position -3° 48'
Distance from Earth 1,909,959,386 Miles    Magnitude 6
Light Travel Time 2 hr 50 min    Rise Time 2:21 AM
Phase 100%    Transit Time 8:15 AM
Angular Size 3.20 sec of arc    Set Time 2:05 PM
NEPTUNE  Neptune is in better place than Uranus since it rises about 4 hours before sunrise. Nearly at 8th magnitude, you will need some kind of telescope to spot it. A larger scope will show the 2 second of arc disk. The blue green color will help give away the planet when you think you have found it.
 
Constellation Capricornus    RA Position 21 hr 46 min
Distance from Sun 2,798,506,947 Miles    Dec Position -13° 44'
Distance from Earth 2,792,294,320 Miles    Magnitude 8
Light Travel Time 4 hr 9 min    Rise Time 1:01 AM
Phase 100%    Transit Time 6:26 AM
Angular Size 2.07 sec of arc    Set Time 11:54 AM
PLUTO  Pluto rises early in the morning sky around midnight. Mixed in the rich Milky Way, you will need a good star chart and a large telescope just to see it. Most of the stars in the field of view will brighter and larger than Pluto. If you have a digital camera or CCD, you can take about a 20 second exposure each night for about two weeks. Then create a animation using some kind of software.
 
Constellation Sagittarius    RA Position 17 hr 59 min
Distance from Sun 3,009,650,662 Miles    Dec Position -16° 40'
Distance from Earth 2,888,161,151 Miles    Magnitude 14
Light Travel Time 4 hr 18 min    Rise Time 9:18 PM
Phase 100%    Transit Time 2:39 AM
Angular Size 0.26 sec of arc    Set Time 8:00 AM