The Planets, Dwarf Planets and Asteroids

Each planet and dwarf planet has a table that provides the following information: the rising or setting time, the constellation it is located, if it is in the morning or evening sky and if it is visible, in the Sun glow, in the twilight or not visible. The “Evening / Morning” column will say “All Night” when the object is up from sunset until sunrise. The “Hours in Astro Night” column represents how long the object is visible during astronomical night. The co-ordinates (“R.A.” and “Dec.”), “Angle with Sun” and “Magnitude” are also shown as of 12am EST (1am EDT) on the date listed. All co-ordinates are displayed at epoch 2000. This information is provided for 7 days during the month: 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30.

The visible column has five options: Yes, No, Twilight, Sun Glow and All Night. “No” is specified if the object either sets within 30 minutes after sunset or rises within 30 minutes before sunrise. The planet or dwarf planet is in the “Twilight” if it sets between 30 minutes and 1:15 hour after sunset or if it rises between 1:15 hour and 30 minutes before sunrise. It is in the “Sun Glow” in it sets between 1:15 hour after sunset and the beginning of astronomical night or if it risers between the end of astronomical night and 1:15 hour before the sunrise. If the object sets or rises during astronomical night, it is visible. If it is up during the full duration of astronomical night then “All Night” is shown.

Planets

Mercury

Date	Rise / Set / All Night	Constellation	Evening /Morning	Visible	Hours in Astro Night	R.A.	Dec.	Angle with Sun	Magnitude
1	Set 4:25pm	Ophiuchus	Evening	No	None	16h 42.7m	-23º 24.7m	3.3º E	-1.0
5	Set 4:31pm	Ophiuchus	Evening	No	None	17h 09.8m	-24º 26.9m	5.5º E	-0.9
10	Set 4:41pm	Sagittarius	Evening	No	None	17h 44.1m	-25º 15.6m	8.2º E	-0.8
15	Set 4:56pm	Sagittarius	Evening	Twilight	None	18h 18.8m	-25º 29.7m	11.0º E	-0.7
20	Set 5:13pm	Sagittarius	Evening	Twilight	None	18h 53.2m	-25º 07.0m	13.7º E	-0.7
25	Set 5:33pm	Sagittarius	Evening	Twilight	None	19h 26.7m	-24º 06.5m	16.2º E	-0.7
30	Set 5:52pm	Sagittarius	Evening	Sun Glow	None	19h 57.5m	-22º 30.9m	18.3º E	-0.7

Mercury is not visible for most of the month. By the end of the month, Mercury will emerge in the evening sky very low in the southwest after sunset. On the 30th at 5pm, Mercury is 1.4 degrees south of Jupiter. On the 31st at 5pm, Mercury is 1.3 degrees southeast of Jupiter. Mercury enters Sagittarius on the 9th at 10:36pm and Capricornus at 6:45pm on the 31st.

Venus

Date	Rise / Set / All Night	Constellation	Evening /Morning	Visible	Hours in Astro Night	R.A.	Dec.	Angle with Sun	Magnitude
1	Set 7:16pm	Sagittarius	Evening	Yes	1:09	19h 36.5m	-24º 00.7m	42.7º E	-4.1
5	Set 7:25pm	Sagittarius	Evening	Yes	1:18	19h 56.6m	-23º 09.9m	43.4º E	-4.2
10	Set 7:37pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	1:30	20h 21.2m	-21º 52.6m	44.1º E	-4.2
15	Set 7:49pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	1:41	20h 45.1m	-20º 21.3m	44.8º E	-4.2
20	Set 8:01pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	1:51	21h 08.2m	-18º 37.3m	45.4º E	-4.2
25	Set 8:12pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	1:59	21h 30.5m	-16º 42.4m	46.0º E	-4.3
30	Set 8:23pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	2:07	21h 51.9m	-14º 38.3m	46.4º E	-4.3

Venus is visible in the southwest evening sky after sunset. This is the first of several months to observe the phases of Venus. On the 1st at 5pm, Venus, Jupiter and the Moon are very close. Venus is 2.4 degrees west of the Moon and 2.1 degrees south of Jupiter. On the 6th at 6:30pm, Venus is 0.8 degree south of globular cluster M75 in Sagittarius. Venus is 1.5 degrees south of Neptune at 6:30pm on the 26th. At 6pm on the 31st, Venus is 3 degrees south of the Moon. Venus enters Capricornus on the 7th at 4:11am and Aquarius on the 31st at 3:16pm.

Mars

Jupiter

Jupiter is visible in the evening after sunset. It lies low in the southwest then sets early. On the 1st at 5pm, Jupiter, Venus and the Moon are close. Jupiter is 3.3 degrees northwest of the Moon and 2.1 degrees north of Venus. At 5pm on the 30th, Jupiter is 1.4 degrees north of Mercury. On the 31st at 5pm, Jupiter is 1.3 degrees northwest of Mercury.

Saturn

Date	Rise / Set / All Night	Constellation	Evening /Morning	Visible	Hours in Astro Night	R.A.	Dec.	Angle with Sun	Magnitude
1	Rise 12:25am	Leo	Morning	Yes	5:12	11h 29.2m	5º 24.2m	78.5º W	1.1
5	Rise 12:11am	Leo	Morning	Yes	5:29	11h 30.0m	5º 30.4m	82.3º W	1.1
10	Rise 11:48pm	Leo	Morning	Yes	5:57	11h 30.8m	5º 16.5m	87.0º W	1.1
15	Rise 11:30pm	Leo	Morning	Yes	6:19	11h 31.5m	5º 13.7m	92.1º W	1.0
20	Rise 11:11pm	Leo	Morning	Yes	6:41	11h 32.0m	5º 11.9m	97.0º W	1.0
25	Rise 10:51pm	Leo	Morning	Yes	7:03	11h 32.3m	5º 11.2m	102.0º W	1.0
30	Rise 10:32pm	Leo	Morning	Yes	7:23	11h 32.5m	5º 11.6m	107.1º W	1.0

Saturn rises in the middle of the night and is visible until morning. It is stationary on the 31st.

Uranus

Date	Rise / Set / All Night	Constellation	Evening /Morning	Visible	Hours in Astro Night	R.A.	Dec.	Angle with Sun	Magnitude
1	Set 12:23am	Aquarius	Evening	Yes	6:16	23h 19.3m	-5º 12.9m	99.4º E	5.8
5	Set 12:07am	Aquarius	Evening	Yes	6:00	23h 19.4m	-5º 12.1m	95.3º E	5.8
10	Set 11:44pm	Aquarius	Evening	Yes	5:37	23h 19.6m	-5º 10.9m	90.3º E	5.8
15	Set 11:25pm	Aquarius	Evening	Yes	5:17	23h 19.8m	-5º 09.2m	85.3º E	5.9
20	Set 11:06pm	Aquarius	Evening	Yes	4:56	23h 20.1m	-5º 07.0m	80.3º E	5.9
25	Set 10:46pm	Aquarius	Evening	Yes	4:33	23h 20.5m	-5º 04.4m	75.3º E	5.9
30	Set 10:28pm	Aquarius	Evening	Yes	4:12	23h 21.0m	-5º 01.2m	70.3º E	5.9

Uranus is visible in the evening sky. From the 1st until the 11th, Uranus is within 5 arcminutes and southeast of star 96 (mag. 5.53) in Aquarius. On the 5th at 10:30pm, Uranus is 4.1 degrees southeast of the Moon.

Neptune

Date	Rise / Set / All Night	Constellation	Evening /Morning	Visible	Hours in Astro Night	R.A.	Dec.	Angle with Sun	Magnitude
1	Set 9:56pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	3:49	21h 36.3m	-14º 39.3m	72.3º E	7.9
5	Set 9:41pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	3:34	21h 36.6m	-14º 38.0m	68.3º E	7.9
10	Set 9:22pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	3:15	21h 37.0m	-14º 36.1m	63.4º E	7.9
15	Set 9:03pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	2:55	21h 37.4m	-14º 33.9m	58.4º E	7.9
20	Set 8:44pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	2:34	21h 37.9m	-14º 31.6m	53.4º E	7.9
25	Set 8:25pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	2:12	21h 38.4m	-14º 29.0m	48.5º E	8.0
30	Set 8:06pm	Capricornus	Evening	Yes	1:50	21h 39.0m	-14º 26.2m	43.5º E	8.0

Neptune is visible in the evening sky. It is 1.5 degrees east of the Moon on the 3rd at 8pm. At 6:30pm on the 26th, Neptune is 1.5 degrees north of Venus.

Dwarf Planets

Pluto

Date	Rise / Set / All Night	Constellation	Evening /Morning	Visible	Hours in Astro Night	R.A.	Dec.	Angle with Sun	Magnitude
1	Set 6:07pm	Sagittarius	Evening	Sun Glow	None	18h 00.1m	-17º 40.9m	21.5º E	14.1
5	Set 5:52pm	Sagittarius	Evening	Sun Glow	None	18h 00.7m	-17º 41.6m	17.8º E	14.1
10	Set 5:33pm	Sagittarius	Evening	Twilight	None	18h 01.5m	-17º 42.3m	13.2º E	14.1
15	Set 5:14pm	Sagittarius	Evening	Twilight	None	18h 02.2m	-17º 42.9m	9.1º E	14.1
20	Set 4:55pm	Sagittarius	Evening	Twilight	None	18h 03.0m	-17º 43.4m	6.1º E	14.1
25	Rise 7:02am	Sagittarius	Morning	Twilight	None	18h 03.8m	-17º 43.8m	6.3º W	14.1
30	Rise 6:43am	Sagittarius	Morning	Twilight	None	18h 04.5m	-17º 44.1m	9.5º W	14.1

Pluto is not visible this month. It is in conjunction with the Sun on the 22nd.

Ceres rises in the evening sky and is visible until morning. On the 30th at 12am, it is 5.8 arcminutes south of galaxy NGC 3607 in Leo.