# Finding out when planets are rising **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 28, 2006, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-when-planets-are-rising/370492 "2006-08-28T03:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-when-planets-are-rising/370492/1 "2006-08-28T03:52:59Z")
My roommate wants to know when Mars is going to rise tonight. I’ve Googled a little and couldn’t find anything useful. I did find[this](http://fourmilab.net/cgi-bin/uncgi/Yourtel?lat=10.7629&ns=North&lon=176.228&fov=45&z=1), which seems like it might be helpful if I had the slightest idea how to read it. We’re in Santa Barbara, CA, and if anybody knows where I could find this, I’ll be most appreciative. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-when-planets-are-rising/370492/2 "2006-08-28T04:05:29Z")
Is there an observatory nearby that may list the times on its website? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-when-planets-are-rising/370492/3 "2006-08-28T04:32:07Z")
Try this (requires free registration): [http://www.heavens-above.com](http://www.heavens-above.com) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-when-planets-are-rising/370492/4 "2006-08-28T13:17:02Z")
[Weather Underground](http://www.wunderground.com/) has an “Astronomy” tab among its **Features:** near the top of the page. From the [Astronomy page](http://www.wunderground.com/sky/index.asp), enter the Zip Code to get a [sky map (defaulting to 1 pm, for some odd reason)](http://www.wunderground.com/sky/ShowSky.asp?TheLat=34.41951370&TheLon=-119.70722198&TimeZoneName=America/Los_Angeles). It is a long way from perfect, but, by “turning off” the constellations, I was able to find Mars. (The planets are color-coded and red Mars blends in with some of the grid work. It is just to the left of Virgo) As it happens, Mars appears to have risen, this morning, between 8:00 and 9:00, meaning it is already up and hidden by the Sun (something I’m sure all real star watchers already knew). Clicking on the word “Mars” on the map presents the [information from the ephemeris](http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wuds?lat=34.41951370&lon=-119.70722198&year=2006&month=8&day=28&hour=13&min=08&timezonename=America%2FLos_Angeles&timezonecode=&height=600&width=600&fov=170&dir=0&alt=90&showgrid=1&showplanets=1&showconst=1&showconstnames=1&showskyline=1&showinfo=1&mode=infoclick&Map.x=388&Map.y=153) showing a rise time of 8:05 a.m. and a setting of 8:25 p.m., based on Zip Code 93101 ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-when-planets-are-rising/370492/5 "2006-08-28T13:41:12Z")
Mars is practically in conjuction with the Sun right now, meaning that it’s mostly up during the daytime. If you were hoping to see Mars “as big as the full moon” last night, as that email going around claimed, I’m afraid your roomie has fallen for a [hoax](http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/news/). ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-when-planets-are-rising/370492/6 "2006-08-28T14:48:17Z")
Another good site for this sort of information is the [USNO](http://aa.usno.navy.mil/). For my locale (Washington), Mars has the following rise, transit, and set times, which I’ve sampled for a few particular days in the near future: ```auto Date Rise Az. Transit Alt. Set Az. h m ° h m ° h m ° 2006 Aug 28 (Mon) 08:04 85 14:18 55S 20:31 275 2007 Jan 01 (Mon) 05:54 120 10:36 28S 15:18 240 2007 Jul 01 (Sun) 02:02 74 08:43 63S 15:25 286 2007 Oct 01 (Mon) 23:07 59 06:34 74S 13:58 301 2007 Dec 31 (Mon) 15:48 54 23:26 78S 07:11 306 ``` So basically, Mars won’t be visible in the evening sky again until fall of next year. ---
**Author:** ![Placid\_Liver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e99b99/32.png) [@Placid\_Liver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Placid_Liver)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-when-planets-are-rising/370492/7 "2006-08-28T15:28:41Z")
Get a program called Stellarium. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-when-planets-are-rising/370492/8 "2006-08-28T20:24:06Z")
At the Sky and Telescope site: [This Week’s Sky at a Glance column](http://skytonight.com/observing/ataglance/) [Interactive almanac (planets rise and seting)](http://skytonight.com/observing/objects/javascript/3305541.html) [Interactive sky chart](http://skytonight.com/observing/skychart/3308911.html)