Conveniently timed planets - how to find out when

[JOC]

I've looked at loads of websites, but I've not found source so far that will tell me what time of year I can find which planets to view at which times.  I want to find what time of year I need to observe to find the planets viewable at 'convenient' times (i.e. before I want to go to sleep say before 11:30 pm - OK, I know I should be more dedicated, but its difficult when you share a mega-house full of other sleeping occupants), esp. the big two - Saturn and Jupiter.  If I move the telescope around the house I can probably view in most directions so that bit shouldn't be a problem - we've been finding venus and mars and Neptune recently, I just can't find a website that sort of has - 'it comes up at this time and sets at this time' type information for the various planets.  Can someone please point me in the right direction?

[Woolnut]

17 minutes ago, JOC said:

I've looked at loads of websites, but I've not found source so far that will tell me what time of year I can find which planets to view at which times.  I want to find what time of year I need to observe to find the planets viewable at 'convenient' times (i.e. before I want to go to sleep say before 11:30 pm - OK, I know I should be more dedicated, but its difficult when you share a mega-house full of other sleeping occupants), esp. the big two - Saturn and Jupiter.  If I move the telescope around the house I can probably view in most directions so that bit shouldn't be a problem - we've been finding venus and mars and Neptune recently, I just can't find a website that sort of has - 'it comes up at this time and sets at this time' type information for the various planets.  Can someone please point me in the right direction?

I use an App on my iPhone called Night Sky 4, it provides all of the information that it sounds like you would need, i have chosen to get notifications when certain planets rise and set which come through on my Apple Watch which is pretty cool. I would recommend it as it saves me a lot of time and provides some great insight and information on what is going on!

Here is the website for the developers which describes some of the features on offer... iCandi Night Sky 4

(I know this isn't for PC though)

 

[JOC]

Hi Woolnut - that looks useful for iPhone users, but it doesn't appear in the Play store for android - like you say not for the PC!  However, many thanks for your time in posting the screen shots look really useful and I'm sure it will help someone.  There are dozens of night sky apps in the Play store for android and I expect one of them will show something similar, its just a case of finding which one!

[Woolnut]

18 minutes ago, JOC said:

Hi Woolnut - that looks useful for iPhone users, but it doesn't appear in the Play store for android - like you say not for the PC!  However, many thanks for your time in posting the screen shots look really useful and I'm sure it will help someone.  There are dozens of night sky apps in the Play store for android and I expect one of them will show something similar, its just a case of finding which one!

Just had a quick look... The below are the Android Equivalents of the Night Sky 4 App i use on iOS! (Same developer) Could be worth a look? The first one is free but i would imagine has limited capabilities 

The Night Sky (Lite) (This one seems to be free thanks to annoying advertisements, probably best as a try before you buy!)

The Night Sky

The Night Sky Pro

[PESKYWAABBIT]

There used to be an application called 'Planets' that I used to use this for.

It had the exact functionality you are describing and desire. However it seems that over the past few years the features may have been stripped out.

Such a shame, it was free also  

Darn!

[JOC]

Hi Woolnut, that does look the same/similar app. as you thought, many thanks.  However, to get the timings functionality I will indeed have to sport the £1.99 cost which I don't have an issue with.  The trouble is I don't have a bank account (even for app purposes) set up on my phone for security reasons so I'd need to set up the phone just for the one off purchase.  So I think I'll wait a while and see if someone else comes up with any thing before I decide to do so. 

[RT65CB-SWL]

There is an Android & iOS app called Planets. It can display the night sky in different wavelengths too,

For Windows PC/laptop there is SkyTools and for Mac OS there is AstroPlanner.

[MARS1960]

I just use stellarium, fast forward a couple of months and see whats arriving and when i can see/image it given my obstructions like that pesky Walnut tree.

http://www.stellarium.org/en_GB/

Also i find this site useful for other objects i want see, you can even set your parameters like magnitude, size, rise and transit.

https://dso-browser.com

[furrysocks2]

If you can interpret it, https://in-the-sky.org/risesetcharts.php.

 

[JOC]

Furrysocks2 - that's the one!  I've tried all the others.  So from what I see we stand a chance of seeing Jupiter at a 'sensible time' in the evening from Mid February to April and the sun should have set early enough and we should see Saturn by the same criteria from around May-June, but I will need to go out later around 10pm-12pm.  Does that sound right?  The answer will let me know if I've read them correctly

[PESKYWAABBIT]

1 hour ago, MARS1960 said:

https://dso-browser.com

This is quite simply the most incredible website I've ever visited! Except from SGL of course 

I'll be scouring through this after work!

Thanks!

[furrysocks2]

1 hour ago, JOC said:

Furrysocks2 - that's the one!  I've tried all the others.  So from what I see we stand a chance of seeing Jupiter at a 'sensible time' in the evening from Mid February to April and the sun should have set early enough and we should see Saturn by the same criteria from around May-June, but I will need to go out later around 10pm-12pm.  Does that sound right?  The answer will let me know if I've read them correctly

The way I read them, and if you were to time your observations in the middle of the shaded area - ie when the planet crosses your local meridian - then by June, Jupiter shouldn't be stupid-late (ie before midnight), and Saturn nearer August. Too soon after it sets and it won't be very high, there will be maximum depth of atmosphere between you and it, etc. Also, the narrower the shaded section, the lower it's going to be in the sky.

I think this is where a click through Stellarium or similar to fast forward will help you out.

 

Edits:

• looking at Stellarium helped me check my reading - for obs near the meridian around 11 or midnight, looks like May for Jupiter and July for Saturn?
• Stellarium - 7th May, 11pm - Jupiter about 1 degree from the moon - should make a nice visual?
• I may also be getting confused by BST/GMT.

[furrysocks2]

Another nice visualisation to give you an indicaion of when best to observe the planets: https://in-the-sky.org/solarsystem.php.

[JOC]

furrysocks2 - yes, that again shows what I wanted to know :-)

Not much longer to wait until I can try my new telescope on one of the 'biggies' at a reasonable hour :-D

[John]

This is another good resource:

http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/

 

 

[JOC]

Hi John

That's got an even clearer table about half way down the page - another good find and again what I wanted to know.  Many thanks

[noah4x4]

The SkyPortal APP for IOS or Android is free. Just fast forward to see what is ahead.  Better still, from the same developer, SkySafari Plus or Pro, but these require payment.

[JOC]

noah4x4 - thanks for the thought I've checked it out - it's a bit like Stellarium and similarly doesn't make it as easy to find what I was after as some of the solutions above do, though it is just as neat a program and I imagine must link up Celestron telescopes that folks own.

[furrysocks2]

A couple of months ago, I got rise and set times for the major planets to calculate on an Arduino using the aaplus library. I was going to use that code to work out my own observational forecast, but didn't. All a bit of a waste of time given it's all readily available, but it was educational.

Then as soon as I pulled my scope from storage, all excited, I read that it was pretty poor for planets for a while. Playing with the tools in the links above, I can see that.

Good luck though, JOC!

[JOC]

Hi furrysocks2, yes I read the same.  The thing is that many years ago the ex. had a small telescope and I can remember the thrill of seeing both Jupiter and Saturn which looked a bit like an elipse with its rings.  Even if we are in a bit of a poor timeframe generally for planets I would really love see both these with my own telescope (which I am sure is better than what I looked through years ago) at a convenient hour of the night and just wanted know how long I would need to wait for them to appear at a convenient time!!