Elements of the Solar System


Here you will find links to graphs showing the rise and setting times of various astronomical bodies.

Stay in touch because soon there will be plenty of detail here to get you observing.

An important note - you will find that most dates used here will be in Julian Date format, and the most times will be in UTC (Universal Time Co-ordinated)

In Astronomy there is a need to ensure that dates and times are not just correct, they must be precise and comparable, over not just a few years, over many, many years.  The method adopted by many astronomers is the Julian Date.  A simple definition of the Julian Date is an absolute count of days since a defined 'zero' point; That zero point is 'Jan 1 4713BC'.  This method is independent of the length of a month or a year.  Use the graph below to convert the Julian Dates
 you find on this website to local dates in UTC.
Rise and Set Times of Inner PlanetsJulian Date Conversion graph

Rise and Set Time of Outer Planets

Rise and Set Times of Remote Planets

Rise and Set Time of the Sun and Moon