Archive
10/05/10 – Ephemeris – The constellation Capricornus
Tuesday, October 5th. The sun will rise at 7:45. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 7:15. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 6:22 tomorrow morning.
2000 years ago the southernmost of the constellations of the zodiac was Capricornus the water goat. That’s why the latitude on the earth where the sun is overhead on the winter solstice is called the Tropic of Capricorn. Not any more, Sagittarius, one constellation west, has that honor today. Actually Capricornus does need the press. It’s large, but made up of dim stars. To me it looks like a 45 degree isosceles triangle, long side up, but which all the sides are sagging. The constellation is found low in the south at 10 p.m. and tilted a bit from the upper right to the lower left. The image that is supposed to be represented by the stars is that of a goat whose hind quarters are replaced by a fish’s tail, not a mermaid but a mer-goat.
*Times are for the Grand Traverse Area of Northern Michigan, USA.
10/04/10 – Ephemeris – Comet Hartley 2
Monday, October 4th. The sun will rise at 7:43. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 7:17. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 5:02 tomorrow morning.
Comet 103P/Hartley 2 is visible all night, but it’s visible only in binoculars or a small telescope It’s cruising past the W shaped constellation of Cassiopeia in the northeast in the evening. Looking at the W in the evening it’s standing on one end, and looks like the number 3. The comet is moving down just to the right of it. Since it is seen against the Milky Way there are some other fuzzy spots to confuse you. The comet will stay fuzzy in a telescope. Discovered in 1986 by Malcolm Hartley in Australia, the comet has a 6 and a half year orbit of the sun. It will be closest to the earth on October 20th. The Deep Impact spacecraft renamed EPOXI will pass close to the half mile diameter nucleus on November 4th.
Times are for the Grand Traverse Area of Northern Michigan, USA.
10/01/10 – Ephemeris GTAS activities this weekend
Friday, October 1st. The sun will rise at 7:40. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 7:23. The moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 1:10 tomorrow morning.
This evening the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will meet at 8 p.m. at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory. Special guest Walter Hoegy, retired physicist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center will provide the program: “Climate Studies in the Arctic and a look at the Sun”. Tomorrow night starting at 8 p.m. there will be a Public Viewing Night at the observatory. This is that last shot at viewing the wonders of the southern part of the Milky Way with its bright nebulae where stars are being formed and star clusters. Bright Jupiter and maybe even Uranus will also be featured.. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Road between Garfield and Keystone roads.
Times are for the Grand Traverse Area of Northern Michigan, USA.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 