Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Monday, December 27th.  The sun will rise at 8:18.  It’ll be up for 8 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 5:08.   The moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 1:06 tomorrow morning.

At 9 in the evening the constellation Orion will appear in the southeast with its seven brightest stars brighter than those of the Big Dipper.  Orion’s upright rectangle of stars will lean to the left before midnight, when it will be upright.  In the morning hours it will lean to the right.  The rectangle is the torso of this mythical hunter.  Inside the rectangle is a line of three stars, his belt, and an easy way for find him, because it is the only line of three bright stars in the sky.  Below the belt appear another three stars, though fainter, in a line, his sword.  Binoculars will reveal more than three stars and a bit of haze around the small group that appear as the middle star.  Telescopes will reveal much more.  This is the Great Orion Nebula where stars even now are bring born.

* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.