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We might get an aurora (northern lights) tonight (August 5, 2011)
Also southern lights too. There was a big coronal mass ejection (CME) yesterday. Arrival time of the stuff at earth is thought to be 10 hours UT (6 a.m. EDT) plus or minus 7 hours. Though no reports yet. See Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy for more on it. Also check out www.spaceweather.com.
08/05/11 – Ephemeris – Viewing night tommorrow at the Rogers Observatory
Friday, August 5th. The sun rises at 6:33. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 9:03. The moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 11:53 this evening.
Tomorrow night the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society and the NMC Astronomical Association will host a public viewing night at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory starting at 9 p.m. featuring, if it’s clear the planet Saturn early and the moon. Some of the brighter wonders of the summer sky can be seen as it gets darker, though the moon will interfere somewhat. There are sparkling binary stars and star clusters including the Wild Duck Cluster and at least one bright nebula, the Ring Nebula, the expanding envelope of a dying star. The observatory is located south of Traverse City, on Birmley Road between Garfield and Keystone roads.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 