Home > Constellations, Ephemeris Program, Mythology > 04/10/2012 – Ephemeris – The story of Corvus the crow

04/10/2012 – Ephemeris – The story of Corvus the crow

April 10, 2012

Ephemeris for Tuesday, April 10th.  The sun will rise at 7:06.  It’ll be up for 13 hours and 15 minutes, setting at 8:21.   The moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 1:27 tomorrow morning.

The small constellation of Corvus the crow is located low in the southeast at 10 this evening. It’s made of 5 dim stars, but the pattern is a distinctive distorted box with two stars at the upper left marking that corner. To the right is a fainter constellation of a thick stemmed goblet called Crater. Both appear above the long constellation of Hydra the water snake who is slithering just above the southern horizon.. In Greek mythology Corvus, then white, was the god Apollo’s pet. Apollo once bid Corvus to take a cup and fetch him some water. Corvus however dallied and waited for an unripe fig to ripen. Corvus grabbed a snake and returned with a story as to how the snake had delayed him.  The angry Apollo turned the crow and all crows to this day black.

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

Addendum

Hydra the Water Snake at 10 p.m. on April 9th, 2012

Hydra the Water Snake at 10 p.m. on April 9th, 2012. Created using Stellarium.

Yesterday’s chart, but little change.  OK, it for 9:56 p.m.  Check out Corvus the crow and Crater the cup.  Sextens the sextant came later.  The Greeks didn’t have them.

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