Archive
07/17/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 17th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 9 minutes, setting at 9:23. The moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 2:06 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:14.
Lets check out the planets visible now. Venus is now low in the west northwestern sky in evening twilight, Venus will set at 10:52 p.m. Holding forth in the southwest will be Saturn this evening, the brightest star-like object in the constellation Virgo appearing yellowish to the left of the extremely blue-white star Spica. Saturn is a wonderful sight in a telescope of 20 power or more. Saturn will set at 1:31 tomorrow morning. Mars and Jupiter will rise close together at 4:23 and 4:35 a.m. Respectively in the east northeast in morning twilight. The much dimmer Mars will appear about 4 moon diameters to the upper right of the brighter Jupiter, and may take binoculars to locate.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus, Saturn, Moon and stars at 10:40 on July 17, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Mars at 5 a.m. on July 18, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
07/16/2013 – Ephemeris – The red giant star Antares
Ephemeris for Tuesday, July 16th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 9:23. The moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 1:24 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:13.
Low in the south is the red giant star Antares. It lies at the heart of Scorpius the scorpion. Its name means Rival of Mars, because it has the same hue as the red planet. In Mars case the color comes from iron oxide, rust. In Antares case it has a cool surface temperature, relatively speaking of 5,700 degrees Fahrenheit. As a red giant star Antares is near the end of its life, though for a star Antares is young, possibly 12 million years old. That that age the sun was just getting started. But Antares with around 15 to 17 the sun’s mass has already run out of fusible hydrogen in its core and bloated out to over Mars orbit in size. Antares is 450 light years away and has a companion star in its system that looks greenish in contrast to Antares red. However when Antares A, the red giant’s light is blocked, the companion looks bluish.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The constellation Scorpius and the star Antares. Created using Stellarium.
07/15/2013 – Ephemeris – The moon will appear near Spica tonight
Ephemeris for Monday, July 15th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 12 minutes, setting at 9:24. The moon, at first quarter today, will set at 12:48 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:12.
The moon this evening is very close to the bright star Spica. It might take a pair of binoculars to spot it in the glare of the moon. Spica will be just above left of the moon tonight. For other spots on the earth the moon will actually pass in front of the star. The event is called an occultation, from the word occult meaning hidden. Simply put the moon will pass in front of or hide the star for up to an hour. The chief beneficiary of this occultation is the state of Hawai’i. Occultations are one of the best ways to measure the position, diameter and shape of distant asteroids and Kuiper belt objects that are too small to measure otherwise. Satellites of these objects have also been discovered this way.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Spica and the Moon at 10 p.m. on July 15, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
Path on the Earth where the occultation of Spica will be visible. Credit Astronomical Almanac Online.
The Astronomical Almanac Online ( http://asa.usno.navy.mil/) “is a joint publication of the U. S. Nautical Almanac Office, United States Naval Observatory (USNO), in the United States and Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO), in the United Kingdom.”
Sleeping Bear Dunes Star Party 7/13/13 – Status
7 p.m.
It is a go! Setup starts at 8 or before. Sunset is at 9:28. The moon will be visible before that. See you there.
3:23 p.m
As of this time the weather looks great. Weather forecast is for clear skies!
07/12/2013 – Ephemeris – Star party at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore tomorrow night
Ephemeris for Friday, July 12th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 9:26. The moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 11:22 this evening. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:09.
Tomorrow night there will be a star party at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore starting at 9 p.m. It will be hosted by the park rangers and the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society. The location this time will be at Platte River Point at the end of Lake Michigan Road off M22, at the end of the road where the Platte River Camp Ground is.. The celestial objects featured will be Venus, Saturn and the crescent moon. Also some of the brighter deep sky wonders will be visible later in the evening. This will be the first use of the society’s new CCD camera to display celestial wonders to those who can’t view due to handicap. We still have some bugs to work out. The star party will be canceled if cloudy. Call 326-5135 extension 331 for the status.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
07/11/2013 – Ephemeris – Ophiuchus the serpent bearer
Ephemeris for Thursday, July 11th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 9:27. The moon, 3 days past new, will set at 10:56 this evening. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:09.
The crescent moon will appear to the right of the planet Venus before 10:45 p.m. Tonight. The red star Antares shines in the south at 11 p.m. In the area of sky above it lies a large constellation of faint stars called Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer. Ophiuchus represent the legendary physician Aesculapius. The constellation shape is like a large bell, which reminds me of the head, shoulders and arms of a fellow that’s holding the snake like a weight lifter struggling to pull up a heavy barbell. Serpens, the constellation of the serpent is in the sky in two sections. The front end lies to the right as Serpens Caput, and wends its way up the right side of Ophiuchus. Serpens Cauda, the tail rises to the left of Ophiuchus. It’s a rewarding sight, and not that hard to spot.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ophiuchus and Serpens at 11 p.m.. Created using Stellarium.
07/10/2013 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets this week?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 10th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 9:27. The moon, 2 days past new, will set at 10:28 this evening. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:08.
Lets check out the planets visible now. Venus is now low in the west northwestern sky in evening twilight, Venus will set at 10:59 p.m. Holding forth in the south southwest will be Saturn this evening, the brightest star-like object in the constellation Virgo appearing yellowish to the left of the extremely blue-white star Spica. Saturn is a wonderful sight in a telescope of 20 power or more. Small telescopes can also spot Saturn’s moon Titan as a dim star off a ways along the extent of the rings. Saturn will set at 1:59 tomorrow morning. Jupiter, Mars and Mercury are too close to the direction of the sun to be seen. I’ll check out Jupiter and Mars when they emerge later this month.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus, Saturn and the bright stars at 10:30 p.m. on July 10, 2013. Created using Stellarium.
07/09/2013 – Ephemeris – Thank goodness this is as close as scorpions get to northern Michigan
Ephemeris for Tuesday, July 9th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 9:28. The moon, 1 day past new, will set at 9:58 this evening. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:07.
Crawling just above the southern horizon at 11 p.m. is the zodiacal constellation of Scorpius the scorpion. His heart is the red giant star Antares. Its facing the west or right with a short arc of three stars as its head. His body and tail drop to the left and scrape the horizon before curving up to the critter’s poisonous stinger of two stars. It really makes a great scorpion. One story of the scorpion concerns Orion the hunter the great winter constellation. In that story Orion was killed by the sting of a scorpion. Therefore Orion and Scorpius are never seen in the sky at the same time. That is certainly true around here and for the Greeks, whose legend it is. However if one travels far enough south that is no longer true.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Scorpius at 11 p.m. on July 9, 2013. Credit Stellarium. I don’t agree with the artist’s drawing of the scorpion. To me it’s larger. The arc of three stars in the drawing’s right claw to me is its head and start of the claw appendages. I’ve added two star names from the constellation of Libra to the right. The Arabic translation of Zubeneschamali and Zubenelgenubi is North Claw and South Claw respectively. At one time Scorpius was larger than it is depicted today. Click on the image to enlarge.
07/08/2012 – Ephemeris – How to find the Ring Nebula (M57)
Ephemeris for Monday, July 8th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 22 minutes, setting at 9:28. The moon is new today, and won’t be visible. | Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:06.
The constellation of Lyra is high in the east when it gets dark tonight. Its bright star Vega and the thin parallelogram of stars depict the harp it represents. Between the two stars at the bottom of the parallelogram opposite Vega hides a celestial wonder that can be seen in a small telescope, though the larger the telescope the better. It is the Ring Nebula, a smoke ring blown by a dying star. The telescope’s finder cannot show the ring. Center the finder between those two stars. The nebula will appear as a small dim gray spot in the telescope. Closer inspection may reveal that the center of the nebula is darker than the edges. It is about 2,300 light years away, but that’s a very approximate distance, which could be a thousand light years off.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The constellation Lyra with the location of the Ring Nebula shown. Created using Stellarium.
A closer look at the location of the Ring Nebula. Created using Stellarium.
07/05/2013 – Ephemeris – Earth at aphelion and astronomy tonight
Ephemeris for Friday, July 5th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 9:30. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 4:52 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:04.
The earth is as far as it will get from the sun for the year today at 94.5 million miles. Speaking of the sun, the monthly meeting of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society at 8 p.m. at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory tonight will host local landscape architect Dean Conners an expert on sundials. He created the sundial in the Children’s Garden behind the District Library. who will talk about some interesting sundials. After the meeting at 9 p.m. there will be a star party at the observatory with the planets Venus and Saturn plus some of the bright wonders of the summer sky, like the Ring Nebula, The Great Hercules Globular Star Cluster if it’s clear. There’s other activities if it’s cloudy.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 