Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Thursday, November 7th.  The sun will rise at 7:28.  It’ll be up for 9 hours and 54 minutes, setting at 5:23.   The moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 9:32 this evening.

The entire Big Dipper is at its lowest in the sky at 9 p.m. with the Dipper’s bowl centered due north under the pole star Polaris.  The southernmost star of the Big Dipper is the star at the tip of the handle, named Alkaid.  Alkaid will be at its lowest at 11:20 this evening, 4 degrees above the horizon for Traverse City, so is circumpolar, meaning it doesn’t set in the IPR (Interlochen Public Radio) listening area.  The star name is Arabic and means something like the Chief of the daughters mourning at the Bier.  The bier is the bowl of the dipper supporting, I suppose, the body of their father or mother.  To the Anishinabek native peoples around here the Big Dipper was the Fisher or Fisher Star, a weasel like creature, whose bloody tail swept over the maple trees, turning their leaves red.

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

Addendum

The Big Dipper low in the north at 9 p.m. November 7, 2013. Created using Stellarium.

Fisher Star paints the autumn trees red at 11:20 p.m. November 7, 2013. Created using Stellarium.

For the story of the Fisher Star click here.