Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Thursday, November 20th.  The sun will rise at 7:45.  It’ll be up for 9 hours and 24 minutes, setting at 5:10.   The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 6:38 tomorrow morning.

At 9 p.m., if it’s clear tonight look to the east to see the bright winter constellation Orion the hunter mostly risen over the eastern horizon as Robert Frost told in his poem Star-Splitter.  Orion’s throwing a leg up over the horizon, climbing into the sky.  The three stars of Orion’s belt are nearly vertical as the mighty hunter rises.  When in the spring he sets those stars will be horizontal.  The same is true on the two namesake stars of the twins of Gemini Castor and Pollux to Orion’s left rising in then east-northeast.  They rise vertically aligned and set horizontally.  It’s due to our latitude and the fact that these stars are near the equator of the sky.  At the poles the stars don’t change attitude, and don’t rise or set.  Here they flip about 90 degrees, and at the equator they do a 180.  Interesting.

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

Addendum

Orion rising at 9 p.m. on November 20, 2014. Note that Orion’s Belt stars and Gemini’s namesake stars are nearly vertically aligned. Created using Stellarium.

Orion setting near the end of twilight in April 2015. Note that Orion’s Belt stars and Gemini’s namesake stars are now nearly horizontally aligned. Created using Stellarium.