Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Tuesday, June 16th.  Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 9:30.  The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.

Tomorrow the Sun will rise at 5:56.  |  As Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (Comet 67P for short, or the Rubber Duckie Comet) nears the orbit of Mars a couple of months from perihelion, its closest to the Sun, the Rosetta spacecraft, which has been orbiting it received  welcome news from its lander Philae which fell silent 5 months ago.  The lander woke up and has enough power to take measurements and transmit data to the Rosetta spacecraft.  This is something the folks at the European Space Agency had hoped for.  The comet has moved in its orbit around the Sun, so  the Sun’s light now can fall on Philae’s solar panels long enough during the comet’s daily rotation to recharge its batteries.  They are hoping that Philae can resume its surface mission.  This is just amazing!

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

Addendum

Comet 67P and jets of dust, carried by sublimating ices. Credit: ESA/Rosetta

Comet 67P and jets of dust, carried by sublimating ices from another angle. Credit: ESA/Rosetta

Comet 67P and jets of dust, carried by sublimating ices from yet another angle. Credit: ESA/Rosetta

An image of the Philae lander superimposed on its panorama photographs where it was wedged between ice and a hard place in the shadows last November. Credit: ESA/Rosetta.