Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Monday, August 29th.  The Sun will rise at 7:02.  It’ll be up for 13 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 8:23.  The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 5:11 tomorrow morning.

If the ancient Greeks had teapots the constellation we call Sagittarius might have been Teapotius or something.  It’s low in the south at 11 p.m. with the Milky Way rising like steam from its spout.  Sagittarius is supposed to be a centaur with a bow and arrow.  However to us the dearth of centaurs around outside of Harry Potter books, and there being lots of teapots around, and that great children’s song which perfectly describes the Sagittarius teapot.  So the teapot is an asterism, like the Big Dipper, not one of the official constellations.  A pair of binoculars is all you need to spot many fuzzy objects in and around Sagittarius.  Pay special attention to that steam of the Milky way above the teapot’s spout for many fuzzy objects.

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

Addendum

Sagittarius star field showing the Teapot. Credit Bob Moler.