Archive
10/17/2017 – Ephemeris – The Fisher paints the autumn leaves red
Ephemeris for Tuesday, October 17th. The Sun will rise at 8:00. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 6:54. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 6:35 tomorrow morning.
This morning, if it’s clear the red planet Mars will appear just to the right of the thin crescent Moon. Mars isn’t the only thing that’s red now. So are the maple leaves as we advance into autumn. The native Anishinaabek peoples have a story about how that came to be. Of how a magical weasel-like creature called the Fisher or Ojiig brought summer to the Earth from Skyland. For his trouble he was shot with an arrow in his only vulnerable spot, the tip of his tail. As he fell to Earth the Great Spirit, Manitou caught him and placed him in the sky where we see the Great Bear (Ursa Major) and the Big Dipper. Every autumn we see his tail swoop down to the ground where his tail paints the leaves red with his blood.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addenda
The Moon and the morning planets this morning
The Moon and Mars at 6:30 this morning October 17, 2017. Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
At 00:21 UTC on the 18th Venus will be south of the Moon. It will be visible from Asia.
The Fisher (Ojiig) paints the trees with the autumn colors
Autumn colors. My image.
An animation of Fisher brushing his tail along the horizon on autumn nights. Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The constellation art is part of the latest versions of Stellarium. Ojibwe (Anishinaabek) constellation art by Annette S Lee and William Wilson from Ojibwe Sky Star Map Constellation Guide, ISBN 978-0-615-98678-4.
See the version of the story I learned: The story of the Fisher Star.
There are other variations of the story, and other adventures of the Fisher. Perform an Internet search for: Fisher or Fisher Star or Ojiig.
10/16/2017 – Ephemeris – Andromeda, the chained princess
Ephemeris for Monday, October 16th. The Sun will rise at 7:59. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 56 minutes, setting at 6:55. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 5:29 tomorrow morning.
The stars of the constellations Andromeda the chained princess look like they’re supposed to be the hind legs of Pegasus the flying horse which is high in the southeast at 9 p.m. Andromeda is high in the east She is seen in the sky as two diverging curved strings of stars that curve to the left and up from the leftmost star of the Great Square of Pegasus. Her predicament was caused by her boastful mother Cassiopeia, and the wrath of the god Poseidon. She was rescued by the hero Perseus, a nearby constellation, riding his steed Pegasus. Andromeda’s claim to astronomical fame is the large galaxy barely visible to the unaided eye just above the upper line of stars, the Great Andromeda Galaxy 2.5 million light years away.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Andromeda and neighboring constellations that are related to her story. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Andromeda at 9 p.m. with the Great Andromeda Galaxy. Created using Stellarium.
The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Image taken by Scott Anttila. It appears here more extensive than it appears visually to the naked eye or in telescopes.
10/13/2017 – Ephemeris – The bright star Regulus dips behind the Moon Sunday morning
Note: The original program recorded for this day was erroneous in the timing and appearance of this event. Occurring about an hour later than reported here. The Interlochen personnel may or may not replace the original program with the one below. Also those who downloaded the audio from ephemeris.bjmoler.org before late Thursday night may have downloaded the incorrect mp3.
Ephemeris for Friday, October 13th. The Sun will rise at 7:55 a.m.. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 7:00 p.m. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 2:08 tomorrow morning.
On Sunday morning the Moon will pass in front of, or occult the bright star Regulus, the brightest star in Leo the lion. This will happen as morning twilight starts. Regulus will disappear at the left edge of the crescent Moon at around 5:47 a.m. A telescope or binoculars may be needed to spot Regulus. Go out at least 5 or 10 minutes early to make sure you can spot the star. Regulus will reemerge at 6:25 at the 11 o’clock position on the dark part of the Moon. Earth shine on the night side of the Moon may be bright enough to see its dark edge. Observers west of us in the United States except the northern most states west of Minnesota will also get a view. Those in specific locations in the northern tier of states will get to see Regulus just graze the north edge of the Moon.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Occultation of Regulus by the Moon disappearance at around 5:47 a.m. for northern Michigan. Created using Stellarium.
Occultation of Regulus by the Moon reappearance at around 6:25 a.m. for northern Michigan. Created using Stellarium.
Map showing the locations where the occultation of Regulus will be visible. For the area bounded by heavy lines the occultation will occur at night. Click on image to enlarge. Credit: Occult4 by IOTA.
10/12/2017 – Ephemeris – Is it a flying horse or a moose?
Ephemeris for Thursday, October 12th. The Sun will rise at 7:54. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 8 minutes, setting at 7:02. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 1:02 tomorrow morning.
A reminder that fall is here is located high in the southeast around 9 p.m. It’s one of the great autumn constellations: Pegasus the flying horse of Greek myth. Its most visible feature is a large square of four stars, now standing on one corner. This feature, called the Great Square of Pegasus, represents the front part of the horse’s body. The horse is quite aerobatic, because it is seen flying upside down. Remembering that fact, the neck and head is a bent line of stars emanating from the right corner star of the square. Its front legs can be seen in a gallop extending to the upper right from the top star of the square. To the Anishinaabek peoples in the Great Lakes region it is the Moose, body where the square is and head where the front legs of Pegasus are. It’s antlers use the stars of Lacerta the lizard.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Pegasus-Moose animation. The Anishinaabek constellation moose’s antlers in this imagining uses the stars of the Western constellation of Lacerta the lizard. Click on image to enlarge Created using Stellarium and the GIMP.
The constellation art is part of the latest versions of Stellarium. Western constellation art by Johan Meuris. Ojibwe (Anishinaabek) constellation art by Annette S Lee and William Wilson from Ojibwe Sky Star Map Constellation Guide, ISBN 978-0-615-98678-4.
10/11/2017 – Ephemeris – Lets find the bright planets tonight
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 11th. The Sun will rise at 7:53. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 7:04. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 11:59 this evening.
Let’s take our weekly look at the bright planets. Jupiter, for all intents and purposes is gone from the evening sky. It will cross into the morning sky later this month. Saturn too is sinking lower in the southwestern sky in the evening. Saturn’s rings are still spectacular in telescopes, but since Saturn is so low in the sky the turbulence of the thick atmosphere makes Saturn fuzzy and seemingly to go in and out of focus. Saturn will set at 10:17 p.m. In the morning sky, Mars will rise in the east at 5:38 a.m., ahead of Venus. In the week since their conjunction Mars has gained 20 minutes on Venus, which will rise at 5:58 in the east. Mars is less than 100th the brightness of Venus, so catch it early, before twilight overpowers it..
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn and the constellations of the evening tonight at 8:30 p.m., October 11, 2017. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and its brightest moons overnight October 11/12, 2017. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Venus, Mars and the Moon at 7 a.m. October 12, 2017. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars, 7 a.m. October 12, 2017. Created using Stellarium.
Planets at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on October 11, 2017. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 12th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
10/10/2017 – Ephemeris – Ada Lovelace Day
Ephemeris for Ada Lovelace Day, Tuesday, October 10th. The Sun will rise at 7:51. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 14 minutes, setting at 7:06. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:01 this evening.
Ada Lovelace Day is a day set aside to celebrate women in STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Ada Augusta King, Countess of Lovelace, born in 1815 is considered the world’s first computer programmer, writing a program on Jacquard loom punch cards for Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine. Unfortunately the Analytical Engine never made it past the planning stage.
The recently completed incredibly successful Cassini Mission mission had three women in top roles: Project scientist, Linda Spilker; Spacecraft Operations Team Manager, Julie Webster; Imaging Science Subsystem Principle Investigator, Carolyn Porco, plus many more. STEM fields are still male dominated but lets encourage the girls to enter them too.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852) considered the first computer programmer, even though the machine she wrote code for was never built. Credit: Science & Society Picture Library
10/09/2017 – Ephemeris – Old World vs New World
Ephemeris for Columbus Day observed, Monday, October 9th. The Sun will rise at 7:50. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 7:07. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 10:09 this evening.
Today the United States celebrates Columbus Day , a Monday near the date Christopher Columbus landed on a Caribbean island, and found people who got there at least 15 thousand years earlier. Due to superior technology, and nothing else really, the Europeans conquered the peoples of the continents they called the Americas, deeming the indigenous peoples, incorrectly, as savages.
My astronomical journey started with learning the constellations and their stories from the ancient Greeks. About five years ago I began to investigate the constellations and stories of the Anishinaabek peoples whose ancient lands we live on, which turn out to be as rich and as meaningful as those I learned in my youth from the Old World.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
10/06/2017 – Ephemeris – GTAS meeting tonight – Remembering Cassini
Ephemeris for Friday, October 6th. The Sun will rise at 7:46. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 7:13. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 8:10 this evening.
Tonight’s meeting, at 8 p.m. at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory, of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) will feature yours truly and a program I’m calling Remembering Cassini. On a planet nearly a billion miles from earth the intrepid spacecraft called Cassini met its planned fate burning up in its atmosphere. It was a mission that lasted nearly 20 years, and orbited the ringed planet for 13 of those years, viewing the planet, its rings and moons from all angles, tasting the atmosphere of Titan, the geysers of Enceladus, and finally, at the end, the atmosphere of its host planet Saturn. We’ll have images, videos, and sounds of those alien worlds. At 9 p.m. there will be a star party featuring the Moon and Saturn
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
10/05/2014 – Ephemeris – The Harvest Moon
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, October 5th. The Sun will rise at 7:45. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 7:15. The Moon, at full today, will rise at 7:38 this evening.
This is the day of the Harvest Moon. It will rise just before sunset and colored like a huge pumpkin. The huge size is an optical illusion, and the coloring is courtesy of our Earth’s atmosphere selectively bleeding out the blue from the Moon’s light. The reason the Harvest Moon is so special is that during this period the Moon rises for quite a few days just before and in twilight, effectively lengthening the hours of light that farmers can have to harvest their crops. Tomorrow the Moon will rise 32 minutes later than tonight, rather than the average 50 minutes. The effect is a bit diminished this year because the Moon is nearing perigee, its closest to the Earth and is traveling a bit faster than average. The Moon can get down to a 25 minute day-to-day difference.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The position of the Moon for 7 nights centered on moon rise tonight (10/04/2017). The rotation of the Earth carries the Moon to rise parallel to the green celestial equator line. The brown area at the bottom is below the horizon. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
10/04/2017 – Ephemeris – Where are the bright planets tonight?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 4th. The Sun will rise at 7:44. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 7:17. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:21 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the bright planets. Jupiter, for all intents and purposes is gone from the evening sky. It will cross into the morning sky later this month. Saturn too is sinking lower in the southwestern sky in the evening. Saturn’s rings are still spectacular in telescopes, but since Saturn is so low in the sky the turbulence of the thick atmosphere makes Saturn fuzzy and seemingly to go in and out of focus. Saturn will set at 10:43 p.m.
In the morning sky, brilliant Venus will rise at 5:11 a.m. in the east with much dimmer Mars below and right of it by half the width of the Moon. Mars is less than 100th the brightness of Venus, and will probably require binoculars to locate. (need a few words more)
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn and the Moon in the evening at 8 p.m. October 4, 2017. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and its brightest moons overnight October 4/5, 2017. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars, 8 p.m. October 4, 2017. Created using Stellarium.
Members of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society and I are invited to the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival being held for the Chinese exchange students in the Traverse City school system. Its held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the full moon, which works out to be October 4th this year. They will be having Chinese food and viewing the Moon afterward.
One of the legends celebrated then will be the Jade Rabbit pounding medicine. Jade Rabbit (Yutu) is the name of the Chinese rover that’s on the Moon. And the Jade Rabbit can actually be seen on the Moon:
Jade Rabbit and Mortar on the Moon. Credit: Zeimusu, Creative Commons.
I hope they have Moon Cakes. They sound yummy.
A closeup of Venus and Mars at 6:30 a.m. October 5, 2017. Created using Stellarium.
Planets at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on October 4, 2017. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 5th. The full Moon has fallen in the cracks between the sunset and sunrise charts due to its position south of the ecliptic. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 