Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Ephemeris for Monday, February 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 5:56, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:56. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 5:44 tomorrow morning.

The star Procyon is in Orion’s little hunting dog Canis Minor, which contains only one other star. It can be found by using the shoulder stars of Orion, Bellatrix and Betelgeuse, pointing to the left and down a bit to Procyon in the evening. The word Procyon appears to mean “Before the Dog” meaning that rises before the Dog Star, Sirius, even though it is east of it. Procyon is also north of Sirius, which for observers above 30° north latitude does indeed rise before the Dog Star. It is a star like Sirius, though it’s not as bright, or white. Procyon is 11.5 light years away while Sirius is 8.4 light years away. Both have tiny white dwarf companion stars.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum