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Ephemeris: 03/15/2024 – The Ides of March
This is Ephemeris for Ides of March, Friday, March 15th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 7:49, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:52. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 3:01 tomorrow morning.
Our calendar is derived from the Roman calendar. The Ides is the only named day ion the Roman calendar that we’re familiar with today, the Ides of March. On this day in 44 BCE Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was assassinated. The Ides of a month is the 13th of the month except for March, May, July, and October when it’s the 15th. The Roman calendar has two other named days. The 1st of the month is called Kalend, from which we get our word calendar. The other day is Nones which is the 5th day of the month except for March, May, July, and October when it’s on the 7th. The other days are countdown days to those dates so tomorrow will be the 17th day before the Kalend of April. The countdown is to 1 not 0, if you’re counting.
My source: https://www.slideserve.com/jonah/roman-calendar
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
This being a leap year, I will spend more time on these programs talking about the calendar. As you may know, we no longer use the Julian calendar for our normal calendar keeping functions. We use the Gregorian Calendar which is a modification of the Julian Calendar that was first made in the year 1582 CE. As we get closer to Easter I will delve into the Gregorian Calendar because it has everything to do with the date of Easter.
Ephemeris: 03/14/2024 – It’s Pi Day!
This is Ephemeris for Pi Day, Thursday, March 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 7:48, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:54. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 1:47 tomorrow morning.
Yes, it’s Pi day that’s the Greek letter π for 3.14 approximating the ratio of the circle’s circumference to its diameter, which scientific and technical people celebrate by baking a pie P-I-E and carving the Greek letter π on the top.
Tonight around 9 or 9:30 when it gets dark, is a good time to use the Moon to find the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters star cluster. The Pleiades will appear above the crescent Moon this evening, so it’s a good time to locate them if you haven’t already. We only have about another month viewing the Pleiades in the evening. And we have one more passage of the Moon by the Pleiades next month before they disappear from the evening sky.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
There’s another Pi day that some celebrate. A well-known approximation of pi is the fraction 22/7ths. Europeans and others write dates in day/month order, so July 22nd is also a Pi Day: 22/7.
Ephemeris: 03/13/2024 – Where have the naked-eye planets wandered off to this week?
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 13th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 7:47, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:55. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 12:28 tomorrow morning.
Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week, and see what planets are left. Mercury is beginning to become visible in the evening sky shortly after sunset appearing very low in the west. It will be visible for the next week or so, moving away from the Sun, but getting dimmer. Higher up in the sky Jupiter and the moon are close together this evening With Jupiter to the left and below the crescent Moon in the west southwest. It will set at 12:08 am. Jupiter will be visible in the evening for only about another month or so. In the morning Mars and Venus may be impossible to spot, in the east-southeast in the bright twilight. Mars will rise at 6:57 am, followed by Venus at 7:21.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/12/24 – The story of the twins of Gemini
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 12th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 46 minutes, setting at 7:45, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:57. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 11:07 this evening.
A week ago I talked about how to find the constellation of Gemini the twins above and to the left of the constellation Orion. Today I’ll talk about their story. Gemini the twins are fraternal twins, Castor and Pollux. Their namesake stars are the brightest in Gemini, with Castor above and the brighter Pollux below and left. Pollux was fathered by the god Zeus who raped his mother in the Leda and the Swan incident, while Castor was fathered by a mortal. They both went on the quest for the Golden Fleece with Jason and the Argonauts. Unfortunately Castor was killed. Pollux loved his brother so much he petitioned Zeus for him to die also and join Castor in the underworld. Instead, Zeus placed them both in the sky where we see them as Gemini.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/11/2024 – The Moon and the month
This is Ephemeris for Monday, March 11th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 43 minutes, setting at 7:44, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:59. The Moon, 1 day past new, will set at 9:44 this evening.
Tonight’s one-day old moon can be seen in the West shortly after sunset. Astrophysicist Dr. Rebecca Smethurst has a channel on YouTube under the name Dr. Becky. She calls it a toenail moon, because it looks like a toenail clipping. If you look real close, the rest of the Moon may be there. It’s not your eyes playing tricks on you, it’s the Earth shining on the Moon, illuminating the night side of it. For those using lunar calendars this would be day one or two of the lunar month. Since astronomically the Moon was new at 4 am yesterday morning our time. Folks in Europe and Asia may have seen the Moon in the sky last night. The Islamic lunar calendar requires the actual sighting of the new moon to start the month.
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
A note: being a leap year I will have more than my normal amount of posts about the calendar and problems with the calendar.
Ephemeris: 03/08/2024 – We’re one month away from the last Great American Eclipse for the next 21 years
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for International Women’s Day, Friday, March 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 6:40, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:05. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:01 tomorrow morning.
We are exactly one month from our total solar eclipse this year, so I hope you’ve gotten your eclipse glasses or whatever else you need to safely view the Sun, or make plans to drive to the path of totality. This weekend we have a time change, spring forward to daylight savings time. It’s something I don’t look forward to, because it pushes the darkness in the evening out one more hour later. Not only does the sunset later each night, but we mess with the clocks to make it even later. By the end of June and early July twilight doesn’t officially end until after midnight. Then we only get 4 1/2 hours of darkness anyway if the Moon wasn’t out.
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
Ephemeris: 03/07/2024 – There’s a unicorn in there somewhere
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, March 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 6:39, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:06. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 6:35 tomorrow morning.
The constellation of Monoceros the unicorn is located in an area of sky to the left of Orion so it’s in the south at 8 pm, inside the Winter Triangle of stars, Betelgeuse in Orion; Sirius in the Great Dog, Canis Major; and Procyon in Canis Minor. If you don’t see anything there, it’s OK. Nobody sees real unicorns any more anyway. Are there any real unicorns? Anyway, there’s a great number of nebulae here in the Milky Way that runs through it, which unfortunately are too faint to be seen with amateur telescopes. However, it is a gold mine for amateur astronomers who are also astrophotographers using time exposures to record the faint nebulae here, including the famous Rosette Nebula!
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
Ephemeris: 03/06/2024 – Where have the naked-eye planets wandered off to this week?
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 6:37, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:08. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 6:03 tomorrow morning.
Let’s find out where the naked-eye planets have wandered off to this week, and see what planets are left. Saturn, and Mercury are gone, too close to the Sun to be seen. Jupiter will be in the west-southwest at 8 this evening. It will set at 11:25 pm in the west. Jupiter will be visible in the evening for only about another month or so. Venus, the morning star, will rise in the east-southeast at 6:23 am, but its brilliance is diminished by the bright twilight and its low position in the sky. It will be very low in the east-southeast at 6:45 am. Mars might be impossible to spot, being a bit to the right and above Venus. A pair of binoculars, at least, will be needed to spot it. It is about the width of the field of binoculars from Venus.
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
Ephemeris: 03/05/2024 – Finding Gemini the twins
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 24 minutes, setting at 6:36, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:10. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 5:22 tomorrow morning.
The constellation of Gemini the twins can be seen high in the south at 8 pm tonight. It’s located above and left of the constellation of Orion. The two brightest stars at the upper left of the constellation have the twin’s names. They are Castor, the one to the upper right and Pollux the brighter one to the lower left. I tend to see the constellation as the two lines of stars from Castor and Pollux running down toward Orion as a silhouette of these two boys standing together. Others see them as two stick figures. At the bottom of the line of stars emanating from Castor, what I consider Castor’s foot, is a lovely star cluster which is visible in binoculars as a little fuzzy spot, but a telescope will show a great number of stars here called Messier 35 or simply M35.
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
Ephemeris: 03/04/2024 – The evening skies are a-changing
This is Ephemeris for Monday, March 4th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 6:35, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:12. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 4:30 tomorrow morning.
Tonight at 8 pm Orion is in the south. This will be the last month that we will be able to enjoy Orion in the evening sky, because by month’s end he will begin to dip low in the west in the evening twilight. Even though it’s not quite spring, the central constellation of that season, Leo the lion, is already rising in the east. It has cleared the horizon at 8 this evening. The backwards question mark of Leo’s head, mane and front part of his body is easily spotted in the east now with the bright star Regulus at the bottom. The Big Dipper is in the northeast, also rising higher, and signaling via the Anishinaabek constellation there of the Fisher Star, announcing the maple sugaring season.
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
Looking to the east-southeast at 8 pm we look at three star groups or constellations. From left to right we have the Big Dipper and the Fisher Star in the northeast. Centered in the east we have Leo the lion. And on the right, just west of south, we have Orion the central winter constellation. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Credit: Stellarium, and using LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 