Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, November 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 5:21, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:32. The Moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 11:24 this evening.

Tonight’s Moon is just a few hours before the instant of first quarter which is officially at 12:56 tomorrow morning. The ancient Chinese saw in the gray areas of the Moon, we call seas, a rabbit, a pet of Chinese moon goddess Chang’e, its name was Yutu. These have become the names of the Chinese lunar landers and rovers. The top half of that rabbit is visible in the gray areas called maria, or seas. Early telescopic astronomers thought they were actually water filled basins. It turned out to be lava plains, actually floors of huge craters, from asteroids that hit the Moon 4 billion years ago during the late heavy bombardment. The top body of the rabbit is at the top part of the moon it descends to the lower right with his head and ears. The rabbit is also known as the Jade Rabbit. The rest of him is visible when the moon is full. Yutu has a real presence on the Moon, as the names of the two Chinese rovers that landed on the Moon.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

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