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Ephemeris: 03/18/2025 – The Great Underwater Panther

March 18, 2025 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 18th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 4 minutes, setting at 7:53, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:47. The Moon, halfway from full to last quarter, will rise at 12:47 tomorrow morning.

As Orion tilts into the southwest at 9 PM I’m reminded of our Anishinaabek native peoples here in Michigan who saw it as the Winter Maker slowly beginning to leave the scene in the southwest. At this time in the southeast is Curly Tail, the Great Panther. I first knew him as the Great Underwater Panther, which tells us where he lives… beneath the ice. He’s in the sky to warn us that the warmer weather of spring is coming, and the ice on the lakes and rivers is getting thin. Be careful to not fall through and drown, becoming a victim of the Great Panther. The stars of the panther include those of the head of Leo the lion the great backwards question mark, as his curly tail, to his head, the head of what we call Hydra the water snake.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

An animated chart for finding the Anishinaabek constellation of the Great Panther in three frames. First, the sky without any markings as you would see in the real sky at 9 PM on March 12, 2025. 2nd the three Western constellations mentioned in the text . 3rd the Anishinaabek great Panther and the Winter Maker. Also we have the name the Anishnaabek name for Sirius Gizhii’anung which means Great Star. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Created using stellarium, liberty office draw, and GIMP. The Anishinaabek constellations have been gathered from numerous sources on the Internet .
Categories: Anishinaabek Constellation, Ephemeris Program, Observing Tags: ,