Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, June 17th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:56. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 1:36 tomorrow morning.

In tonight’s sky, the Big Dipper is high in the northwest hanging from its handle. In its handle is a star or two that are fascinating. It’s the star at the bend in the handle. It’s called Mizar. Next to it, for those with good eyesight, is a dimmer star, called Alcor. The name Mizar is from the Arabic, meaning apron or cover, while Alcor means the forgotten one. In ancient times the ability to actually see both stars was a test for good eyesight, especially for Arabic warriors. The pair is also known as the “Horse and the Rider”. Some Native American tribes saw the handle stars as hunters tracking the Great Bear, Ursa Major, of which the Big Dipper is a part, rather than its very unnatural tail. Dim Alcor became a hunting dog.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum