Home > Anishinaabek Constellation, Ephemeris Program, Observing > Ephemeris: 10/20/2025 – The Fisher paints the autumn colors

Ephemeris: 10/20/2025 – The Fisher paints the autumn colors

October 20, 2025

This is Ephemeris for Monday, October 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 44 minutes, setting at 6:49, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:06. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 8:19 tomorrow morning.

The leaves on the trees are beginning to turn to reds and yellows as we advance through autumn. The native Anishinaabe peoples, whose homeland we share, have a story about how that came to be. Of how a magical weasel-like creature called the Fisher or, in their native language, Ojiig Anung (Fisher Star), brought summer to the Earth from Skyland. For his trouble, he was shot with an arrow in his only vulnerable spot, the tip of his tail. As he fell to Earth Gichi Manitou, the Great Spirit, caught him and placed him in the sky where we see the Great Bear and the Big Dipper. Every late autumn night we see his tail, the handle of the dipper, slowly swooping down to the horizon in the north, where his bloody tail paints the trees with their autumn colors.

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

A time-lapse of several hours as the Fisher’s tail paints the trees with their autumn colors.
A time-lapse of several hours as the Fisher’s tail paints the trees with their autumn colors. Created using Stellarium.

For my take on the story of how the Fisher brought summer to the Earth, click here.

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