Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Ephemeris for Friday, April 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 14 minutes, setting at 8:21, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:05. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 4:29 tomorrow morning.

The constellation of Leo the lion was envisioned as far back as 4,000 BCE by the Sumerians. It was known as UR.GU.LA, the Great or Divine Lion. Back then it was in the same seasonal location where Gemini is today, the most northern of the constellations of the Zodiac, where the Sun was at the summer solstice. It was important for that reason. They showed him in their artwork as having wings, a sign of his divinity. The Sumerians gave Regulus, Leo’s brightest star, the name MUL.LUGAL, meaning the King Star, with MUL meaning or pertaining to “Star” and LUGAL meaning “King”. Regulus means the same thing. As empires and languages changed over the millennia, the star’s name always meant King.

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; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum