Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Cinco de Mayo, Tuesday, May 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 25 minutes, setting at 8:52, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:25. The Moon, halfway from full to last quarter, will rise at 1:15 tomorrow morning.

Low in the southwest to the southeastern sky in the evening one can spot the constellation of Hydra the water snake, the longest constellation of all. Unlike the monster of the same name, this Hydra has but one head, which is actually its most distinctive part. At 10 p.m. the head of Hydra is found below a line from brilliant Jupiter in the west and Leo the lion in the southwest. Hydra’s head is a small but distinctive group of 6 stars that make a drooping loop to the right. The rest of Hydra wends its way above the southern horizon below the bright blue star Spica in Virgo and Corvus the crow. Some delineations of Hydra have its tail tickling the constellation Libra, the balance, or scales, which has just risen in the southeast.

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

The head of Hydra and the front part of Leo are parts of a constellation of the original inhabitants of our area, the Anishinaabek peoples. The constellation is the Great Underwater Panther, and the front part of the Leo is its curly tail. For more information about it check my blog post here.