Archive
Ephemeris: 08/17/2026 – Venus has reached its greatest separation from the Sun in the evening sky
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Monday, August 17th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 8:45, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:48. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 10:41 this evening.
Last Saturday morning Venus reached its greatest separation from the sun in the evening sky, called the greatest eastern elongation of about 46° angle from the sun . From now until late October it will be slowly then more than more rapidly move back towards the sun, as in actuality, it moves around in its orbit of the sun towards the earth to pass between the earth and the sun October 23rd. During this period of time Venus will show a crescent phase in telescopes, becoming thinner and thinner as the days progress and also larger as it moves towards the earth. Today it’s 62.4 million miles (or 100.5 mkm) away dropping to 25.4 million miles (40.8 mkm) at its closest on October 24th.
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
Ephemeris: 08/14/2026 – Star Party scheduled for Sleeping Bear Dunes tomorrow night
This is Ephemeris for Friday, August 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 8:49, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:45. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 9:42 this evening.
Weather permitting, the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society and the Park Rangers will host a star party at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, at the Dune Climb tomorrow night, Saturday August 15th, starting around 9 PM. The parking lane closest to the dune will be blocked off for telescopes. The start time is after sunset, and Venus and the crescent moon will be visible by then, but will set shortly over the dune. As it gets darker some of the brighter interstellar wonders of our Milky Way galaxy, will appear, with many star clusters and nebulae. The Rangers will leave around 11 PM. However, if it stays clear and there’s enough interest, society members will stay longer, with their telescopes. The last Sleeping Bear Dunes star party this year will be September 12th.
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
Ephemeris: 08/13/2026 – The Milky Way seen in two cultures
This is Ephemeris for International Left-Handers Day, Thursday, August 13th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 8 minutes, setting at 8:51, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:44. The Moon, 1 day past new, will set at 9:22 this evening.
In the folk tales of many lands and cultures the Milky Way has been seen as either a stream or pathway. The term we get for it, the Milky Way, is that it is a stream of milk from the breasts of the Egyptian goddess Nut, the goddess of the sky.
The Anishinaabe native peoples of our area gave it several names: Jiibay-Miikana, The Spirit Road, or Jiibay-ziibi, River of souls, Both for the journey of souls to the afterlife. Or Binesiwi-miikana, Thunderbird’s path. This last is interesting, because in spring as the Milky Way rises from the southeast it beckons migrating birds northward, and in autumn as the Milky Way sinks to the southwest, it bids them to fly southward to warmer climes.
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
Ephemeris: 08/12/2026 – Eclipses, meteors and planets, oh my!
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 12th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 8:53, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:42. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
Today’s a double header of astronomical events with a slight eclipse of the sun from around 12:51 to 2:04 this afternoon for Northern Michigan, and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower tonight. Also our weekly look at the naked eye planets. Venus is our brilliant evening star low in the west after sunset. This Saturday Venus will achieve it’s greatest angular separation from the sun. It will then rapidly close the distance to the sun in 2 1/2 months. It will actually be moving around and between the earth and the sun growing a larger but thinner crescent in telescopes. In the morning, Saturn and Mars will be visible in the southeast and east respectively. Mars is competing with the brighter stars of winter, including the orange Aldebaran, and the red giant star Betelgeuse.
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
More on the solar eclipse here.
More on the Perseid meteor shower here.
Ephemeris: 08/11/2026 – The Perseid meteor shower peaks tomorrow night
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, August 11th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 13 minutes, setting at 8:54, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:41. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 6:22 tomorrow morning.
The Perseid meteor shower at its peak and will be visible all night tomorrow night. It won’t have to compete with the moon since it’s new, and incidently will eclipse the sun. The meteors will be seen all over the sky. Perseid meteors can be backtracked to a spot below the W shaped constellation of Cassiopeia, in the area of the constellation Perseus. As the night progresses, the radiant point will be rising higher in northeast. So lay down on a blanket in a dark location, keep mosquito repellent handy, dress warmly, because the ground and air will be chilly and dewy. Bring some hot coffee or chocolate to drink. And enjoy 60 meteors an hour, or more, at the peak after midnight. They will be near peak for the next few nights.
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
Ephemeris: 08/10/2026 – Previewing Wednesday’s (August 12 , 2026) solar eclipse
This is Ephemeris for Monday, August 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 16 minutes, setting at 8:56, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:40. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 4:58 tomorrow morning.
Early Wednesday afternoon there will be a very slight partial solar eclipse visible from northern Michigan. The eclipse begins around 12:51 and extends to 2:04 PM with the greatest coverage of the sun at 1:28 PM when a little bit less than 11% of the sun’s diameter will be covered by the moon. To view the eclipse you need to dig out your eclipse glasses from the 2024 eclipse. Inspect them against a strong light make sure there’s no pin holes that developed in them. You must discard if there are. The other way to view the eclipse is by projection either using a pinhole and a long cardboard box or by using a colander to provide both shade and a lot of small holes to project the sun’s image with. It’s the first of two astronomical events that day.
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
Ephemeris: 08/07/2026 – The Great Rift
This is Ephemeris for Friday, August 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 24 minutes, setting at 9:00, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:37. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 1:20 tomorrow morning.
Once one finds the Milky Way which is pretty hard to miss this month, it becomes obvious that the Milky Way is split lengthwise starting near Deneb, the northernmost star of the Summer Triangle, almost all the way to the Teapot of Sagittarius low in the south. That dark split is called the Great Rift. Galileo first discovered that the hazy clouds of the Milky Way were actually made of faint stars, so it was thought the dark areas were due to a lack of stars. The great 18th century astronomer William Herschel did star counts all over the sky with his telescope. A map his sister drew of the flattened shape of his universe shows the lack of distant stars in one direction. It’s not really fewer stars, but interstellar clouds of dust blocking the light of the stars behind them.
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
Ephemeris: 08/06/2026 – Looking for Sagittarius
This is Ephemeris for Thursday, August 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 9:01, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:35. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 12:32 tomorrow morning.
With the Moon out of the sky we get a look at the summer Milky Way in the evening. By 11 PM the Milky Way will stretch from the north-northeast, passing high in the east to the southern horizon. The asterism of the stout little Teapot in Sagittarius, low to the south, is near the bottom end of the Milky Way. The milky stream appears as steam rising out of its spout. With more stars there, one might be able to see the Centaur with a bow and arrow. The front part of the teapot is the bow. The bottom left, and the far right star are the back and the tip of the arrow which is pointing at the heart of Scorpius the scorpion in the south-southwest. We’ll be exploring the wonders of the summer Milky Way this month and next.
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
Ephemeris: 08/05/2026 – Taking our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 9:03, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:34. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 11:57 this evening.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 9:45 PM tonight, almost three-quarters of an hour after sunset, Venus will be easily spotted in the western sky. A telescope will show a tiny gibbous disc of Venus. It is now closer than the Sun, at 71.3 million miles (114.9 mil km) away from us. We are 10 days from Venus greatest elongation east from the sun of 45.9 degrees. It’s within a degree of that now. In the morning, Saturn, Mars and even Mercury will be visible in the southeast and east respectively. Mars is competing with the brighter stars of winter, including the orange Aldebaran, and the red giant star Betelgeuse. The Earth is now chasing down Mars, which will be closest to the Earth and opposite the sun in the sky next February.
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
Ephemeris: 08/04/2026 – The Milky Way dominates the evening sky in August
This is Ephemeris for Primary Election Day in Michigan: Tuesday, August 4th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 9:04, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:33. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 11:29 this evening.
Now is the time the summer Milky Way is displayed to its fullest to the southern horizon. We have a week and a half before the Moon begins to encroach on our dark skies after 10 pm. City folk come to our area and are sometimes fooled by the brightness and expanse of the Milky Way and think it’s a cloud. Yes, those are clouds indeed, but they are clouds of stars. Binoculars will begin to show them to be millions of stars, each too faint to be seen individually to the eye, but whose combined glow give the impression of a luminous cloud. Binoculars are the ideal tool to explore the Milky Way. Objects still too fuzzy can be checked out with a telescope to reveal their true nature. The dark nights of August and September are my favorites.
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
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 