Archive
Ephemeris: 02/17/2025 – Follow the Drinking Gourd
This is Ephemeris for President’s Day, Monday, February 17th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 35 minutes, setting at 6:14, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:38. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:47 this evening.
In the decades before the Civil War, runaway slaves would travel, often at night, northward from the slave states in the south to the northern free states and Canada over the metaphorical Underground Railroad following the Drinking Gourd, the Big Dipper as their compass. For millennia, the North Pole of the sky had been passing near the handle of the Big Dipper or Great Bear’s tail and now up to the star Polaris in the Little Dipper. As an amateur astronomer, who loves the dark, starlit skies, I’ve noticed that everyone is the same color in the dark! This year the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will, once again, team with the Sleeping Bear Dunes for more Sun and star parties.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 01/20/2025 – The planets augment the Winter Hexagon
This is Ephemeris for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 22 minutes, setting at 5:35, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:12. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 12:56 tomorrow morning.
The winter circle or more properly hexagon, seen in the winter sky this evening, has the addition of two planets, and they’re in the proper location so that they don’t spoil the hexagon. We start at the top with the star Capella high in the east. We move clockwise downward to Jupiter and below it the star Aldebaran. We drop lower to Orion’s knee and the star Rigel, then down to Sirius, low in the southeast, the brightest nighttime star, but doesn’t hold a candle to Jupiter. Then we go above left to Procyon and upwards and left to Mars, which is near Pollux, and finally back up to Capella. That’s that is our winter hexagon right now, so take it in while you can, before Jupiter and Mars move off and mess it up.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
As for events happening on Earth: Resist!
Ephemeris: 11/22/2024 – Finding Aquarius
This is Ephemeris for Friday, November 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 18 minutes, setting at 5:08, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:50. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 12:04 tomorrow morning.
One of the constellations of the zodiac is in the southern sky at 8 in the evening, where Saturn is located this year. It’s the constellation of Aquarius, the water bearer. The image that is supposed to be depicted in the stars is that of a fellow carrying a stone jar of water. Aquarius is fairly hard to spot because it is made of faint stars. One part of him, though, is easier to spot. That is the Water Jar, an asterism or informal constellation. It is a distinctive small nearly equilateral triangle of stars with another star in the center. Aquarius is not a very good water bearer because he’s spilling the water out of his jar. The Water jar is above and to the right of Saturn this year and the water is flowing down a line of stars to the lower left.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 08/29/2024 – Centaur or Teapot, you decide!
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, August 29th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 8:23, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:03. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 3:02 tomorrow morning.
Low in the south at 10 PM shines the heart of summer Milky Way. The constellation that’s seen there is Sagittarius which is supposed to be a centaur with a bow and arrow. We modern folk haven’t seen a centaur outside a Harry Potter movie, so we see its stars looking like a teapot, a short and stout little teapot like in the children’s song. It is tipped to the West with the Milky Way like steam rising from its spout, which is about to pour its tea on the southwestern horizon later tonight. Sagittarius is just begging to be explored with binoculars or a very low power telescope to see its myriad of stars, star clusters and nebulae. As fabulous as all this appears, we cannot see into the heart of the Milky Way for all the clouds of dust and gas in the way.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
My first guide to the constellations was Stars by Zim and Baker, a Golden Guide. I checked, it has been revised and is still available. H. A. Rey’s book is also still available.
Ephemeris: 08/02/2024 – The Northern Cross
This is Ephemeris for Friday, August 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 35 minutes, setting at 9:06, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:31. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 5:12 tomorrow morning.
The star Deneb is high in the east-northeast. It is the dimmest of the three stars of the Summer Triangle. It is at the head of the Northern Cross, an informal constellation or asterism. The upright extends to the South. The crossbeam can be seen crossing the star just south of Deneb. There’s also a constellation there. It’s actually Cygnus the swan flying southward along the Milky Way with its neck outstretched. The Anishinaabe natives peoples of our area see Ajijaak the crane, also with a long neck flying north, but also long legs trailing to the south, its wings outstretched. In Greek mythology Cygnus was the guise of the god Zeus when he seduced Leda, whose offspring was Pollux, one of the Gemini twins.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 07/08/2024 – The Summer Triangle dominates the eastern sky
This is Ephemeris for Monday, July 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 23 minutes, setting at 9:29, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:06. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 11:34 this evening.
We’re two weeks into summer, and the asterism or informal constellation called the Summer Triangle can be seen in the eastern sky as it gets dark. The highest of the three bright stars is Vega in the constellation Lyra the harp, whose body is seen in a narrow parallelogram just below it. The second star of the triangle is Deneb, in Cygnus the swan, lower and left of Vega, It appears dimmer than Vega because it is by far the most distant of the three. The third star of the Summer Triangle is seen farther below and a right of Vega. It is Altair in Aquila the eagle, and the closest. Altair is 16.5 light years away, Vega is 27 light years, while Deneb may be a whopping 2,600 light years away. One light year by the way, is 6 trillion miles (9 trillion kilometers).
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 06/04/2024 – Finding the Little Dipper
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, June 4th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 25 minutes, setting at 9:24, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:58. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 4:51 tomorrow morning.
One of the constellations I don’t talk about much, except in passing is Ursa Minor, the Little Bear with an impossibly long tail. It is better known as the Little Dipper. As a dipper goes, its handle is bent the wrong way, like someone stepped on it. Anyway, this time of year in the evening, it’s standing on the tip of it’s handle, which is the North Star, Polaris. Polaris is pointed to by the front two stars of the Big Dipper. As dippers go they pour their contents into each other. The second and third-brightest stars of the Little Dipper are at the front of the bowl, and are Kochab and Pherkad, the Guard Stars, that is, Guardians of the Pole. To the Anishinaabe native peoples of our area the Little Dipper is Maang, the Loon.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 01/04/2024 – Viewing Orion’s Belt
This is Ephemeris for Thursday, January 4th. The Sun will rise at 8:20. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 5:15. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 2:10 tomorrow morning.
Orion’s belt of three stars is one of the most noticeable star groupings in the sky. There are no other groups of three bright stars in a straight line visible anywhere else in the sky. The star’s names from left to right are Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. They are actually a bit farther away than the other bright stars of Orion. Alnilam, the center star, is over three times the distance of red giant Betelgeuse above them and over twice as far as blue white giant star Rigel below them. Alnilam is 375 thousand times brighter than the Sun. These three stars were also known as Frigga’s Spindle by the Norsemen. Frigga, also known as Freya, is the goddess from which we get the name of the day of the week we call Friday.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 12/07/2023 – Auriga, the charioteer
This is Ephemeris for Thursday, December 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 56 minutes, setting at 5:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:07. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 3:20 tomorrow morning.
The first constellation of winter is in the northeastern sky, called Auriga the charioteer. It’s to the upper left of Orion and directly left of Taurus. Auriga actually never really quite leaves us, because its brightest star, Capella is the star that never leaves us even in the heat of summer, Though for most of us it’s in the trees in the north. Auriga is a pentagon of stars with the Capella on top. Just right of Capella is a thin triangle of three faint stars, an asterism or informal constellation called the Kids, baby goats. Capella is their mother. For some reason they are all held by a charioteer, who is without his chariot. And from all the Hollywood Biblical epic movies I’ve seen, it takes two hands to drive a chariot, and it doesn’t have a rumble seat.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 09/14/2023 – The stars of Cygnus the swan represent a few different figures
This is Ephemeris for Thursday, September 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 35 minutes, setting at 7:55, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:21. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
Nearly directly overhead in the evening is the bright star Deneb, part of the Summer Triangle of bright stars It’s at the top of the Northern Cross, an informal constellation or asterism. It makes a perfectly proportioned Christian cross. Deneb is also the tail of Cygnus the swan, seen flying southward through the Milky Way with its neck outstretched. Extra stars added to the Northern Cross extend the wings nicely. To the Anishinaabe native peoples of our area the stars here also represent two constellations, both are birds. The first is Ajijaak, the Sand Hill crane, The other is Bineshi Okanin, the Skeleton Bird, so named probably because the stars make a stick figure of a bird rather than an outline of one.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT –4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
