Archive
05/07/2013 – Ephemeris – Berenice’s celestial hairdo
Ephemeris for Tuesday, May 7th. The sun rises at 6:24. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 8:54. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 5:33 tomorrow morning.
High in the south southeast at 10 p.m. is a tiny and faint constellation of Coma Berenices, or Berenice’s hair. In it are lots of faint stars arrayed to look like several strands of hair. The whole group will fit in the field of a pair of binoculars, which will also show many more stars. The story behind it was that Berenice was the Queen of Egypt, whose husband was away at war. This was in the days when the Greeks ruled Egypt after Alexander conquered it. She offered her golden tresses to the gods for the king’s safe return. The hair, was placed in a temple. However the offering disappeared when the king returned. Ever since then the constellation of Coma Berenices has been seen to commemorate the queen’s sacrifice.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Coma Berenices via Stellarium
05/06/2013 – Ephemeris – The Constellation Leo the Lion and its meaning to the ancients
Ephemeris for Monday, May 6th. The sun rises at 6:25. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 8:53. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 5:03 tomorrow morning.
Leo the lion’s image as displayed by Stellarium for May 6, at 10 p.m. due south.
The constellation of Leo the lion is seen in the south at 10:30 p.m. Regulus lies at the bottom of a backwards question mark of stars that are his head and mane. This backwards question mark is also known as the asterism or informal constellation of the Sickle. To the left of the Sickle is a triangle of stars that are his haunches. As the lion is the king of beasts it is fitting that its brightest star Regulus means “Little King Star”. It was thought in ancient Egypt that the heat of summer, when the sun was in Leo drove the lions to drink the waters of the Nile. The lion was also the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah, from Jacob’s prophesy in Genesis, and as such may have played a part in the origin of the Star of Bethlehem.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
04/01/2013 – Ephemeris – Orion the Fool
Ephemeris for April Fools Day, Monday, April 1st. The sun will rise at 7:22. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 47 minutes, setting at 8:10. The moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 2:25 tomorrow morning.
Orion is one of the two constellations mentioned in the Bible, that have been deciphered. These are mentioned in the Book of Job. In the King James translation of the Bible the star Arcturus is mentioned. Modern scholars have changed that to the Bear, that is the Great Bear, Ursa Major, of which the Big Dipper is a part. The star cluster Pleiades, our Seven Sisters are also mentioned. There is no agreement of what Mazzeroth and the Mansions of the South are. The translation of Orion from the original Hebrew fits the day today. It’s Kesil, which means fool. Considering the mythology of Orion, a very minor character of Greek mythology, he was indeed, if not a fool, very unlucky in love.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Orion the fool at 10 p.m. on April 3, 2013. Created using Stellarium. Note the Pleiades at the extreme right edge of the picture
02/07/2013 – Ephemeris – The brother stars Castor and Pollux
Ephemeris for Thursday, February 7th. The sun will rise at 7:53. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 6 minutes, setting at 6:00. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 6:22 tomorrow morning.
At 9 p.m. the constellation of Gemini the twins will be seen high in the southeast. The namesake stars of the two lads are the two bright stars at the top of the constellation. Pollux the pugilist, or boxer, is the lower of the two, while Castor, the horseman, is the other star, or rather a six star system. In telescopes two close stars may be seen each is a spectroscopic binary, meaning the lines of two stars can be seen in the spectrum. A faint nearby spectroscopic binary also belong. Pollux, though a single star, does have at least one planet, one over twice the mass of Jupiter orbiting the star at a distance somewhat greater than Mars is from the sun. Pollux is 34 light years away while Castor is 50 light years away. Not too far away as stars go.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Gemini with Castor and Pollux. Created with Stellarium.
Addendum
02/05/2013 – Ephemeris – The bright stars Castor and Pollux of Gemini
Ephemeris for Tuesday, February 5th. The sun will rise at 7:56. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 1 minute, setting at 5:57. The moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 4:42 tomorrow morning.
The constellation Gemini, the Twins is visible high in the southeast at 9 p.m. The namesake stars of the two lads, will be on the upper left edge of the constellation, diagonally aligned. Castor is to the upper right, while Pollux, a slightly brighter star is below left. Lines of stars from castor and Pollux to the lower right delineate the lads. In Greek mythology Castor and Pollux were twins, and half brothers, Castor was fathered by a mere mortal, while Pollux was fathered by Zeus in the famous Leda and the swan affair. The brothers, however were inseparable, and when Castor was killed during the quest for the Golden Fleece, Pollux pleaded with Zeus to let him die also. Zeus granted his wish, so both appear in the sky together forever.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Gemini and Orion. Created using Cartes du Ciel
01/11/2013 – Ephemeris – Sirius the Dog Star
Ephemeris for Friday, January 11th. The sun will rise at 8:17. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 6 minutes, setting at 5:23. The moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
The brightest star-like object in the evening sky is Jupiter high in the south around 9 p.m. The second brightest star-like object is Sirius, also known as the Dog Star. It also is the brightest night-time star in our skies period. Tonight at 9 p.m. it’s located low in the south southeastern sky. The Dog Star name comes from its position at the heart of the constellation Canis Major, the great dog of Orion the hunter. The three stars of Orion’s belt tilt to the southeast and point to Sirius. The name Sirius means ‘Dazzling One’, a reference to its great brilliance and twinkling. Its Egyptian name was Sothis, and its appearance in the dawn skies in late June signaled the flooding of the Nile, and the beginning of the Egyptian agricultural year.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Sirius, Jupiter and the winter stars and constellations at 9 p.m. Created using Stellarium.
12/25/2012 – Ephemeris – Why do we celebrate Christmas today?
Ephemeris for Christmas Day, Tuesday, December 25th. The sun will rise at 8:18. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:07. The moon, 3 days before full, will set at 6:40 tomorrow morning.
Merry Christmas. But why is this Christmas day? The Gospel of Luke puts Christ’s birth in the spring, during lambing season, the only time the Shepherds would be out with their flocks at night. It is said that Christians move the birthday celebration of Jesus to a time when the Romans were naturally celebrating: The time when the sun was going to return northward once again after the winter solstice. Christians could celebrate in a time of general merriment. That festival was Saturnalia. It honored the god Saturn, the god of hospitality. That’s quite a makeover of the Greek titan Cronos, who ate his children. Saturn did that too, but had reformed. The solstice was just the beginning of winter but spirits were buoyed by the return of the sun.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
12/14/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation of the river Eridanus
Ephemeris for Friday, December 14th. The sun will rise at 8:12. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 5:02. The moon, 1 day past new, will set at 6:58 this evening.
There is a long and sinuous constellation that’s part of the winter sky. It is Eridanus, which depicts a river. The river starts near the lower right corner of Orion, near the bright star Rigel and flows to the right then down near the southern horizon, then it meanders below the horizon. One has to travel to the far southern United States or even farther south to see the southern terminus of the river, the bright star Achernar. Writers over the ages have seen here the Nile and the earth circling river Ocean of the flat earth days. One of its stars is close to us and famous. It’s Epsilon Eridani host to at least two large planets and the home to the fictional Mr. Spock and other Vulcans of the Star Trek franchise. Trouble is the star is too young and any earth-like planets would be in unstable orbits.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The constellation Eridanus the river, both above and below the horizon. Created using Cartes du Ciel.
12/11/2012 – Ephemeris – The Pleiades and Hyades star clusters
Ephemeris for Tuesday, December 11th. The sun will rise at 8:09. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 5:02. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:13 tomorrow morning.
At 8 to 9 p.m. The constellation of Taurus the bull rises higher in the east to southeast. Taurus contains two bright clusters of stars. The most famous of these is the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters. The other is a letter V shape that is the face of Taurus, the Hyades. In the Greek mythology they are half-sisters of each other, all fathered by the Titan Atlas. They are apparently fleeing from the giant Orion rising in the east. The Pleiades are the younger of the two star clusters, and there has been some problem in estimating their distance. They could be from 390 to 460 light years away. The distance to Hyades is much better known at 153 light years. It was the star cluster upon which greater distances could be measured.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Hyades (lower left) and the Pleiades (upper right). My photograph from many years ago.
12/06/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation Taurus the bull
Ephemeris for Thursday, December 6th. The sun will rise at 8:05. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 5:02. The moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 1:10 tomorrow morning.
Low in the east southeast at 9 p.m. is the constellation of the giant hunter Orion. Above him is Taurus the bull. His face is a letter V shape of stars lying on its side, the star cluster Hyades, with the bright orange-red star Aldebaran at one tip of the V as its angry blood-shot eye, but actually about half way between us and the cluster. Jupiter is complicating this this year, appearing in Taurus. Orion is depicted in the sky facing, with club in one hand and a shield in the other, the approaching and in some depictions charging Taurus. The Pleiades star cluster is in his shoulder. Taurus in Greek mythology was the guise the god Zeus when he carried off the maiden Europa. Europa’s still with him as the intriguing satellite orbiting Zeus’ Roman equivalent the planet Jupiter.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Taurus and Orion in the east at 9 p.m. December 6, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 