Archive
11/09/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellations of the triangle and the ram
Ephemeris for Friday, November 9th. The sun will rise at 7:31. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:20. The moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 3:29 tomorrow morning.
High in the south at 9 p.m. can be seen the Great Square of Pegasus. From the top left star of the square diverge two curved lines of stars that is Andromeda the chained princess. Just below and left of Andromeda is a slender triangle of stars, none particularly bright. It has a name you can easily see in the stars, Triangulum, the triangle. It has been known from antiquity, and early Christians saw it as the Mitre of Saint Peter or the Trinity. Another small constellation seen below Triangulum is the much better known constellation Aries the ram. It is the first constellation of the Zodiac, where the sun used to to enter on the first day of spring. Aries is a small hockey stick constellation, not that hard to spot.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Cetus, Triangulum, Aries and surrounding constellations on November 8, 2012 at 9 p.m. Created using Stellarium.
10/31/2012 – Epmeneris – The Ghoul Star
Ephemeris for Halloween, Wednesday, October 31st. The sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 12 minutes, setting at 6:32. The moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 7:37 this evening.
Not all the ghosts and goblins out tonight will be children. One will be out every night, because it’s a star. Its name is Algol, from the Arabic for Ghoul Star or Demon Star. The Chinese had a name for it that meant a mausoleum or more ominously ‘piled up corpses’. It’s the second brightest star in the constellation Perseus the hero, rising in the northeast this evening. The star is located where artists have drawn the severed head of Medusa, whom he had slain. Medusa was so ugly that she turned all who gazed upon her to stone. Algol is her still glittering eye. Astronomers finally found out what was wrong with Algol. It does a slow 6 hour wink every two days 21 hours, because it is two very close stars that eclipse each other in that period.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The constellation Perseus in the northeast at 9 p.m. on October 31, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
Perseus and the head of Medusa from the 1690 Uranographia by Johannes Hevelius. Image found with the article on Algol in Wikipedia.
Note that this is a mirror image. The star charts in the 17th century were based on celestial globes, which represented the constellations as seen from the outside of the celestial sphere instead of from the inside. I reversed the image to match Perseus as we see him.
10/12/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation of Andromeda and its great galaxy
Ephemeris for Friday, October 12th. The sun will rise at 7:54. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 7:02. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 5:42 tomorrow morning.
In the east at 9 this evening can be found a large square of stars, the Great Square of Pegasus the flying horse. The square is standing on one corner. What look like its hind legs stretching to the left from the left corner star is another constellation, Andromeda the chained maiden. She is seen in the sky as two diverging curved strings of stars that curve upward. She was rescued by the hero Perseus, a nearby constellation, riding his steed Pegasus. Andromeda’s claim to astronomical fame is the large galaxy seen with the unaided eye just above the upper line of stars, the Great Andromeda Galaxy, nearly 2 and a half million light years away. To the unaided eye the galaxy appears as a small smudge of light. In binoculars the galaxy is a delicate spindle of light.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Andromeda at 9 p.m. with the Great Andromeda Galaxy. Created using Stellarium.
The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Image taken by Scott Anttila.
The story of the Fisher Star
The Anishinaabe peoples have lived in the Great Lakes area since way before the coming of the Europeans. They are comprised of the Ojibwe, Ottawa, Chippewa and even Algonquin tribes. While some did see a bear in the stars and around the Big Dipper sans tail. Most of the stories concern the Fisher or Fisher Star.
The Fisher Star in Autumn painting the leaves with his tail. Created using Stellarium and other sources.
By the way, the thee stars of the handle of the Big Dipper were hunters that were following the bear. The hunter denoted by the star Mizar at the bend in the handle of the dipper had a dog with him, the star we call Alcor, that make it an intriguing double for folks with good eyesight.
Fisher is supposed to be a weasel-like animal, intelligent, and a great hunter. He lived in a world that was snow covered and cold year round, where food was scarce. Perhaps this story is a cultural remembrance of the last glaciation period. Contrary to his name Fisher didn’t fish.
One day his son came to him with a request to bring summer, for he was cold and hungry. Fisher decided to somehow get to Skyland and tap into its warmth. He brought together his three bravest friends for the journey: Otter, Lynx, and Wolverine. They set out to seek the tallest mountains so they could reach Skyland.
When they had climbed the tallest mountain they found that Skyland was just out of reach. If they could only crack through. Otter tried first. He jumped first and bounced off. He fell back and slid completely down the mountain on his belly. It was so much fun that this is what otters do to this day. The lynx tried. He jumped up and hit his head and was knocked unconscious.
The wolverine was persistent. He jumped time after time and was finally able to chew a hole in the base of Skyland. When it was large enough he scampered through. Fisher was sure the hole wasn’t large enough, and that the inhabitants of Skyland would soon cover it up. So he chewed and chewed, enlarging the hole so the Skyland people couldn’t cover it for more than half the year.
As he was finishing up the hole the Skyland people discovered him. He boasted to them; “I am Fisher, the great hunter, you cannot catch me.” he jumped to the nearest tree and climbed to the top. The sky people shot arrows at him, but he had a special power making him impervious to arrows except for a particular spot on his tail. Kind of an Achilles tail, to mix my legends. Well, after some time the sky people got wise to Fisher’s protections and an arrow found the vulnerable spot in his tail and he fell out of the tree. Before Fisher’s body could fall to the ground the Great Spirit, Gitchee Manitou, caught him and placed him in the night sky to herald the seasons Fisher had created for the earth. In the sky Fisher’s tail is the handle of the Big Dipper. Tiny Alcor signifies the spot where the arrow hit. Every fall as Fisher’s tail passes over the northern horizon the blood in his wound paints the autumn leaves red. In late winter as he rises again in the northeast it is time to begin tapping the maple trees.
Sources: Keepers of the Earth, by Michael Caduto and Joseph Bruchac, and Anishinaabe Star Knowledge by Michael Wassegijig Price. Thanks also to Nodwese Red Bear.
09/27/2012 – Ephemeris – The Fisher in the stars
Ephemeris for Thursday, September 27th. The sun will rise at 7:36. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 7:29. The moon, 2 days before full, will set at 6:06 tomorrow morning.
The Big Dipper is swooping low in the northwestern sky in the evening now. The Big Dipper is not a constellation but part of the Great Bear for most peoples, and is enshrined by the International Astronomical Union as Ursa Major. To some of the Anishinabek peoples native to our region the stars of the Big Dipper belonged to a small weasel like animal call the Fisher. In a story I can’t relate here Fisher brought summer to the earth, and for his trouble was killed by an arrow to his only vulnerable spot, his tail. The Great Spirit would not let Fisher fall to earth, but placed him in the sky. His rising in the northeast signals the coming of spring, and when his bloody tail brushes the horizon in autumn his blood paints the maple trees red.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Fisher heads towards the northern horizon. Created using Stellarium and an unknown artist which I took liberties with.
The Fisher is also known as the Fisher Star (Ojiig’anung). I’ll have my version of the story posted soon.
The Fisher heads towards the northern horizon. Created using Stellarium and an unknown artist which I took liberties with.
09/11/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation Sagittarius the archer
Ephemeris for Tuesday, September 11th. The sun will rise at 7:17. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 7:59. The moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 3:28 tomorrow morning.
Low in the south at 10 p.m. lies the constellation of Sagittarius. The name means archer, but this isn’t just any old fellow with a bow and arrow. It’s a centaur with a bow and arrow. These half man half horse creatures were a rowdy bunch; kind of the ancient Greek counterpart of a motorcycle gang. The one exception is this centaur, Chiron by name. He was highly educated, and learned medicine from the great physician Aesculapius, whom we see in the sky to the upper right as the constellation Ophiuchus. His drawn bow and arrow can also be seen in the stars here, pointing to Scorpius the scorpion’s heart. If it’s hard seeing a Centaur here don’t be disappointed. To most of us the constellation looks like a stout little teapot.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Sagittarius and the Milky Way September 11, 2012 10 p.m. Created using Stellarium.
09/06/2012 – Ephemeris – Cassiopeia the queen
Ephemeris for Thursday, September 6th. The sun will rise at 7:11. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 8:08. The moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:01 this evening.
The constellation Cassiopeia looks like the letter W in the northeastern sky at 10 p.m. My mother taught it to me as my grandfather taught her as the Flying W. Cassiopeia represents a queen of Ethiopia in a grand story that has had at least a couple of movies made as the Clash of the Titans. A dim star above the middle star makes the constellation in to a crooked backed chair. Cassiopeia is circumpolar in Michigan since it is near the north pole of the sky. It revolves around and around the pole star Polaris. In late autumn it’s overhead, in the spring its low in the northwest and in early summer it’s scraping the northern horizon.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Cassiopeia and the other circumpolar constellations. Created using Stellarium.
07/27/2012 – Ephemeris – I’ll be giving a presentation at the Eyaawing Museum & Culture Center in Peshawbestown tomorrow
Ephemeris for Friday, July 27th. The sun rises at 6:24. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 9:13. The moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 1:41 tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow yours truly will be giving a presentation Stars and Stories of the Summer Night Skies This will be a talk illustrated by a fantastic planetarium type program called Stellarium which is actually free from the Internet. There won’t be a planetarium dome however. I’ll be exploring the stars and constellations visible in the summer sky and how various cultures saw them and some of the wonderful stories of those who counted on the heavens to be their calendar in order to plant their crops and prepare for winter.. There’s the Greek constellations I tend to talk about on these programs, and others, especially those of the local Indian peoples. The presentation is at 1 p.m. at the Eyaawing Museum and Cultural Center in Peshawbestown.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
07/19/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation Cygnus the swan
Ephemeris for Thursday, July 19th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 9:21. The moon is new today, and won’t be visible. | Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:16.
High in the east northeast as it gets dark flies the constellation of Cygnus the swan. This constellation is also known as the Northern Cross. The cross is seen lying on its side with the bright star Deneb at the head of the cross to the left. The rest of the cross is delineated in the stars to the right. As a swan, Deneb is the tail, the stars of the crosspiece of the cross are the leading edges of wings as Cygnus flies south through the Milky Way. There are faint stars that also define the tips and trailing edges of its wings. It is a very good portrayal of a flying swan, like the mute swans we see on the wing. In Greek mythology this was the disguise of the god Zeus who seduced the young lady Leda and fathered the immortal of the Gemini twins Pollux.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Cygnus and the stars of the Summer Triangle at 11 p.m. on July 19th. Created using Stellarium.
07/17/2012 – Ephemeris – Scorpius and Orion
Ephemeris for Tuesday, July 17th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 9 minutes, setting at 9:22. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 5:50 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:14.
Crawling just above the southern horizon at 11 p.m. is the zodiacal constellation of Scorpius the scorpion. His heart is the red giant star Antares. Its facing the west or right with a short arc of three stars as its head. His body and tail drop to the left and scrape the horizon before curving up to the critter’s poisonous stinger of two stars. One story of the scorpion concerns Orion the hunter the great winter constellation. In that story Orion was supposedly killed by the sting of a scorpion. Therefore Orion and Scorpius are never seen in the sky at the same time. That is certainly true around here and for the Greeks, whose legend it is. However if one travels far enough south that is no longer true.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The constellation Scorpius at 10:30 p.m. on July 17, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 