Archive
07/12/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation Lyra the harp
Thursday, July 12th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 9:26. The moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 1:50 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:10.
High in the east at 11 p.m. can be found a bright star called Vega just above a small, narrow, but very distinctive parallelogram of stars. They are the stars of the constellation Lyra the harp. Vega, the 5th brightest night time star, is one of the twenty one brightest stars, called first magnitude stars. The harp, according to Greek mythology, was invented by the god Hermes. The form of the harp in the sky, is as he had invented it: by stretching strings across a tortoise shell. Hermes gave it to his half-brother Apollo, who in turn gave it to the great musician Orpheus. In binoculars, near Vega, two stars appear together. They barely appear to the unaided eye as a single star, designated Epsilon Lyrae.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Summer Triangle and the constellation Lyra at 07-12-12 at 11 p.m. Created using Stellarium.
Closeup on Vega and Epsilon Lyrae. Created using Stellarium.
ε1 Lyrae is one of the stars of Epsilon Lyrae. The pair can be split better than this image with binoculars. Looking at the two with a good telescope and over 100 power can split each component into two more stars. We amateur astronomers call it the “Double-Double Star” Note too that Zeta (ζ) Lyrae is also a double star that can be split with a low power telescope.
07/10/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation of Ophiuchus
Ephemeris for Tuesday, July 10th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 9:27. The moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 12:50 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:08.
The red star Antares shines in the south at 11 p.m. In the area of sky above it lies a large constellation of faint stars called Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer. Ophiuchus represent the legendary physician Aesculapius. The constellation shape is like a large bell, which reminds me of the head, shoulders and arms of a fellow that’s holding the snake like a weight lifter struggling to pull up a heavy barbell. Serpens, the constellation of the serpent is in the sky in two sections. The front end lies to the right as Serpens Caput, and wends its way up towards Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. Serpens Cauda, the tail rises to the left of Ophiuchus. It’s a rewarding sight, and not that hard to spot.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ophiuchus and Serpens July 10, 2012 at 11 p.m.. Created using Stellarium.
06/08/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation of Hercules
Ephemeris for Friday, June 8th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 9:26. The moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 12:38 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 5:57.
High in the east is the dim and reasonably large constellation of Hercules. Here is the greatest of the Greek heroes, dim and upside down even, while the comparative nobody Orion gets a great constellation to his name in the winter. Anyway, Hercules can be spotted by the distinctive keystone shape of stars that mark the old boy’s kilt. Stars connected to the four corners show his body and limbs. Check a constellation book for where all the stars lead to. On the west side of the keystone can be spotted with binoculars a fuzzy star. Investigations with larger and larger telescopes will reveal a huge assembly of stars called a globular star cluster. There’s perhaps a million stars there. The finest in the northern heavens.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The constellation Hercules and his neighbors. Created with Stellarium.
M92 is also a globular star cluster but more distant. The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules is also designated M13.
06/07/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation of Corona Borealis
Ephemeris for Thursday, June 7th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 9:25. The moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 12:07 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 5:57.
High in the southeast at 10:30 p.m. can be found a rather small arc of stars just east of the kite shaped constellation of Boötes with the bright star Arcturus at the bottom. It’s called Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. There is a Southern Crown, Corona Australis, just below the Teapot of Sagittarius, a late summer constellation, which barely rises above the horizon here. This semi-circle of stars was to the Greeks the crown bestowed to Princess Ariadne daughter of King Minos of Crete after she had helped the Greek Theseus escape from the Labyrinth of the Minotaur. To the Native Americans around here it was the sweat lodge, and to the Australian Aborigines it was the boomerang whenever it rose over their northern horizon.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Corona Borealis with Boötes at 10:30 p.m. Created with Stellarium.
04/19/2012 – Ephemeris – Stories of Leo the lion
Ephemeris for Thursday, April 19th. The sun rises at 6:50. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 8:32. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 6:13 tomorrow morning.
The constellation of Leo the lion is seen in the south at 10 p.m. Mars lies on its underside just left of Leo’s brightest star Regulus. Regulus lies at the bottom of a backwards question mark of stars that are his head and mane. To the left beyond Mars is a triangle of stars that are his haunches. As the lion is the kink 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 may have played a part in the origin of the Star of Bethlehem. One Egyptian philosopher thought the sun was in Leo at the creation of the world.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Leo and Mars at 10 p.m. on April 19, 2012 Created using Stellarium.
04/13/2012 – Ephemeris – The story of Boötes and Ursa Major
Ephemeris for Friday, April 13th. The sun will rise at 7:01. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 24 minutes, setting at 8:25. The moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 3:37 tomorrow morning.
Rising higher in the eastern sky at 10 p.m. tonight is the kite shaped constellation of Boötes the herdsman. The bright star Arcturus is at the bottom of the kite, pointed to by the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper, much higher in the east north east. In one story Boötes represents a young hunter named Arcas, son of Callisto, a beautiful young lady who had the misfortune of being loved by Zeus the chief Greek god. Zeus’ wife Hera, found out about it, and since she couldn’t punish Zeus, turned Callisto into an ugly bear. Arcas, unaware of why his mother disappeared in his youth was about to kill the bear when Zeus intervened and placed them both in the sky. Now Arcas as Boötes chases the Great Bear (Ursa Major) forever around the pole of the sky each night.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Boötes & Ursa Major at 10 p.m. on April 13, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
The constellation artist for Stellarium has Boötes facing the wrong way for my story to work. Officially Boötes is the herdsman.
04/12/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation Virgo the virgin
Ephemeris for Thursday, April 12th. The sun will rise at 7:02. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 8:24. The moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 3:02 tomorrow morning.
Tonight in the sky: to the left of the constellation of Leo the lion, which lies in the south at 10 p.m. is the next constellation of the zodiac: Virgo the virgin, seen in the south southeast. Virgo is a large constellation of a reclining woman holding a stalk of wheat. The bright star in the center of the constellation, Spica, is the head of that spike of wheat; and as such ruled over the harvest in two of Virgo’s guises as the goddesses Persephone and Ceres. The planet Saturn is also in Virgo this year to the left of Spica. Virgo is also identified as Astraea the goddess of justice. The constellation of Libra, the scales, is found just east of her a couple of hours later, not yet risen at 10 p.m. Early Christians saw Virgo as the Virgin Mary.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Virgo 2012. Created using Stellarium.
04/10/2012 – Ephemeris – The story of Corvus the crow
Ephemeris for Tuesday, April 10th. The sun will rise at 7:06. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 15 minutes, setting at 8:21. The moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 1:27 tomorrow morning.
The small constellation of Corvus the crow is located low in the southeast at 10 this evening. It’s made of 5 dim stars, but the pattern is a distinctive distorted box with two stars at the upper left marking that corner. To the right is a fainter constellation of a thick stemmed goblet called Crater. Both appear above the long constellation of Hydra the water snake who is slithering just above the southern horizon.. In Greek mythology Corvus, then white, was the god Apollo’s pet. Apollo once bid Corvus to take a cup and fetch him some water. Corvus however dallied and waited for an unripe fig to ripen. Corvus grabbed a snake and returned with a story as to how the snake had delayed him. The angry Apollo turned the crow and all crows to this day black.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Hydra the Water Snake at 10 p.m. on April 9th, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
Yesterday’s chart, but little change. OK, it for 9:56 p.m. Check out Corvus the crow and Crater the cup. Sextens the sextant came later. The Greeks didn’t have them.
02/16/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation of Lepus the hare
Ephemeris for Thursday, February 16th. The sun will rise at 7:41. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 6:11. The moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 4:39 tomorrow morning.
Orion, the central winter constellation is seen in the south at 9 p.m. He is a hunter, but is preoccupied in defending himself from the charge of Taurus the bull to the upper right. At Orion’s feet, and unnoticed by him is the small constellation of Lepus the hare. It’s very hard to see a whole rabbit in its eight dim stars: however, I do see a rabbit’s head, ears and shoulders. A misshapen box is the head and face of this critter facing to the left. His ears extend upwards from the upper right star of the box, and the bend forward a bit. Two stars to the right of the box and a bit farther apart show the front part of the body. The free computer program Stellarium shows a different orientation to the hare. You might check it out at Stellarium.org.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Lepus and a preoccupied Orion. Image from Stellarium.
02/13/2012 – Ephemeris – Orion and Scorpius
Ephemeris for Monday, February 13th. The sun will rise at 7:46. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 6:07. The moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 1:34 tomorrow morning.
The most prominent constellation of the winter sky is Orion, and is most astronomer’s favorite. It seems odd that such a minor personage of Greek myth would have such a prominent constellation named for him. He is even mentioned twice in the book of Job, though in the the original Hebrew the word for Orion means fool. And that pretty much sums Orion’s life up. A luckless fool. One of several contradictory stories of his death has Orion dying of a Scorpion sting. And when placing Orion in the heavens the gods made sure that Orion and Scorpius are never in the sky at the same time. This however doesn’t work in the southern hemisphere. Orion can be found in the south at 9 p.m. an upright rectangle of bright stars framing the three stars as his belt.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Orion upright and due south. Created using Stellarium.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 