Archive
01/23/2012 -Ephemeris – The constellation Gemini the twins
Ephemeris for Monday, January 23rd. The sun will rise at 8:10. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 5:38. The moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
The constellation of Gemini the twins appears high in the southeast. It appears to the upper left of Orion and the stars that portray his club raised high. Gemini’s two brightest stars are the namesakes of the twins. Castor above and Pollux below. From them there are two lines of stars that form the silhouette of the lads heading to the lower right. In Greek mythology these twins each had a different father, not unheard of in medical history, with Pollux being fathered by the god Zeus and thus immortal. Castor was not. But the brothers were inseparable, so when Castor was killed in the search for the golden fleece Pollux begged his father to let him die too and join his brother. His wish was granted and his devotion was so great that they were placed in the sky where we see them today.
* Times, as always are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.
Addendum
Gemini and Orion. Created using Cartes du Ciel
12/27/11 – Ephemeris – The constellation of Eridanus the river
Tuesday, December 27th. The sun will rise at 8:18. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 5:08. The moon, 3 days past new, will set at 8:49 this evening.
One of the more obscure constellations around 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 southwestern horizon, then it meanders along the horizon to the south before turning below the horizon. One has to travel to the far 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. Achernar was recently discovered to be the flattest star, due to its rapid spin. The dimensions of Achernar have been determined to be twice as wide across its equator than from pole to pole. It’s 139 light years away.
* Times, as always are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.
Addendum
The constellation Eridanus the river, both above and below the horizon. Created using Cartes du Ciel.
The light curved line with the directions SE and S s the horizon from Traverse City, MI.
11/25/11 – Ephemeris – The mythology of Taurus the bull
Friday, November 25th. The sun will rise at 7:51. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 15 minutes, setting at 5:06. The moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
Low in the east at 9 p.m. is the constellation of Orion the giant hunter. Above him is Taurus the bull. His face is a letter V shape of stars lying on its side with the bright orange-red star Aldebaran at the bottom tip of the V as its angry blood-shot eye. 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 V of stars is a star cluster called the Hyades. The Pleiades are in his shoulder above. Taurus in Greek mythology was the guise the god Zeus when he carried off the maiden Europa. Europa’s still with him, sort of, as the intriguing satellite orbiting Zeus’ Roman equivalent Jupiter. In fact the moons around the planet Jupiter are generally named for Jupiter’s lovers and friends.
* Times, as always are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.
Addendum
The constellations Taurus and Orion and the Pleiades. Created using Cartes du Ciel.
11/18/11 – Ephemeris – Pleiades, Hyades and Orion
Friday, November 18th. The sun will rise at 7:42. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 5:12. The moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 12:48 tomorrow morning.
The Pleiades or Seven Sisters star cluster is now quite high in the east at 9 p.m. To the Greeks they were the daughters of the god Atlas. Their half sisters, the Hyades is seen below them as the letter V shape of stars that form the face of Taurus the bull, with the bright orange star Aldebaran at one corner. Both are being chased by the giant hunter Orion, now mostly risen in the east. His three belt stars in a row are now oriented vertically. The reddish star Betelgeuse is to their upper left, while blue-white Rigel to the lower right. Rigel may suffer some by being very close to the horizon at the time, but it will come into its own as it rises higher. [Here is our preview of the glories of the winter sky. There is more to come as the night wears on.]
* Times, as always are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. Bracketed passage was omitted from the audio program due to time constraints.
Addendum
The eastern sky at 9 p.m.
10/31/11 – Ephemeris – The spookiest star
Halloween, Monday, October 31st. The sun will rise at 8:18. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 14 minutes, setting at 6:33. The moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 11:04 this evening.
On the spookiest night of the year, lets look at the spookiest star of all. It’s Algol, from Ghoul Star or Demon Star. The Chinese had a name for it that meant ‘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 stars that eclipse each other. It will be winking this evening, dimmer than usual. My ephemeris blog has a finder chart. Just Google Bob Moler.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
10/18/11 – Ephemeris – The Pleiades or Seven Sisters
Tuesday, October 18th. The sun will rise at 8:01. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 6:53. The moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 11:25 this evening. | A marvelous member of the autumn skies can be found rising in the east at 9 in the evening. It is the famous star cluster called the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. I might also add the ‘Tiny Dipper’. Many people can spot a tiny dipper shape in its six or seven stars, and mistake it for the Little Dipper. As nearsighted as I am, though corrected, I’ve never been able to see more than a few stars and a bit of fuzz. However with binoculars, even I can see over a hundred stars appear along with the dipper shape of the brightest. The fuzz I saw was unresolved stars, but in photographs the Pleiades actually contains remnant wisps of the gaseous cocoon they were born from a hundred million years ago. In Greek mythology the sisters were daughters of the god Atlas.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Pleiades, about what you'd see in binoculars.
10/17/11 – Ephemeris – The constellation of Cassiopeia
Monday, October 17th. The sun will rise at 7:59. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 6:55. The moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 10:25 this evening. | The stars of the autumn skies are replacing the summer stars from the east. Look in the northeastern sky by 9 p.m. and you can find the W shaped constellation of Cassiopeia the queen. Cassiopeia is so far north that it never sets for us in Michigan. It is opposite the pole star Polaris from the Big Dipper. There’s a dim star that appears above the middle star of the W which turns the W into a very crooked backed chair. Above and left of Cassiopeia is a dim upside down church steeple shaped constellation of Cepheus the king. The Milky Way flows through a corner of Cepheus and Cassiopeia toward the northeastern horizon and through the constellation of Perseus the hero, which kind of looks, to me, like a chicken, but that’s another story.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The constellation Cassiopeia and its neighbors. Created using Stellarium.
09/22/11 – Ephemeris – The Constellations Delphinus and Sagitta
Thursday, September 22nd. The sun will rise at 7:29. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 7:40. The moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 2:47 tomorrow morning.
Located below the eastern edge of the Summer Triangle of three of the brightest stars in the sky, which is overhead in our sky at 10 p.m., is the tiny constellation of Delphinus the dolphin. Delphinus’ 6 stars in a small parallelogram with a tail, really does look like a dolphin leaping out of the water. The parallelogram itself has the name Job’s Coffin. The origin of this asterism or informal constellation is unknown. Of the dolphin itself: the ancient Greeks appreciated this aquatic mammal as we do, and told stories of dolphins rescuing shipwrecked sailors. There’s another tiny constellation to the right of Delphinus, Sagitta the arrow a small thin group of 5 stars, which represents Cupid’s dart. Behind Sagitta binoculars will find a little star group called the Coat hanger.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Delphinus, Sagitta and the Coat hanger. Diagram created using Stellarium.
09/20/11 – Ephemeris – The constellation Andromeda
Tuesday, September 20th. The sun will rise at 7:26. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 7:44. The moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 12:33 tomorrow morning.
In the east southeast 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 is two and a half million light years away. To the unaided eye the galaxy appears a 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
The Constellation Andromeda. Created using Stellarium.
The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Image taken by Scott Anttila.
Click on image for full size version.
Stellarium has it by its old name the Great Andromeda Nebula, before it was reclassified as an island universe (obsolete) or galaxy.
09/19/11 – Ephemeris – Talk Like a Pirate Day and the constellation Pegasus
Arrrh! This is Cap’n Bob with Ephemeris for Talk like a Pirate Day, Monday, September 19th. I can’t keep this up. The sun will rise at 7:25. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 7:46. The moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 11:35 this evening.
A reminder of the end of summer is located in the east around 9 p.m. It’s one of the great autumn constellations: Pegasus the flying horse of Greek myth. Its most visible feature is a large square of four stars, now standing on one corner. This feature, called the Great Square of Pegasus, represents the front part of the horse’s body. The horse is quite aerobatic, because it is seen flying upside down. Remembering that fact, the neck and head is a bent line of stars emanating from the right corner star of the square. Its front legs can be seen in a gallop extending to the upper right from the top star of the square. In Mythology Pegasus was born of the blood of Medusa, decapitated by the hero Perseus.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Pegasus at 9 p.m. Chart created using Stellarium.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 