Archive
11/15/2017 – Ephemeris – All the bright planets are visible for observers at both dusk and dawn
Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 15th. The Sun will rise at 7:39. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 5:14. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 5:32 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the bright planets. Mercury is briefly visible in binoculars in the southwest in the evening, setting at 6:06 p.m., and will reach it’s greatest elongation from the Sun in 8 days. Saturn is sinking low in the southwestern sky. Saturn’s rings are still spectacular in telescopes, but since Saturn is so low in the sky the thick atmosphere makes Saturn fuzzy and seemingly to go in and out of focus. Saturn will set at 7:12 p.m. Tomorrow in the morning sky, Mars, heading away from the Sun will rise in the east at 4:16 a.m., Jupiter, also moving away from the Sun, will rise at in the east-southeast at 6:14, leaving Venus behind after their conjunction two days ago, which will rise at 6:30.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn and Mercury very low in the southwest at 6:45p.m. November 15, 2017. That’s about half an hour after sunset. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and its brightest moon Titan in the evening November 15, 2017. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Mars Jupiter Venus and the Moon at 7 a.m., November 16, 2017. The Moon is actually a thin crescent as seen below. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars. This was created using Hallo Northern Sky. However it doesn’t show earth shine that should easily be seen in binoculars.
Planets at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on November 15, 2017. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 16th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
11/14/2017 – Ephemeris – The constellation of Perseus the hero
Ephemeris for Tuesday, November 14th. The Sun will rise at 7:38. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 37 minutes, setting at 5:15. The Moon, half way from last quarter to new, will rise at 4:29 tomorrow morning.
About half way up from the east northeastern horizon to the zenith at 9 p.m. and below the letter W shaped constellation of Cassiopeia the queen is Perseus the hero. It’s kind of an odd shape for a hero, To me it looks like a maybe the cartoon road runner running along the road. To those who’s imagination doesn’t run to Loony Tunes, its shape is also like the Greek letter pi. It’s two brightest stars are Mirfak and Algol the demon star. Look at the area around Mirfak with binoculars and you will see a large group of stars just below naked eye visibility. It’s called the Alpha Persei association. That because Mirfak is Alpha Persei. The group is about 557 light years away, which means, is quite close, but farther away than the Pleiades, below and right of them.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Perseus with Cassiopeia and Andromeda in the northeast at 9 p.m. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
11/13/2017 – Ephemeris – Close conjunction of Venus and Jupiter is visible this morning
Ephemeris for Monday, November 13th. The Sun will rise at 7:36. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 39 minutes, setting at 5:16. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 3:26 tomorrow morning.
This morning the planets Venus and Jupiter will appear a bit less than the moon apart after rising at 6:22 a.m. Venus is heading back to the Sun, actually around the back of the Sun. Jupiter is separating itself from the Sun. The velocity of a planet in its orbit decreases the farther from the Sun it is. This was discovered by Johannes Kepler back in he 17th century. Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth, so after it passed the Earth back on March 25th passing between us and the Sun. It moved ahead of us reaching its greatest western separation from the Sun on June 3rd, is now heading around the bend, so to speak, behind the Sun, on January 9th. The Earth moves faster than Jupiter, so it is appearing to move away from the Sun.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus and Jupiter in conjunction at 7 a.m. November 13, 2017. Venus will be 6 times brighter than Jupiter. They will appear half the width of the Moon apart. Created using Stellarium
11/09/2017 – Ephemeris – Cassiopeia the queen and her husband
Ephemeris for Thursday, November 9th. The Sun will rise at 7:31. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:20. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 10:59 this evening.
The stars of the autumn skies hold forth now, but one prominent autumn constellation never leaves us, here in northern Michigan. Look high in the northeastern sky by 8 p.m. and you can find the W shaped constellation of Cassiopeia the queen. It is opposite the pole star Polaris from the Big Dipper, slinking low in the north-northwest. 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, and the bright star Capella in Auriga the Charioteer.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Cassiopeia and constellations along the Milky Way in the northeast these autumn evenings. (8 p.m. November 9, 2017). Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
11/08/2017 – Ephemeris – Jupiter becomes visible in the morning (The bright planets this week)
Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 8th. The Sun will rise at 7:30. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 5:21. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 9:52 this evening.
Let’s take our weekly look at the bright planets. Saturn is sinking low in the southwestern sky in the evening. Saturn’s rings are still spectacular in telescopes, but since Saturn is so low in the sky the turbulence of the thick atmosphere makes Saturn fuzzy and seemingly to go in and out of focus. Saturn will set at 7:37 p.m. Tomorrow in the morning sky, Mars, heading away from the Sun will rise in the east at 4:20 a.m., Venus, is heading closer to the Sun, will rise at 6:11 in the east-southeast. Jupiter is in the morning sky but lower than Venus, rising in the east-southeast at 6:33. Mercury has moved into the evening sky and will reach it’s greatest elongation from the Sun in 15 days, but will not be easily visible even then.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn with Mercury (unlabeled) at the horizon at 6 p.m., November 8, 2017. Click on the image to enlarge. Create using Stellarium.
Saturn and its brightest moon Titan in the evening November 8, 2017. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 10:30 p.m., November 8, 2017. Created using Stellarium.
Mars, Venus and Jupiter at 7 a.m., November 9, 2017. Jupiter will come abreast of Venus on the morning of the 13th. when they will be less than the width of the Moon apart. Created using Stellarium.
Planets at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on November 8, 2017. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 9th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
11/07/2017 – Ephemeris – The autumn constellations are all visible in the early evening
Ephemeris for Election Day for some folks, Tuesday, November 7th. The Sun will rise at 7:28. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 54 minutes, setting at 5:23. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 8:49 this evening.
We’ll have about an hour and a half of reasonably dark skies between 6:30 and nearly 9 p.m. – At 8 p.m. all the autumn constellations are visible. The Zodiacal constellations from Capricornus in the southwest through Aquarius, Pisces and Aries, all relatively faint to Taurus rising in the east northeast. Pegasus the flying horse is seen in the high south-southeast. It and the connected constellation of Andromeda the chained princess are seen above Aquarius through Aries. The bright star Fomalhaut holds a lonely vigil low in the south, High in the northeast is the W shaped constellation of Cassiopeia the queen, under which is Perseus, her son-in-law and hero down to the bright star Capella.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
The sky at 8 p.m. November 7, 2017 showing the autumn constellations, centered on the southeastern sky. Click on the image to enlarge. The Milky Way has been brightened to show its passage through Perseus better. The red line is the ecliptic, the path of the Sun through the Zodiac. Created using Stellarium.
Addendum
11/06/2017 – Ephemeris – Taurus’ angry red eye, Aldebaran
Ephemeris for Monday, November 6th. The Sun will rise at 7:27. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 5:24. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 7:52 this evening.
Last night the Moon passed in front of or occulted the bright star Aldebaran. Above right of Moon tonight is Aldebaran the bright orange star with a V shape of other stars in the face of Taurus the bull. Aldebaran appears at the lower left tip of that letter V laying on it’s side. With the bright Moon, it might take binoculars to pull out the faint stars of the V. Aldebaran isn’t actually part of the group, called the Hyades star cluster. The cluster is about 153 light years away, while Aldebaran is 65 light years away. The star has an orange hue because its surface is cooler than the Sun’s. However Aldebaran is 44 times larger in diameter, and shines 425 times brighter than the Sun. The name Aldebaran means “Follower” because it follows the Pleiades star cluster above it.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Aldebaran in the Hyades (unlabeled), with also the Pleiades, unlabeled, at the top and the Moon. at 9 p.m., November 6, 2017. Created using Stellarium.
11/03/2017 – Ephemeris – The Sun is the topic at tonight’s GTAS meeting
Ephemeris for Friday, November 3rd. The Sun will rise at 8:23. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 6:28. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 8:35 tomorrow morning.
This evening the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will hold its monthly meeting at the Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory at 8 p.m. with a program featuring member Don Flegel in a talk about the Sun. Don’s the keeper of our solar telescope and wanted a good excuse to learn more about the Sun, so he decided to study up and give this talk. That’s how I do it.
After the talk, at 9 p.m. there will be a star party, if it’s clear, to view the heavens including the Moon. The observatory is located south of Traverse City, on Birmley Road between Garfield and Keystone roads.
It’s time to change our clocks again at 2 a.m. Sunday. Turn your clocks back one hour. That’s Fall Back one hour for a bit of extra sleep.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addenda
Don Flegel, in the foreground, with the society’s solar telescope assisting a person viewing the Sun at he Leland Heritage Festival 2017 at Fishtown. Man in the background in the blue cap is Gary Carlisle. The telescope in the middle is mine.
Occultation of Aldebaran by the Moon Sunday Night
Occultation Map for the occultation of Aldebaran by the Moon . Credit Occult 4 program from IOTA.org.
For the Traverse City/Interlochen area:
Aldebaran Occultation start 8:07 p.m. Nov 5th (01:07 UT Nov 6th)
Aldebaran Occultation end 9:00 p.m. Nov 5th (02:00 UT Nov 6th)
I’ll have an Ephemeris Extra posting, Sunday November 5th with more information.
11/02/2017 – Ephemeris – Interstellar asteroid discovered passing through the solar system
Ephemeris for Thursday, November 2nd. The Sun will rise at 8:21. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 6:29. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 7:21 tomorrow morning.
Apparently an interloper has entered the solar system. No, it’s not Nibiru, unless Nibiru is only 525 feet (160 meters) across. It’s name, for now, is A/2017 U1. It’s official name, when it gets one, will be given to this new class of asteroids.. It’s on a hyperbolic trajectory, meaning it won’t be back. We know there are rogue planets, kicked out of their star systems, so why not asteroids and comets? It had an interstellar space velocity relative to the Sun of 15.8 miles per second (25.5 km/s) coming from the direction of the constellation of Lyra. Interestingly that’s the direction the Sun is traveling toward relative to our neighboring stars at nearly the same speed. Maybe it didn’t so much as to run into us, but the Sun and our solar system ran into it!
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Asteroid A/2017 U1 orbit animation. Click to enlarge. Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech.
This body was discovered because it came close to the Earth. There are probably many of them passing through the solar system that never come close enough to be found.
Here’s a link: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/small-asteroid-or-comet-visits-from-beyond-the-solar-system
11/01/2017 – Ephemeris – Looking at the bright planets for November 1st
Ephemeris for Wednesday, November 1st. The Sun will rise at 8:20. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 10 minutes, setting at 6:30. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 6:08 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the bright planets for this first day of November. Saturn is sinking low in the southwestern sky in the evening. Saturn’s rings are still spectacular in telescopes, but since Saturn is so low in the sky the turbulence of the thick atmosphere makes Saturn fuzzy and seemingly to go in and out of focus. Saturn will set at 9:02 p.m.
Tomorrow in the morning sky, Mars, heading away from the Sun will rise in the east at 5:25 a.m., Venus, is heading closer to the Sun, will rise at 6:53 in the east. Jupiter is in the morning sky but too close to the direction of the Sun to be seen. Mercury has moved into the evening sky and will reach it’s greatest elongation from the Sun in 22 days, but will not be easily visible even then.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn and the Moon at 8 p.m. November 1, 2017. Click on the image to enlarge. Create using Stellarium.
Saturn and its brightest moon Titan in the evening of November 1, 2017. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars at 8 p.m., November 1, 2017. Created using Stellarium.
Mars and Venus at 7:30 a.m. November 2, 2017. Created using Stellarium.
Planets at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on November 1, 2017. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 2nd. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
