Archive
09/07/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 56 minutes, setting at 8:08, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:13. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 4:33 tomorrow morning.
Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week. Two of the naked-eye planets are in the evening sky. Mercury sets too close to the Sun to be seen in the evening. But as it gets darker, Saturn can be seen low in the southeast. Jupiter rises in the east around 8:52 pm. It is seen against the stars of Pisces now, moving slowly retrograde or westward. At 6:30 am tomorrow the three remaining morning planets will be spread out from brilliant Venus very low in the east-northeast to Mars high in the south-southeast above the bright reddish star Aldebaran to Jupiter in the west-southwest. Mars is among the stars seen rising on late autumn and winter evenings. Venus is actually all the way to the spring constellation of Leo the lion.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Evening planets and the Moon tonight at 10 pm, September 7, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon tonight as it might be seen in binoculars or low power telescopes. Labels of prominent features are alternately shown with the unlabeled chart. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
Translations of some feature names
Mare Crisium – Sea of Crises
Mare Fecunditatis – Sea of Fertility
Mare Frigoris – Sea of Cold
Mare Humorum – Sea of Moisture
Mare Imbrium – Sea of Showers
Mare Nectaris – Sea of Nectar
Mare Nubium – Sea of Clouds
Mare Serenitatis – Sea of Serenity
Mare Tranquillitatis – Sea of Tranquility
Mare Vaporum – Sea of Vapors
Montes Apenninus – Apennines Mountains
Oceanus Procellarum – Ocean of Storms
Sinus Asperitatis – Golfe des Asperites
Sinus Iridium – Bay of Rainbows
Sinus Medii – Bay of the Center
Note that Mare is pronounced Mar-é
Morning planets with the bright winter stars at 6:30 am tomorrow, September 8, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic views of Saturn Jupiter and Mars (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The times vary for each planet. Jupiter is shown twice, at 10 pm and 6:30 am, since its moons, especially Io and Europa, move rapidly. I do not show planets less than 10 seconds of arc in diameter, so Venus doesn’t show up yet. Coincidentally, Mars has reached that threshold. Apparent diameters: Saturn 18.58″, its rings 43.23″; Jupiter 49.27″. Mars 10.23″, 85.5% illuminated; Venus (not shown) 9.97″, 97.9% illuminated. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on September 7, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 8th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program.
09/06/2022 – Ephemeris – Ongoing NASA Missions
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, September 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 8:10, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:12. The Moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 3:11 tomorrow morning.
The Artemis I launch has been postponed until later this month. The next try will come no sooner than the 25th, or next month. Another launch that is delayed is the Psyche mission to the asteroid Psyche that was supposed to be launched last month on a Falcon Heavy rocket. The problem this time isn’t the rocket, but the satellite. There is a delay with delivery and testing of the software for the satellite. The launch this year would have used a Mars flyby for a gravitational assist to shorten the flight time. A launch next year would not have that advantage and would increase the flight time. On the 26th of this month the DART satellite will impact the tiny asteroid Dimorphos, that’s orbiting a larger asteroid Didymos, to test that method of planetary defense.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Artemis I availability dates for September and October 2022. As I understand it, launches on red dates would cause the Orion capsule to be in the Earth’s shadow for longer than 90 minutes. Gray dates would have the Orion Capsule land at night. Credit NASA. A cut & paste from Artemis I Mission Availability 2022-2023 (EST/EDT) pdf.
An artist’s rendition of the Psyche spacecraft at the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. Credit: NASA.
Schematic of the DART mission shows the impact on the moonlet of asteroid (65803) Didymos. Post-impact observations from Earth-based optical telescopes and planetary radar would, in turn, measure the change in the moonlet’s orbit about the parent body.
Credits: NASA/Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
09/05/2022 – Ephemeris – It’s Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer
This is Ephemeris for Labor Day, Monday, September 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 2 minutes, setting at 8:12, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:11. The Moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 1:55 tomorrow morning.
Even though we have 17 more days officially, of summer, according to the actual seasons, today seems like it, the end of summer. Summer seems to be defined or confined to between the time that the kids get out of school, to Labor Day. Schools in many locales have been back for almost two weeks now. As far as the summer sky goes, the summer Milky Way will stick around until October, until we lose the Teapot of Sagittarius over the southwestern horizon. The Summer Triangle of bright summer stars, won’t leave the sky until December, as they move ever westward. However, in the east the autumn stars are even now rising, pushing the Milky Way to the west. The predawn sky is already featuring the winter stars.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The constellations of Labor Day Evening, September 5, 2022, at 10 pm, around 2 hours after sunset. Note that the Summer Triangle Stars of Vega, Altair and Deneb are overhead. Click on the chart to enlarge it. Credit: my App LookingUp. I only allowed 8 character star names, so Fomalhaut shows up as Fomalhau.
The constellations of the day after Labor Day morning, September 6, 2022, at 5 am, around 2 hours before sunrise. Note that the Summer Triangle Stars are setting in the northwest. All the brightest winter stars are now up, and constellations, except for the southern half of Canis Major, of which Sirius is a part. This is equivalent to an evening in mid-December, except the planets Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will have moved a bit. Click on the chart to enlarge it. Again, some of the star names have been truncated: Fomalhaut, Aldebaran, and Betelgeuse. Credit: my App LookingUp.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations, click here.
09/02/2022 – Ephemeris – Learn about our galactic neighbors and a star party tonight!
This is Ephemeris for Friday, September 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 8:17, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:07. The Moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 11:18 this evening
Tonight at 9 pm, the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will have an in-person meeting at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory. The meeting will also be available via Zoom. The program will be presented by Don Flegel, our Vice President, who is also working to get our large 25-inch telescope tracking again. The brains of the telescope are now in Australia being worked on, so hopefully it will be ready for next year. Anyway, his talk will be about our galactic neighbors. If it’s clear, there will be a star party following the meeting. The observatory is located south of Traverse City off Birmley Road, between Garfield and Keystone roads. A Zoom link will be available at gtastro.org before the meeting.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
For the star party, the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible. Some of the brighter deep sky objects should also be available. Deep sky objects are what astronomers call telescopic objects beyond the solar system such as star clusters, nebulae (clouds of gas and dust from which stars form, or created by the death of stars). And most distant of all, galaxies, other Milky Ways. One such galaxy is the Great Andromeda Galaxy, visible tonight. Visually, in a telescope, only the core is bright enough to be seen. Photography will reveal it to be as wide as 6 full moons. Two of its satellite galaxies can also be spotted.
09/01/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s look at the skies for the month of September
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, September 1st. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 14 minutes, setting at 8:19, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:06. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 10:48 this evening.
Let’s look at the skies for the month of September. The Sun will be moving at its greatest speed in its retreat to the south. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will drop from 13 hours and 14 minutes today to 11 hours 45 minutes on the 30th. The altitude of the Sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be 54 degrees today, and will descend to 42 degrees on the 30th. The season of summer is getting short, so enjoy it while you can. Summer ends and autumn begins at 9:04 p.m. on September 22nd. The full Harvest Moon shows on our calendars as being on the 10th. However, the Harvest Moon will occur on the night of the 9th, and morning of the 10th, because the precise time it will be full is 5:59 am, before it sets that morning.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
September Evening Star Chart
Star Chart for September 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 10 p.m. EDT in the evening and 6 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian, West 75° longitude. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 1 hour 45 minutes earlier than the current time.
September Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for September 2022 (6 am EDT, September 15, 2022). Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations, click here.
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris, the North Star.
- Leaky dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus.
- The Summer Triangle is in red.
Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical
| EDT | |||||||
| Morning | Twilight | Evening | Twilight | Dark | Night | Moon | |
| Date | Astro. | Nautical | Nautical | Astro. | Start | End | Illum. |
| 2022-09-01 | 5h26m | 6h04m | 21h29m | 22h07m | 22h48m | 5h26m | 0.33 |
| 2022-09-02 | 5h28m | 6h06m | 21h27m | 22h05m | 23h19m | 5h28m | 0.44 |
| 2022-09-03 | 5h29m | 6h07m | 21h25m | 22h03m | 23h59m | 5h29m | 0.55 |
| 2022-09-04 | 5h31m | 6h08m | 21h23m | 22h00m | – | 5h31m | 0.67 |
| 2022-09-05 | 5h32m | 6h10m | 21h21m | 21h58m | 0h50m | 5h32m | 0.77 |
| 2022-09-06 | 5h34m | 6h11m | 21h19m | 21h56m | 1h56m | 5h34m | 0.86 |
| 2022-09-07 | 5h35m | 6h12m | 21h17m | 21h54m | 3h12m | 5h35m | 0.93 |
| 2022-09-08 | 5h37m | 6h14m | 21h15m | 21h52m | 4h33m | 5h37m | 0.98 |
| 2022-09-09 | 5h38m | 6h15m | 21h13m | 21h49m | – | – | 1 |
| 2022-09-10 | 5h40m | 6h16m | 21h11m | 21h47m | – | – | 0.99 |
| 2022-09-11 | 5h41m | 6h18m | 21h09m | 21h45m | – | – | 0.96 |
| 2022-09-12 | 5h43m | 6h19m | 21h07m | 21h43m | – | – | 0.91 |
| 2022-09-13 | 5h44m | 6h20m | 21h05m | 21h41m | – | – | 0.84 |
| 2022-09-14 | 5h46m | 6h22m | 21h03m | 21h39m | 21h39m | 22h02m | 0.75 |
| 2022-09-15 | 5h47m | 6h23m | 21h01m | 21h36m | 21h36m | 22h30m | 0.66 |
| 2022-09-16 | 5h49m | 6h24m | 20h59m | 21h34m | 21h34m | 23h04m | 0.57 |
| 2022-09-17 | 5h50m | 6h26m | 20h57m | 21h32m | 21h32m | 23h45m | 0.47 |
| 2022-09-18 | 5h51m | 6h27m | 20h55m | 21h30m | 21h30m | – | 0.38 |
| 2022-09-19 | 5h53m | 6h28m | 20h53m | 21h28m | 21h28m | 0h34m | 0.29 |
| 2022-09-20 | 5h54m | 6h29m | 20h51m | 21h26m | 21h26m | 1h31m | 0.21 |
| 2022-09-21 | 5h56m | 6h31m | 20h49m | 21h24m | 21h24m | 2h33m | 0.13 |
| 2022-09-22 | 5h57m | 6h32m | 20h47m | 21h22m | 21h22m | 3h39m | 0.07 |
| 2022-09-23 | 5h58m | 6h33m | 20h45m | 21h20m | 21h20m | 4h46m | 0.03 |
| 2022-09-24 | 6h00m | 6h34m | 20h43m | 21h18m | 21h18m | 5h54m | 0.01 |
| 2022-09-25 | 6h01m | 6h36m | 20h41m | 21h16m | 21h16m | 6h01m | 0 |
| 2022-09-26 | 6h02m | 6h37m | 20h39m | 21h14m | 21h14m | 6h02m | 0.02 |
| 2022-09-27 | 6h04m | 6h38m | 20h37m | 21h12m | 21h12m | 6h04m | 0.06 |
| 2022-09-28 | 6h05m | 6h39m | 20h35m | 21h10m | 21h10m | 6h05m | 0.12 |
| 2022-09-29 | 6h06m | 6h41m | 20h33m | 21h08m | 21h21m | 6h06m | 0.2 |
| 2022-09-30 | 6h08m | 6h42m | 20h31m | 21h06m | 21h57m | 6h08m | 0.3 |
Twilight calendar was generated using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
See my blog post: Twilight Zone for the definitions of the different periods of twilight here: https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Sep 1 Th Venus: 13.6° W
1 Th 5:12 pm Moon Descending Node
3 Sa 10:56 am Moon-Antares: 2.6° S
3 Sa 2:08 pm First Quarter
5 Mo 9:56 am Moon South Dec.: 27.2° S
6 Tu 5:30 pm Mars-Aldebaran: 4.3° N
7 We 2:17 pm Moon Perigee: 364,500 km
8 Th 6:31 am Moon-Saturn: 3.9° N
10 Sa 5:59 am Full Harvest Moon
11 Su 11:11 am Moon-Jupiter: 1.9° N
14 We 10:49 am Moon Ascending Node
15 Th 2:50 pm Moon-Pleiades: 3.1° N
16 Fr 5:03 pm Neptune Opposition
16 Fr 9:41 pm Moon-Mars: 4° S
17 Sa 5:52 pm Last Quarter
18 Su 6:10 pm Moon North Dec.: 27.3° N
19 Mo 10:44 am Moon Apogee: 404,600 km
20 Tu 3:40 am Moon-Pollux: 2.1° N
22 Th 9:04 pm Autumnal Equinox
23 Fr 2:47 am Mercury Inferior Conjunction
25 Su 5:54 pm New Moon
26 Mo 2:03 pm Jupiter Opposition
28 We 7:43 pm Moon Descending Node
30 Fr 4:20 pm Moon-Antares: 2.4° S
Oct 1 Sa Venus: 5.8° W
All event times are given for UTC-4 hr: Eastern Daylight Saving Time.
Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC),
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html.
If you go to the above site, you can print out a list like the above for the entire year or calendar pages for your time zone.
Sun and Moon Rising and Setting Events
LU Ephemeris of Sky Events for Interlochen/TC September, 2022 Local time zone: EDT +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM | | | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN| +=======================================================================+ |Thu 1| 07:05a 08:19p 13:14 | 09:25p 05:58a | Set 10:48p 31%| |Fri 2| 07:06a 08:17p 13:11 | 09:23p 06:00a | Set 11:18p 42%| |Sat 3| 07:07a 08:15p 13:08 | 09:21p 06:01a |F Qtr Set 11:58p 53%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 4| 07:08a 08:13p 13:05 | 09:19p 06:02a | Set 12:50a 64%| |Mon 5| 07:09a 08:12p 13:02 | 09:17p 06:04a | Set 01:55a 75%| |Tue 6| 07:11a 08:10p 12:59 | 09:15p 06:05a | Set 03:11a 84%| |Wed 7| 07:12a 08:08p 12:56 | 09:13p 06:07a | Set 04:33a 92%| |Thu 8| 07:13a 08:06p 12:53 | 09:11p 06:08a | Set 05:54a 97%| |Fri 9| 07:14a 08:04p 12:49 | 09:09p 06:09a | Set 07:14a 100%| |Sat 10| 07:15a 08:02p 12:46 | 09:07p 06:11a |Full Rise 08:35p 99%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 11| 07:17a 08:00p 12:43 | 09:05p 06:12a | Rise 08:56p 97%| |Mon 12| 07:18a 07:59p 12:40 | 09:03p 06:13a | Rise 09:16p 92%| |Tue 13| 07:19a 07:57p 12:37 | 09:01p 06:14a | Rise 09:38p 85%| |Wed 14| 07:20a 07:55p 12:34 | 08:59p 06:16a | Rise 10:02p 77%| |Thu 15| 07:21a 07:53p 12:31 | 08:57p 06:17a | Rise 10:30p 68%| |Fri 16| 07:22a 07:51p 12:28 | 08:55p 06:18a | Rise 11:03p 59%| |Sat 17| 07:24a 07:49p 12:25 | 08:53p 06:20a |L Qtr Rise 11:44p 49%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 18| 07:25a 07:47p 12:22 | 08:51p 06:21a | Rise 12:33a 40%| |Mon 19| 07:26a 07:45p 12:19 | 08:49p 06:22a | Rise 01:30a 31%| |Tue 20| 07:27a 07:43p 12:16 | 08:47p 06:24a | Rise 02:33a 22%| |Wed 21| 07:28a 07:41p 12:13 | 08:45p 06:25a | Rise 03:38a 15%| |Thu 22| 07:29a 07:40p 12:10 | 08:43p 06:26a | Rise 04:46a 9%| |Fri 23| 07:31a 07:38p 12:07 | 08:41p 06:27a | Rise 05:54a 4%| |Sat 24| 07:32a 07:36p 12:03 | 08:39p 06:29a | Rise 07:02a 1%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 25| 07:33a 07:34p 12:00 | 08:37p 06:30a |New Set 07:48p 0%| |Mon 26| 07:34a 07:32p 11:57 | 08:35p 06:31a | Set 08:07p 1%| |Tue 27| 07:35a 07:30p 11:54 | 08:33p 06:32a | Set 08:28p 5%| |Wed 28| 07:37a 07:28p 11:51 | 08:31p 06:34a | Set 08:51p 11%| |Thu 29| 07:38a 07:26p 11:48 | 08:29p 06:35a | Set 09:20p 18%| |Fri 30| 07:39a 07:25p 11:45 | 08:27p 06:36a | Set 09:57p 28%| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ * Nautical Twilight ** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset
Generated using my LookingUp for DOS program.
08/31/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 31st. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 8:21, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:05. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 10:23 this evening.
Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week. Two of the naked-eye planets are in the evening sky. Mercury sets too close to the Sun to be seen in the evening. As it gets darker, Saturn can be seen low in the southeast. Jupiter rises in the east around 9:21 pm. It is seen against the stars of Pisces now, moving slowly retrograde or westward now. At 6:15 am tomorrow the three morning planets will be spread out from brilliant Venus very low in the east-northeast to Mars high in the southeast above the bright reddish star Aldebaran to Jupiter in the southwest. Mars is among the stars seen rising on late autumn and winter evenings, when observing them then, it will be a lot colder than it will be tomorrow morning.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and Saturn in the at 10 pm tonight, August 31, 2022.
Annotated animation of the Moon tonight, August 31, 2022. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
Morning planets with the bright winter stars at 6:15 am tomorrow, September 1, 2022. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.
Views of Saturn, Jupiter, and Venus (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The times vary for each planet. Jupiter is shown twice, at 10 pm and 6:15 am, since its moons, especially Io and Europa, move rapidly. I do not show planets less than 10 seconds of arc in diameter, so Mars doesn’t show up yet. It will soon. Apparent diameters: Saturn 18.67″, its rings 43.50″; Jupiter 48.74″. Mars 9.79″, 84% illuminated; Venus 10.04″. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on August 31, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on September 1st. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program.
08/30/2022 – Ephemeris – The Space Launch System (SLS) will evolve over time
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, August 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 8:22, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:04. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 10:02 this evening.
The Space Launch System or SLS rocket that’s used for Artemis I is not the final configuration of the rocket to be flown. For Artemis I and II, which will take astronauts around the Moon and back, the SLS is in its Block 1 configuration with an Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, or ICPS as the upper stage. After the Moon landing by Artemis III, the upper stage will be replaced by the Exploration Upper Stage with nearly four times the thrust of the other. That’s Block 1B. After Artemis VIII, or the eighth launch of the SLS, NASA will have run out of solid booster segments left over from the Shuttle program and will have them replaced with more powerful boosters, making it Block 2. With Block 1 the ICPS needs the core stage to get into a highly elliptical orbit, to send the Orion capsule to the Moon. The ICPS cannot do it by itself.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Diagram comparing SLS variants. The chart also shows the cargo variant, one of which was supposed to launch the Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. That launch has since been reassigned to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, due to SLS delays. The Falcon Heavy is not as powerful as the SLS, so the Europa Clipper spacecraft will take longer to reach Jupiter’s vicinity (6 vs. 3 years), but will save $2 billion in launch costs. Click on the image to enlarge it. Credit: NASA.
08/29/2022 – Ephemeris – On the day of the first Artemis I launch opportunity, a look at possible landing sites for Artemis III
As usual, the Ephemeris radio programs are recorded prior to them being aired. Monday’s programs have the longest lead times, being written and recorded eight days earlier, Sunday of the previous week. This blog post was created on the 28th. So I have no idea if Artemis I launches today or not. All three times this program will be sent out on-air will be before the scheduled launch.
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Monday, August 29th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 23 minutes, setting at 8:24, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:02. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 9:43 this evening.
Earlier this month, NASA announced the selection of 13 possible landing areas near the South Pole of the Moon. The South Pole of the Moon was selected as the Artemis target since ice was found at the bottom of some of the craters there. Back in the Apollo days, landing sites were selected by being smooth, and the first were in the broad lava plains called lunar seas. The Moon’s South Pole is the opposite. It’s in the rugged lunar highlands. The landing areas turn out to be crater rims and ridges or small plateaus that catch the Sun, just above the lunar horizon. NASA is developing autonomous landing systems that can cope with landing on such difficult terrain, with deep shadows illuminated by a very low Sun. These are not ideal landing conditions.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
On August 19, 2022, NASA released the candidate lunar landing sites for Artemis III near the Moon’s South Pole. Click on the image to enlarge it. Credit: NASA, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
08/25/2022 – Ephemeris – Looking to the heart of the Milky Way
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, August 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 8:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:58. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 5:52 tomorrow morning.
Behind a dark cloud in the Milky Way, just above the spout of the teapot asterism or informal constellation that we see of the zodiacal constellation of Sagittarius, lies the very center of our Milky Way Galaxy. It cannot be seen in visible light, but can be detected with radio waves and infrared light that can penetrate the clouds of dust between. In 1932 Bell Laboratory physicist and radio engineer, Karl Jansky, discovered a source of radio static that came from that region of sky. It was subsequently given the designation Sagittarius A. It turns out that within that source there is an object called Sagittarius A* (Pronounced Sagittarius A Star), invisible in the near infrared, but with the mass of four million suns. It was recently imaged as the black hole at the center of our galaxy.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Our place in the Milky Way. Note that we appear to be in a barred spiral galaxy. The arms are numbered and named. 3kpc is the 3 kiloparsec arm. 3kpc = 9,780 light years. The Sun is about 27,000 light years from the center. Credit NASA and Wikimedia Commons, via EarthSky.org
Location of the center of the Milky Way and the Teapot of Sagittarius. It’s behind that dark cloud.
An image from the Chandra X-ray Telescope of the center of the Milky Way. SGR A or Sagittarius A is a radio source. SGR A*, pronounced Sagittarius A Star, is the 4 million solar mass black hole in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Credit NASA.
M87* size compared to Sagittarius A*. The size of a black hole is directly related to its mass. The asterisk * is pronounced “Star”. Credit: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration.
The black hole images were reconstructed from data from 8 sub millimeter radio telescopes and arrays of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration. The telescopes were located from Greenland to the South Pole and From Hawai’i to Europe. The data from the telescopes, observing the black holes simultaneously, were combined to act like a single telescope with the diameter of the Earth in order to resolve the black holes.
Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 24th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 37 minutes, setting at 8:33, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:57. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 4:46 tomorrow morning.
Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week. Two of the naked-eye planets are in the evening sky. Mercury probably sets too close to the Sun to be seen in the evening, but it might be spotted very low on a Lake Michigan horizon in the west at 9 pm. As it gets darker, Saturn can be seen low in the southeast. Jupiter rises in the east around 10 pm. At 6:15 am tomorrow, the morning planets will be spread out from brilliant Venus low in the east-northeast, and below the thin crescent Moon to Jupiter in the southwest. Mars, in the southeast, will be a lot higher than both Venus and Jupiter. Mars is among the rising stars seen in the late autumn and winter evening skies, when observing them then, it will be a lot colder than it will be tomorrow morning.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Mercury as it might appear at 9:05 pm tonight, August 24, 2024. I’ve included nearby Spica, which is easier to spot at that time. Actually, neither is likely to be visible. Mercury is only 2 1/2 degrees above a sea horizon. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter rising, with Saturn in the southeast as it might be seen tonight, August 24, 2022. It reminds me of spotting Jupiter rising at our star party Monday night at the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Created using Stellarium.
Morning planets and the Moon at 6 am tomorrow morning, August 25, 2022. The Moon will appear as a tiny sliver of a crescent. Created using Stellarium.
Views of Saturn, Jupiter, and Venus (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification. The times vary for each planet. Saturn is shown at 11 pm, Jupiter is shown at midnight. I do not show planets less than 10 seconds of arc in diameter, so Mars doesn’t show up yet. It will soon. Apparent diameters: Saturn 18.73″, its rings 43.63″; Jupiter 48.08″. Mars 9.40″, 84.9% illuminated; Venus 10.31″, 94.3% illuminated. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on August 24, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 25th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program.
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