Archive
08/05/2022 – Ephemeris – Star Party tonight at the Joseph H. Rogers Observatory
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, August 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 9:03, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:34. The Moon, at first quarter today, will set at 12:45 tomorrow morning.
Tonight, the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host a star party at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory from 10 pm to midnight, if it’s clear. The first quarter Moon, and the planet Saturn, will be seen. Toward the end of the evening, Jupiter will make an appearance. Saturn is always magnificent with its rings, and Jupiter with its moons and cloud bands. Also, visible will be some brighter wonders beyond the solar system. Nebulae, which are clouds of gas, and great clusters of stars. Views from one of the observatory telescopes will be available via Zoom, link at gtastro.org. Some society members will also bring their telescopes for displaying the sky for attending visitors. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Road. The approach to the observatory from Keystone Road from the south may be blocked by the construction of a roundabout at the Keystone-Cass Rd intersection.
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
Telescopes set up by members of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society at the back of Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H. Rogers Observatory on August 3, 2018. Credit mine.
This may be the first time since 2019 that members will set their telescopes out behind the observatory for a star party. The telescope in the small dome is the one used for Zoom views of the Moon and possibly Saturn. Saturn will be blocked by trees for most of the evening, except from the observatory dome which is high enough, so Saturn will clear the trees sooner.
The sky is forecast to be partly cloudy, whatever that means. The Clear Sky Chart for the observatory shows that it will be clear. There is also a possibility of haze from the forest fires out west, dimming the sky and making observation of deep sky objects more difficult.
Events of the evening:
The first quarter Moon will already be up and will set at 12:45 am
9:03 pm – sunset
9:24 pm – Saturn rises*
10:20 pm – Nautical twilight ends
11:02 pm – Jupiter rises*
11:07 pm – Astronomical twilight ends
* It may be at least a half hour after rising before the image of these planets become half way sharp, due to the great amount of atmosphere we are looking through to see them. The higher in the sky they are, the better they will appear.
08/04/2022 – Ephemeris – The Late Heavy Bombardment
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, August 4th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 9:04, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:33. The Moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 12:19 tomorrow morning.
The face of the Moon is nearly half uncovered from our point of view, with first quarter occurring at 7:06 tomorrow morning. It shows the string of lunar seas, those gray areas on the moon which lead to the terminator, the Moon’s sunrise line. There are even more and larger seas on the east half of the Moon, as we see it. Most were created about 3.9 billion years ago by asteroid strikes. The same thing happened to the Earth, but plate tectonics destroyed the evidence. Not so on the Moon. The result, many planetary scientists think, was the Late Heavy Bombardment, caused by the changing orbits of mainly Saturn, Uranus and Neptune disrupting the smaller asteroids, and sending them careening through the solar system.
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
First quarter Moon with prominent seas labeled. Created using Stellarium, GIMP and LibreOffice.
Nice model infographic: Evolution of the solar system. Step 6, with the exchange of Neptune’s and Uranus’ orbits, cause the Late Heavy Bombardment. The Nice model isn’t that nice. It’s named for Nice, France, the city where the model was first developed. The original on the web page was smaller. I enlarged it and sharpened it a bit, so it’s more readable. Credit: Nora Eisner.
The above infographic is from the blog post at https://blog.planethunters.org/2019/04/29/formation-of-our-solar-system/ by Nora Eisner.
08/03/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 3rd. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:05, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:32. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 11:56 this evening.
Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week. All but one of the naked-eye planets are in the morning sky, That one is Mercury, too close to the Sun to be seen in the evening. At 5:30 tomorrow morning, the planets will be spread out from brilliant Venus low in the east-northeast to Saturn in the southwest. Mars will be a lot higher than Venus in the southeast. Jupiter is farther to the right in the south. Mars is dimmer than Jupiter, but is slowly getting brighter as the Earth creeps up on it. Saturn ends the line of planets much lower than Jupiter in the southwest. Tonight, Saturn will rise about 9:33 pm in the east-southeast, though it won’t be an official evening planet until it rises before sunset, which is 11 days away.
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 annotated Moon for 10:30 this evening, August 3, 2022. Labels are centered on the feature they name. The crater Theophilus isn’t as prominent as it would have been 12 hours earlier, when it was nearer the terminator, the sunrise line. Search for it in the box above, right on this page, where I have more to say about it. It’s one of my favorite craters. Created using Stellarium, Libreoffice Draw, and GIMP.
Morning planets at 5:30 am tomorrow, August 4, 2022. With summer almost half over, the bright winter stars begin to appear in morning twilight along with the planets. Click on the image to enlarge it. The span of the planets from Venus to Saturn is 148 degrees. 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, tomorrow morning at 5:30 am, August 4, 2022. I do not show planets less than 10 seconds of arc in diameter. Apparent diameters: Saturn 18.73″, its rings 43.63″; Jupiter 45.54″. Mars is not shown, its apparent diameter is 8.41″, 84.7% illuminated; Venus 10.64″, 93.2% 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 3, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 4th. Notice that all the naked-eye planets except Mercury are in the morning sky now. That’s about to change in a week and a half, when Saturn moves into the evening sky when it reaches opposition from the Sun on the 14th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program.
08/02/2022 – Ephemeris – Where did the Moon’s “seas” come from?
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, August 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 37 minutes, setting at 9:07, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:31. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 11:37 this evening.
As the days progress to full moon on the 13th, the Moon will reveal its many maria or seas, as the first telescopic astronomers called these blemishes. Many have roughly circular outlines bounded by mountains. They have flat floors that are darker than the heavily cratered parts of the moon, and have very few craters on them. That means they were created after the major craters were made, and obliterated the craters beneath. The majority of the cratering came very early, as the Moon accreted from the material the was produced when a Mars sized protoplanet hit the early Earth about 4.51 billion years ago. That’s according to most planetary scientists. The maria are actually huge craters produced by large asteroids later, about 3.9 billion years ago.
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
Lunar “seas” seen on a first quarter moon. Mare is Latin for sea. Sinus means bay. Created using Stellarium, GIMP and LibreOffice.
Lunar “seas” and some other prominent features labeled on the last quarter moon.
08/01/2022 – Ephemeris – Previewing August skies
This is Ephemeris for Monday, August 1st. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 39 minutes, setting at 9:08, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:30. The Moon, halfway from new to first quarter, will set at 11:18 this evening.
Let’s look ahead at the month of August in the skies. Daylight hours will decrease from 14 hours and 39 minutes today to 13 hours 17 minutes on the 31st. The altitude of the Sun at local noon, that is degrees of angle above the southern horizon, will decrease from 63 degrees today to just over 53 degrees on the 31st. Straits area listeners can subtract one more degree from those angles. Local noon, when the Sun is due south, is about 1:43 p.m. The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak all on the 12th. Unfortunately, the Moon will be only one day past full, so only the brightest meteors will be seen. However, for the next few days or so, the meteors can compete with the weaker moonlight of the waxing crescent Moon, though their numbers won’t be as high as it would be on a dark night of the peak.
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
August Evening Star Chart
Star Chart for August 2022 (10 pm EDT, August 15, 2022). Click on image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program.
Star Chart for August 2022 (10 pm EDT, August 15, 2022). Click on 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 5 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.
Note the chart times are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th, add ½ hour (28 minutes if you’re picky). For each week after the 15th, subtract ½ hour. The planet positions are updated each Wednesday on this blog. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th.
August Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for August mornings, (5 a.m. EDT, August 15, 2022). Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
Star Chart for August mornings, (5 a.m. EDT, August 15, 2022). Click on image to enlarge. 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, and
- Extend like a spike to Spica.
- The Summer Triangle is in red.
- PerR is the radiant of the Perseid meteor shower (Peaks on the 12th)
Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical
| EDT | |||||||
| Morning | Twilight | Evening | Twilight | Dark | Night | Moon | |
| Date | Astro. | Nautical | Nautical | Astro. | Start | End | Illum. |
| 2022-08-01 | 4h31m | 5h19m | 22h27m | 23h15m | 23h18m | 4h31m | 0.18 |
| 2022-08-02 | 4h33m | 5h21m | 22h25m | 23h13m | 23h37m | 4h33m | 0.27 |
| 2022-08-03 | 4h35m | 5h22m | 22h24m | 23h11m | 23h57m | 4h35m | 0.37 |
| 2022-08-04 | 4h37m | 5h24m | 22h22m | 23h09m | – | 4h37m | 0.47 |
| 2022-08-05 | 4h38m | 5h25m | 22h20m | 23h07m | 0h19m | 4h38m | 0.58 |
| 2022-08-06 | 4h40m | 5h27m | 22h19m | 23h05m | 0h46m | 4h40m | 0.69 |
| 2022-08-07 | 4h42m | 5h28m | 22h17m | 23h03m | 1h20m | 4h42m | 0.8 |
| 2022-08-08 | 4h44m | 5h30m | 22h15m | 23h00m | 2h05m | 4h44m | 0.88 |
| 2022-08-09 | 4h46m | 5h31m | 22h13m | 22h58m | 3h04m | 4h46m | 0.95 |
| 2022-08-10 | 4h48m | 5h33m | 22h11m | 22h56m | 4h16m | 4h48m | 0.99 |
| 2022-08-11 | 4h50m | 5h34m | 22h10m | 22h54m | – | – | 1 |
| 2022-08-12 | 4h52m | 5h36m | 22h08m | 22h52m | – | – | 0.98 |
| 2022-08-13 | 4h53m | 5h37m | 22h06m | 22h49m | – | – | 0.94 |
| 2022-08-14 | 4h55m | 5h38m | 22h04m | 22h47m | – | – | 0.87 |
| 2022-08-15 | 4h57m | 5h40m | 22h02m | 22h45m | 22h45m | 22h55m | 0.79 |
| 2022-08-16 | 4h59m | 5h41m | 22h00m | 22h43m | 22h43m | 23h16m | 0.7 |
| 2022-08-17 | 5h01m | 5h43m | 21h58m | 22h41m | 22h41m | 23h38m | 0.6 |
| 2022-08-18 | 5h02m | 5h44m | 21h56m | 22h38m | 22h38m | – | 0.5 |
| 2022-08-19 | 5h04m | 5h46m | 21h55m | 22h36m | 22h36m | 0h03m | 0.4 |
| 2022-08-20 | 5h06m | 5h47m | 21h53m | 22h34m | 22h34m | 0h32m | 0.31 |
| 2022-08-21 | 5h08m | 5h49m | 21h51m | 22h32m | 22h32m | 1h08m | 0.23 |
| 2022-08-22 | 5h10m | 5h50m | 21h49m | 22h29m | 22h29m | 1h52m | 0.15 |
| 2022-08-23 | 5h11m | 5h52m | 21h47m | 22h27m | 22h27m | 2h44m | 0.09 |
| 2022-08-24 | 5h13m | 5h53m | 21h45m | 22h25m | 22h25m | 3h43m | 0.04 |
| 2022-08-25 | 5h15m | 5h55m | 21h43m | 22h23m | 22h23m | 4h47m | 0.01 |
| 2022-08-26 | 5h16m | 5h56m | 21h41m | 22h20m | 22h20m | 5h16m | 0 |
| 2022-08-27 | 5h18m | 5h57m | 21h39m | 22h18m | 22h18m | 5h18m | 0.01 |
| 2022-08-28 | 5h20m | 5h59m | 21h37m | 22h16m | 22h16m | 5h20m | 0.04 |
| 2022-08-29 | 5h21m | 6h00m | 21h35m | 22h14m | 22h14m | 5h21m | 0.08 |
| 2022-08-30 | 5h23m | 6h02m | 21h33m | 22h12m | 22h12m | 5h23m | 0.15 |
| 2022-08-31 | 5h25m | 6h03m | 21h31m | 22h09m | 22h24m | 5h25m | 0.23 |
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
Aug 1 Mo Venus: 21.7° W
4 Th 12:58 am Mercury-Regulus: 0.7° N
5 Fr 7:06 am First Quarter
5 Fr 4:30 pm Moon Descending Node
6 Sa 5:33 am Venus-Pollux: 6.5° S
7 Su 4:29 am Moon-Antares: 2.8° S
9 Tu 2:36 am Moon South Dec.: 27° S
10 We 1:14 pm Moon Perigee: 359,800 km
11 Th 9:36 pm Full Sturgeon Moon
11 Th 11:55 pm Moon-Saturn: 3.9° N
12 Fr 9:20 pm Perseid Shower: ZHR = 90
14 Su 12:35 pm Saturn Opposition
15 Mo 5:37 am Moon-Jupiter: 1.9° N
17 We 12:02 pm Venus-Beehive: 0.9° S
18 Th 6:59 am Moon Ascending Node
19 Fr 12:36 am Last Quarter
19 Fr 6:32 am Moon-Pleiades: 3.4° N
19 Fr 8:16 am Moon-Mars: 2.9° S
20 Sa 4:36 am Mars-Pleiades: 5.6° S
22 Mo 11:08 am Moon North Dec.: 27.1° N
22 Mo 5:53 pm Moon Apogee: 405,400 km
23 Tu 8:17 pm Moon-Pollux: 2.3° N
24 We 9:46 pm Moon-Beehive: 3.8° S
25 Th 4:58 pm Moon-Venus: 4.7° S
27 Sa 4:17 am New Moon
27 Sa 11:59 am Mercury Elongation: 27.3° E
Sep 1 Th Venus: 13.6° W
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 August, 2022 Local time zone: EDT +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM | | | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN| +=======================================================================+ |Mon 1| 06:29a 09:08p 14:39 | 10:23p 05:13a | Set 11:18p 17%| |Tue 2| 06:30a 09:07p 14:37 | 10:22p 05:14a | Set 11:37p 25%| |Wed 3| 06:31a 09:05p 14:34 | 10:20p 05:16a | Set 11:56p 34%| |Thu 4| 06:32a 09:04p 14:32 | 10:18p 05:17a | Set 12:19a 45%| |Fri 5| 06:33a 09:03p 14:29 | 10:17p 05:19a |F Qtr Set 12:45a 56%| |Sat 6| 06:34a 09:01p 14:27 | 10:15p 05:20a | Set 01:19a 67%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 7| 06:35a 09:00p 14:24 | 10:13p 05:22a | Set 02:04a 77%| |Mon 8| 06:37a 08:59p 14:21 | 10:11p 05:23a | Set 03:03a 86%| |Tue 9| 06:38a 08:57p 14:19 | 10:10p 05:25a | Set 04:15a 94%| |Wed 10| 06:39a 08:56p 14:16 | 10:08p 05:26a | Set 05:37a 98%| |Thu 11| 06:40a 08:54p 14:14 | 10:06p 05:28a |Full Rise 09:18p 100%| |Fri 12| 06:41a 08:53p 14:11 | 10:04p 05:29a | Rise 09:48p 99%| |Sat 13| 06:42a 08:51p 14:08 | 10:02p 05:31a | Rise 10:13p 95%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 14| 06:44a 08:50p 14:05 | 10:00p 05:32a | Rise 10:34p 88%| |Mon 15| 06:45a 08:48p 14:03 | 09:58p 05:34a | Rise 10:55p 80%| |Tue 16| 06:46a 08:46p 14:00 | 09:57p 05:35a | Rise 11:15p 71%| |Wed 17| 06:47a 08:45p 13:57 | 09:55p 05:37a | Rise 11:37p 62%| |Thu 18| 06:48a 08:43p 13:54 | 09:53p 05:38a | Rise 12:02a 52%| |Fri 19| 06:49a 08:41p 13:52 | 09:51p 05:40a |L Qtr Rise 12:32a 42%| |Sat 20| 06:51a 08:40p 13:49 | 09:49p 05:41a | Rise 01:08a 33%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 21| 06:52a 08:38p 13:46 | 09:47p 05:43a | Rise 01:51a 24%| |Mon 22| 06:53a 08:36p 13:43 | 09:45p 05:44a | Rise 02:43a 17%| |Tue 23| 06:54a 08:35p 13:40 | 09:43p 05:46a | Rise 03:42a 10%| |Wed 24| 06:55a 08:33p 13:37 | 09:41p 05:47a | Rise 04:46a 5%| |Thu 25| 06:57a 08:31p 13:34 | 09:39p 05:48a | Rise 05:52a 2%| |Fri 26| 06:58a 08:30p 13:31 | 09:37p 05:50a | Rise 07:00a 0%| |Sat 27| 06:59a 08:28p 13:28 | 09:35p 05:51a |New Set 09:04p 1%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 28| 07:00a 08:26p 13:25 | 09:33p 05:53a | Set 09:24p 3%| |Mon 29| 07:01a 08:24p 13:23 | 09:31p 05:54a | Set 09:43p 7%| |Tue 30| 07:02a 08:22p 13:20 | 09:29p 05:56a | Set 10:02p 13%| |Wed 31| 07:04a 08:21p 13:17 | 09:27p 05:57a | Set 10:23p 21%| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ * Nautical Twilight ** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset
Generated using my LookingUp for DOS program.
07/29/2022 – Ephemeris – The celestial Sand Hill Crane
This is Ephemeris for Friday, July 29th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 46 minutes, setting at 9:12, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:26. The Moon, 1 day past new, will set at 10:14 this evening.
Let’s look again at the constellation called Cygnus the swan and the informal constellation or asterism made from most of its stars, the Northern Cross. Cygnus is the official International Astronomical Union constellation name. However, the indigenous Anishinaabe people of our area had another bird in mind when seeing these stars, which are now fairly high in the east in the evening: Ajijaak, (pronounced a-ji-jock) a Sand Hill crane. While the swan is flying, neck outstretched to the south through the Milky Way, the crane is flying northward with its long legs trailing behind. The bright star Deneb is at his head. Where I live, I see and hear the cranes with their creaking-door-like calls, and see a pair from time to time in a field south of where I live.
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 IAU Cygnus the swan and the Anishinaabe Ajijaak the Sand Hill crane constellations demonstrated via an animated GIF image. Credit Stellarium (both star lore images are embedded in Stellarium). The Anishinaabe image is from Ojibwe Giizhig Anung Masinaaigan – Ojibiwe Sky Star Map created by A. Lee, W. Wilson, and C. Gawboy.
07/28/2022 – Ephemeris – Why don’t we have solar eclipses every new moon?
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, July 28th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 9:13, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:25. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
The actual time when the moon is New will be 1:55 pm. The Moon will not eclipse the Sun this time. Why? Because the Moon is nearly 5 degrees, or 10 moon-diameters, north of the Sun. If the Moon orbited the Earth nearly in the same plane that the Earth orbited the Sun, we could have solar eclipses for somewhere on the Earth every new moon. As it is, the Moon orbits the Earth with about a 5-degree tilt to the Earth’s orbit of the Sun. So we get eclipse opportunities of eclipses about one in six new moons for solar eclipse and about the same for full moons and lunar eclipses. Of course, one has to be at the proper location to see them. If the Moon orbited the Earth over the Earth’s equator, like many other moons of other planets, eclipses would be much more rare and only occur around the equinoxes.
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 Sun and Moon at New Moon at 1:55 pm today, seen as if the Earth had no atmosphere and one could see the Sun and stars at the same time. The orange line is the path of the Sun in the sky, called the ecliptic. The red line is the orbit of the Moon. Created using Stellarium.
Earth centered (geocentric) diagram of the heavens called the celestial sphere, showing the apparent orbits of the Sun and Moon. The Moon’s orbit has about a 5-degree tilt (exaggerated here) to the Sun’s apparent orbit, which we call the ecliptic. Solar eclipses occur when the new moon and Sun are near a node. Lunar eclipses occur when the full moon and Sun are near opposite nodes. My diagram.
The orbit of the Moon precesses, so the line of the nodes regresses, that is slowly rotating clockwise, backwards to the motion of the Sun and Moon (and all the rest of the planets), one rotation in 18.6 years.
07/27/2022 – Ephemeris – Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 9:14, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:24. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 5:52 tomorrow morning.
Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week. All but one of the naked-eye planets are in the morning sky, That one is Mercury, too close to the Sun to be seen in the evening. At 5:30 am tomorrow, the planets will be spread out from brilliant Venus low in the east-northeast to Saturn in the southwest. Mars will be a lot higher than Venus in the east-southeast. Jupiter is farther to the right in the south. Mars is dimmer than Jupiter, but is slowly getting brighter as the Earth creeps up on it. Saturn ends the line of planets much lower than Jupiter in the southwest. Tonight, Saturn will rise about 10:06 pm, though it won’t be an official evening planet until it rises before sunset, which won’t happen until August 14th.
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
Morning planets at 5:30 am tomorrow , July 28, 2022. The planets and Moon actually appear in a straight line in the sky, being placed along the ecliptic, or path of the Sun in the sky. The ecliptic is a great circle on the celestial sphere. Click on the image to enlarge it. The span of the planets from Venus to Saturn is 140 degrees. Two of winter’s first magnitude stars, Aldebaran and Capella, are now visible in morning twilight. 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, tomorrow morning at 5:30 am, July 28, 2022. I do not show planets less than 10 seconds of arc in diameter. Apparent diameters: Saturn 18.67″, its rings 43.49″; Jupiter 44.58″. Mars is not shown, its apparent diameter is 8.13″, 84.8% illuminated; Venus 10.84″, 91.9% 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).
Noting Jupiter and moons image: Europa has just appeared from being behind Jupiter’s disk at 5:27 am (8:27 UT). It had disappeared into Jupiter’s shadow earlier at 12:23 am (4:23 UT).
The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on July 27, 2022. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 28th. Notice that all the naked-eye planets except Mercury are in the morning sky now. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program.
07/26/2022 – Ephemeris – An Anishinaabe hero is in the sky
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, July 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 9:15, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:23. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 4:51 tomorrow morning.
Scorpius the scorpion is now seen low in the southern sky in the evening. To me, the stars here make a very good scorpion. Scorpius was invented by the people of the Middle East, where scorpions are plentiful. The Anishinaabe native peoples of our area, however, saw one of their legendary hero figures, Nenabozho*. In the sky, the arc of three stars at the front of the scorpion and to the right of the bright star Antares is his bow. He is shooting an arrow toward the receding Great Panther or Curly Tail a constellation of spring whose curl of a tail is the head of the constellation Leo, now lost in the evening twilight in the west. Nenabozho was a hero in their creation stories, and a trickster who was sometimes seen as a rabbit.
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.
* Nenabozho is pronounced like Nana-bouz-hou, though different tribes pronounced it differently. I could not find Nenabozho and its various other transliterations, one of which was Nanaboozhoo in the Ojibwe People’s Dictionary (https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/). However, since he occasionally shape-shifted into being a rabbit his name includes a part of the name for rabbit, waabooz. That entry had several audio examples. That’s how I got the pronunciation for the radio program.
Addendum
Animated finder for the Anishinaabe constellation of Nenabozho showing the unannotated star field, the Western constellation of Scorpius and Nenabozho. On the chart, it’s spelled Nanaboujou. Created using Stellarium (both star lore images are embedded in Stellarium). The Anishinaabe image embedded in Stellarium is from Ojibwe Giizhig Anung Masinaaigan – Ojibiwe Sky Star Map created by A. Lee, W. Wilson, and C. Gawboy.
A story of Waynaboozhoo (same fellow) is told in a book recommended by the curator of the museum of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. It’s The Mishomis Book – The Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Banai, University of Minnesota Press.
07/25/2022 – Ephemeris – Getting an early look at the Perseid Meteor Shower
This is Ephemeris for Monday, July 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 9:16, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:22. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 3:57 tomorrow morning.
The annual Perseid meteor shower, which will reach its peak on the evening of August 12th has the full moon to contend with. So the best time to spot these meteors is before the peak. Members of this meteor shower can be spotted from July 17th to August 24th, but in much reduced numbers. They are best seen after midnight, however since the point in the sky they seem to come from, the radiant, is always above the horizon, they can be spotted any time at night. They will seem to come from the northeastern part of the sky, and below the letter W shaped constellation of Cassiopeia. The Southern Delta Aquariid meteors coming from the southeast after 11 pm will predominate. Its radiant, the point from which the meteors will seem to come from, will be near the Moon. The Southern Delta Aquariids will reach their peak on the 30th of this month, with dark skies. The Southern Delta Aquariid radiant will rise about 11 pm now, and it will be possible to spot one of its meteors until the Moon rises. The hourly rates of the Perseids will increase each night until the Moon starts to interfere with the shower in early August.
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
Finder chart for Perseid Radiant for August 25, 11pm. The radiant point will move slowly to the left for the duration of the meteor shower over the next month. By August 12th, the shower’s peak, the radiant will be just left of the top star of Perseus. Created using Stellarium.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 