Archive
Ephemeris: 02/02/2026 – Groundhog Day’s significance
This is Ephemeris for Ground Hog Day, Monday, February 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 5:53, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:59. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 7:00 this evening.
I don’t know if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow this morning or not, but February 2nd was a special day to the ancients. It is also Candlemas day for the Catholic Church, and celebrated as a cross-quarter day, the middle of the season of Winter. Though the exact date of the middle of winter is the 4th. And if Phil sees his shadow, and we do get 6 more weeks of winters, that’s OK too. By the calendar it’s actually more like 7 weeks to the vernal or spring equinox and the official end of winter. Of the other cross-quarter days, two stand out today. They’re May 1st, May Day, and Halloween, October 31st. As far as winter goes, we’ve had lots of snow, and some extremely cold temperatures a couple of weeks ago.
The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 10/06/2025 – Tonight’s full moon is the Harvest Moon!
This is Ephemeris for Monday, October 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 7:13, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:48. The Moon, at full today, will rise at 6:53 this evening.
Today’s full moon is the nearest full moon to the autumnal equinox which makes it the Harvest Moon. Normally, October’s full moon is called the Hunter’s Moon, so it can be both at the same time. The indigenous peoples of our area, the Anishinaabe, call it the Falling Leaves Moon and indeed this month the leaves will fall from deciduous trees, after giving us a couple of weeks of spectacular color. The exact time that the moon will be full will be 11:48 PM this evening. Therefore, the Moon is going to rise very close to sunset. As a matter of fact, it will rise 20 minutes before sunset, so it should be a very spectacular rising of an orangish moon which, this time of year, will remind one of a pumpkin.
The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
02/02/2021 – Ephemeris – Happy Groundhog Day
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Ground Hog Day, Tuesday, February 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 5:53, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:59. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:48 this evening.
I’m not sure if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow this morning or not, but February 2nd was a special day to the ancients. It is also Candlemas day for the Catholic Church. It is also celebrated as a cross-quarter day. The middle of the season of Winter, though the exact date of the middle of winter is the 4th. And if Phil sees his shadow, and we do get 6 more weeks of winter, that’s OK too. By the calendar it is actually 6 weeks and 5 days to the vernal or spring equinox, the official end of winter. But this is northern Michigan. Of the other cross-quarter days, only one stands out today. It’s May 1st, May Day. The way this year has been going, winter has had a hard time getting started. But when it gets going… Look out!
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Poor Punxsutawney Phil, rousted out of his mid winter nap on a previous Groundhog Day. Phil looks kind of grumpy. I don’t blame him. Credit: http://www.fuzzytoday.com.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 