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Ephemeris: 10/03/2025 – Astronomy Society meeting tonight
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, October 3rd. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 35 minutes, setting at 7:19, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:44. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 4:26 tomorrow morning.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host its October meeting tonight at 8 PM at Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H Rogers Observatory. I’m also in the dark as to the program. It’s always interesting, even if there is no formal program. Discussions among members with expertise in a variety of interests. Astronomy is the science of everything. After all, the Earth is a planet too. After the meeting, around 9 PM, weather permitting, there will be viewing of the Moon and whatever we can find in the twilight. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Rd. The meeting will also be available via Zoom. Instructions will be on the society’s website, gtastro.org.
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
Ephemeris: 09/05/2025 – GTAS meeting tonight, a personal view of nebulae, interstellar clouds
This is Ephemeris for Friday, September 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 1 minute, setting at 8:11, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:11. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 5:36 tomorrow morning.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host its September meeting tonight at 8 PM at Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H Rogers Observatory. The talk for the evening will be given by Daniel Dall’Olmo, one of our members, who has had great success photographing the wonders of the universe. He will show and discuss the different types of nebulae he’s photographed. After the meeting, weather permitting, there will be viewing of the Moon and whatever we can find in the twilight. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Rd. The meeting will also be available via Zoom, with instructions for joining the meeting on the society’s website, http://www.gtastro.org.
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
Ephemeris: 08/22/2025 – Star Party tomorrow night the 23rd
This is Ephemeris for Friday, August 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 8:36, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:55. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 7:10 tomorrow morning.
Weather permitting, the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society and the Park Rangers will host a star party at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, at the Dune Climb tomorrow night, starting around 9 PM. The parking lane closest to the dune will be blocked off for telescopes. The start time is after sunset, and the brighter stars will be visible by 9:15. As it gets darker some of the brighter interstellar wonders of our Milky Way galaxy, will appear, with many star clusters and nebulae, including a peek at the Great Andromeda Galaxy next door. The Rangers will leave around 11 PM however if it stays clear and there’s enough interest, society members with their telescopes will stay longer. This is the last Sleeping Bear Dunes star party this year.
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
Ephemeris: 07/25/2025 – Star Party tomorrow night
This is Ephemeris for Friday, July 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 54 minutes, setting at 9:16, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:22. The Moon, 1 day past new, will set at 10:09 this evening.
Weather permitting, the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society and the Park Rangers will host a star party at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, at the Dune Climb tomorrow night, starting around 9:00 PM. The parking lane closest to the dune will be blocked off for telescopes. Note… the start time is before actual sunset, however the brighter stars will be visible by 9:45. Also on tap will be binary stars, an interesting treat through the telescope. Then, as it gets darker some of the brighter interstellar wonders will appear. The Rangers leave around 11:00 PM however if it stays clear and there’s enough interest, society members with their telescopes will stay longer. Another star party is planned at the Dunes this summer, on August 23rd.
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
Ephemeris: 07/11/2025 – GTAS meeting tonight and star parties this summer
This is Ephemeris for Friday, July 11th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 9:28, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:09. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 10:32 this evening.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host its July meeting tonight at 9 PM at Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H Rogers Observatory. The meeting was bumped forward a week due to the Fourth of July holiday. After the meeting, around 10 PM, weather permitting, there will be viewing of the Moon and whatever we can find in the twilight. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Rd. The meeting will also be available via Zoom. Instructions will be on the society’s website, gtastro (dot) org. There are two other events this summer both star parties at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s Dune Climb area. They are on July 26th and August 23rd, both Saturday nights.
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
Ephemeris: 06/27/2025 – Star party tomorrow night at the Sleeping Bear Dunes
This is Ephemeris for Friday, June 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:59. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 11:44 this evening.
Weather permitting, the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society and the Park Rangers will host a star party at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, at the Dune Climb starting around 9:00 PM. The parking lane closest to the dune will be blocked off for telescopes. Note… the start time is before actual sunset, however the Moon should be visible from near sunset and after until nearly 11 PM Also on tap will be binary stars, an interesting treat through the telescope. The Rangers leave around 11:00 PM however if it stays clear and there’s enough interest, society members with their telescopes will stay longer. Two other star parties are planned this summer: on July 26th and August 23rd.
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
Ephemeris: 06/06/2025 – GTAS meeting tonight
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, June 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 9:25, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:57. The Moon, 4 days past first quarter, will set at 3:32 tomorrow morning. | The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host its May meeting tonight at 9 PM at Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H Rogers Observatory. The talk for the evening is a mystery to me, and I’m the Newsletter Editor. However, since I’ve given more programs than any other to the group, I will have a presentation old or new, if the need arises. After the meeting, around 10 PM, weather permitting, there will be viewing of the Moon and whatever we can find in the twilight. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Rd. The meeting will also be available via Zoom. Instructions will be on the society’s website, gtastro.org.
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
Ephemeris: 05/02/2025 – GTAS meeting ~ Deep sky wonders for the small telescope
This is Ephemeris for Friday, May 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 18 minutes, setting at 8:49, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:29. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 2:47 tomorrow morning.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host its May meeting tonight at 9 PM at Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H Rogers Observatory. The talk for the evening will be given by Mary Gribbin presenting the program titled Exploring Deep Space Objects with Small Telescopes by Season. Deep Space Objects, better known as Deep Sky Objects or DSOs, are things that reside beyond the solar system which are generally only visible in telescopes, like star clusters, galaxies and nebulae, which are clouds. After the meeting, weather permitting, there will be viewing of the Moon and whatever we can find in the twilight. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Rd. The meeting will also be available via Zoom, with instructions for joining the meeting on the society’s website, http://www.gtastro.org.
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
The above are two of the many wonders for owners of a small telescope.
Ephemeris: 04/04/2025 – GTAS Meeting tonight – Astronomy Advancement Outside the Western World
This is Ephemeris for Friday, April 4th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 8:14, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:15. The Moon, at first quarter today, will set at 4:12 tomorrow morning.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host its April meeting tonight at 8 PM at Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H Rogers Observatory. The talk for the evening will be given by Grace Kolbusz, with the student astronomy club at Northwestern Michigan College, will present the program titled Astronomy Advancement Outside the Western World. After the meeting, weather permitting, there will be viewing of the Moon and Jupiter and whatever we can find in the twilight. The observatory is located on Birmley Rd. South of Traverse City between Garfield and Keystone roads. The meeting will also be available via Zoom. Instructions to join the meeting will be on the society’s website, gtastro.org.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
All I know about Grace’s talk is the title. It conjures up astronomy of different cultures, perhaps those of India, China or even the Maya in Central America. In the past I have delved with my December programs, for the GTAS, into ancient astronomies of other cultures. I’ve looked at the Egyptians, Babylonians and the Greeks. And dabbled a little bit with the Mayan culture in their studies of the motions of the planet Venus. So I’m interested in what she comes up with, so I don’t overlap.
Ephemeris: 03/07/2025 – GTAS Meeting tonight (also on Zoom): Previewing 3/14’s total lunar eclipse
This is Ephemeris for Friday, March 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 6:38, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:07. The Moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 4:28 tomorrow morning.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host its February meeting tonight at 8 PM at Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H Rogers Observatory. The talk for the evening will be given by yours truly. One week from today, Friday, March 14th in the early morning hours, there will be a total eclipse of the Moon. That is my subject. I will explore some notable lunar eclipses of the past, what they are, and why we don’t see them every full moon. I’ll talk about other facts about lunar eclipses. The observatory is located on Birmley Rd. South of Traverse City between Garfield and Keystone roads. The meeting will also be available via Zoom. Instructions to join the meeting will be on the society’s website, gtastro.org.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 