Archive
11/09/2015 – Ephemeris – The celestial sisters
Ephemeris for Monday, November 9th. The Sun will rise at 7:31. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 5:21. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 6:15 tomorrow morning.
A marvelous member of the autumn skies can be found rising in the east at 8 in the evening. It is the famous star cluster called the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. I might also add the ‘Tiny Dipper’. Many people can spot a tiny dipper shape in its six or seven stars, and mistake it for the Little Dipper. As nearsighted as I am, though corrected, I’ve never been able to see more than a few stars and a bit of fuzz. However with binoculars, over a hundred stars appear along with the dipper shape of the brightest. The fuzz I saw was unresolved stars, but in photographs the Pleiades actually contains wisps of dust that reflect the star’s blue light which the cluster is passing through. In Greek and Plains Indian mythology the sisters were young maidens.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addenda
The Pleiades rising at 8 p.m. November 9th. Created using Stellarium.
The Pleiades, about what you’d see in binoculars.
I’ll be in Cadillac tonight
I’ll be giving an illustrated talk tonight to the Cadillac Garden Club at St. Ann’s Parish in Cadillac at 7 p.m. I’ll be talking about all the ways the Sun affects the Earth. At 8 p.m., if it’s clear, I and other members of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will have some telescopes set up in the parking lot to view the wonders of the heavens. The meeting appears to be open to the public and the viewing after definitely is.
11/06/2015 – Ephemeris – A program about the contributions of women astronomers
Ephemeris for Friday, November 6th. The Sun will rise at 7:27. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 5:25. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 3:21 tomorrow morning.
The Moon will be close to the planet Jupiter this morning and closer to Venus tomorrow morning. Check them out if it’s clear. Tonight however, there is a meeting of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society featuring a graduate from Northwestern Michigan College and the astronomy program: Becky Shaw who will present a talk Women in Astronomy. I especially recommend this for girls interested in the STEM fields, that is Science, Technology, Engineering and Math to find out the wonderful contributions these women have made. Astronomy, by the way encompasses all the STEM fields. The meeting starts at 8 p.m. at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory on Birmley Road, south of Traverse City. At 9 p.m. the will also be star party if it’s clear.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
From yesterday’s post a reminder of the Moon’s procession past the morning planets starting this a.m.
Animation of the Moon passing Jupiter this morning ans Mars and Venus tomorrow morning. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
What’s with the 5:59:59 time for the 7th? This is what happens when you store and compute time as a binary computer value (base 2) and display it as a sexagesimal (base 60) number. Thanks Sumerians.
10/16/2015 – Ephemeris – The topic this Saturday will be comets (Updated)
Ephemeris for Friday, October 16th. The Sun will rise at 7:59. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 6:56. The Moon, half way from new to first quarter, will set at 9:20 this evening.
Tomorrow I have a treat for youngsters of all ages. From 10 a.m. to noon ( Update: noon to 2 p.m.) I’ll be talking about and helping to make comets at the Betsie Valley District Library in Thompsonville. First we’ll explore comets as seen in our skies then travel along with the Rosetta space mission to get up close to Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko to see what it’s made of and what happens when it comes close to the Sun. Then we’ll make our own comet nucleus using many of the ingredients that are found in actual comets, though we’ll leave out all the poisonous ones, and we’ll see if it survives this close to the Sun. If you want to help make a comet, bring your winter gloves. I do have extras, but yours will probably work better.
Times for astronomical events are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
10/02/2015 – Ephemeris – I talk about Pluto and New Horizons tonight
Ephemeris for Friday, October 2nd. The Sun will rise at 7:41. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 40 minutes, setting at 7:21. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 10:53 this evening.
This evening yours truly will be reviewing the results so far from the New Horizons spacecraft and its close encounter with Pluto and its moons July 14th. This will be at the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society meeting at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory at 8 p.m. If you’ve not been keeping up with the releases of photos of Pluto and its moons be prepared to be amazed by the beauty of this frozen but apparently active world. Afterward from 9 p.m. there will be time to view the wonders of the autumn skies if it’s clear. If not there will be guided tour of the autumn skies via computer simulation. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Road between Garfield and Keystone Roads.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Latest high resolution color image of Charon released yesterday. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI.
09/25/2015 – Ephemeris – There will be a great lunar eclipse Sunday night
Ephemeris for Friday, September 25th. The Sun will rise at 7:33. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 1 minute, setting at 7:35. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 5:34 tomorrow morning.
Lets check out Sunday’s total lunar eclipse. It will be visible from the entire contiguous 48 states, and in its entirety from Colorado, eastward. The partial phase will start at 9:07 p.m. Totality will begin at 10:11 p.m. and extend to 11:23 p.m. when the Moon should appear red in color, illuminated by the combined sunrises and sunsets occurring on the Earth at that moment. The eclipse will end at 12:27 a.m. The eclipse is perfectly viewable with the naked eye or binoculars. For those who want company and commentary as to what’s going on, the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will provide two locations from which to view the eclipse. The NMC Observatory, south of Traverse City and Platte River Point, part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, both weather permitting.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The next lunar eclipse visible from our area will be January 31, 2018 which will achieve totality just before the moon sets. The next lunar eclipse will be January 20-21, 2019 which will start late in the evening. The problem being that January is a pretty cloudy month around here.
We’re closer to the next solar eclipse, which will be a total eclipse visible at midday, and the center line of the path of totality which will pass from Oregon to South Carolina, passing just south of St. Louis Missouri and north of Nashville Tennessee. For more on the 2017 eclipse check out this NASA eclipse page.
09/18/2015 – Ephemeris – Saturn and the Moon together tonight and tomorrow a big day for the GTAS – It starts with the Leland Heritage Celebration
Ephemeris for Friday, September 18th. The Sun will rise at 7:24. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 23 minutes, setting at 7:48. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 10:40 this evening.
Tonight the planet Saturn will appear left of and a bit below the crescent Moon. Saturn will be visible in the evening sky for 2 and a half more months with about a month where it’s high enough to see clearly in telescopes. There are two local astronomical events tomorrow. Tomorrow the Leland Heritage Celebration will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fish Town in Leland. The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will be there to show the Sun through member’s telescopes and give out NASA items for the kids. Then a few hours later the crew will be on Front Street in Traverse City for the International Observe the Moon Night starting at 7 p.m. Both events are weather dependent. Rain will affect the Leland event and clouds the evening one.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn and the Moon at 9 p.m. September 18 from Northern Michigan. Created using Stellarium.
GTAS telescopes at Leland Heritage Celebration in 2011.
09/17/2015 – Ephemeris – International Observe the Moon Night is Saturday
Ephemeris for Thursday, September 17th. The Sun will rise at 7:23. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 7:50. The Moon, half way from new to first quarter, will set at 10:04 this evening.
The annual International Observe the Moon Night will be observed this Saturday evening. Members of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will be stationed on the north side of the 200 block of East Front Street. Starting at 7 p.m. near Orvis Streamside and will be moving our telescopes eastward from time to time to keep up with the westward sinking motion of the Moon over the single story buildings to the south as long as we can. The moon will be a fat crescent with lots of detail visible in telescopes. The society will also have some giveaway items from NASA for the young and not so young. The event will be canceled due to heavy overcast or other inclement weather.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The information above is for our local location (northwestern lower Michigan). To find the location of the International Observe the Moon Night event near you go here. There’s even a downloadable Moon map for the evening here.
The Moon at 9 p.m. September 19, 2015 (Observe the Moon Night for the Eastern Daylight Time zone. Created with Virtual Moon Atlas.
09/11/2015 – Ephemeris – Astronomy from the dark skies of the Sleeping Bear Dunes this Saturday
Ephemeris for Friday, September 11th. The Sun will rise at 7:16. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 44 minutes, setting at 8:01. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 6:39 tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow night will be the next to the last Star Party at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore of the year. It will be at the Dune Climb in the Parking lot nearest to the dunes. Featured will be the wonders of the Milky Way including globular and galactic star clusters and planetary and emission nebulae. The event starts at 9 p.m. We are entering the second eclipse season of the year.
On Sunday there will be a partial solar eclipse visible from South Africa, the Southern Ocean and part of Antarctica. Eclipses occur in no less a grouping than pairs, solar and lunar, the next eclipse is 16 days away. It will be total lunar eclipse visible from here on Sunday evening the 27th. In the week after next I’ll tell you all about it.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Star Party at the Dunes Overlook. Credit: Eileen Carlisle. I still don’t have a good picture of a star party at the Dune Climb where the dune rises up and blocks the lower 20º of the western sky.
Partial Solar Eclipse of September 13, 2-15. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Fred Espenak.
09/01/2015 – Ephemeris – Previewing September – Part 2: Total Lunar Eclipse
Ephemeris for Tuesday, September 1st. The Sun will rise at 7:04. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 15 minutes, setting at 8:19. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 10:07 this evening.
Today in part 2 of the September preview we look ahead at this month’s total lunar eclipse on Sunday evening the 27th. This is the last of four total lunar eclipses in a row that started last year April, continuing last October and this April. Only this past April’s eclipse was visible in clear skies here, but all we could see was the beginning partial phase from here. We will get to see, clouds willing, the whole eclipse between 9 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. Lunar eclipses only can occur at full moon, when the Sun, Earth and Moon are lined up so that the Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon. The Moon will be completely immersed in the Earth’s shadow for over an hour then. You can mark it on your calendars, but I will be reminding you about it all the week before.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The following is my article from September’s newsletter of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society the Stellar Sentinel. Note as with the above tines, the times here are Eastern Daylight Time.
The Last of a Quartet of Lunar Eclipses
The last of a quartet or tetrad of consecutive total lunar eclipses will occur Sunday night September 27th. The others were either clouded out or started too late for totality to be visible from here. We are hoping for good weather for this one.
Lunar eclipses or eclipses of the Moon, as these events are also called, only occur at full moon when the Earth’s shadow is cast upon the Moon. Unlike a solar eclipse, of which the partial phases are dangerous to gaze upon without special protection, a lunar eclipse is perfectly safe to view throughout.
How lunar eclipses occur. Credit NASA/Fred Espenak.
There are three kinds of lunar eclipses or phases of lunar eclipses: penumbral, partial, and total. A total eclipse passes through all three phases. In the penumbra the Sun’s light is increasingly cut off from the outside to the inside of the shadow called the umbra, where all direct sunlight is cut off. Depending on the path of the Moon, it can cut through only the penumbra, in which the eclipse is barely noticeable, a penumbral eclipse; pass only partially through the umbra, a partial eclipse; or immerse completely in the umbra to produce a total eclipse.
Lunar eclipses are easiest to see, because one only has to be on the night side of the Earth to see it. In a solar eclipse, the Moon’s shadow is too small to cover the earth, since it’s only a quarter the size of the Earth, so one has to be in a band a few thousand miles wide to spot the partial phase and has to be in a very narrow couple hundred mile wide path to see the brief totality. We’ll revisit this in 2016 in preparation for the country spanning total solar eclipse of August 21, 2016.
Eclipses, both lunar and solar occur in seasons nearly 6 months apart, which usually have one of each two weeks apart. Occasionally with a central eclipse of one to have two of the other two weeks before and two weeks after.
The reason for this is because the Earth and Moon’s orbits are tilted at about a 5° angle, and the point where they cross, 180° apart is slowly rotating clockwise. This gives us two eclipse seasons a year that slowly move earlier in the calendar. It is only when the Sun is near where the orbital planes cross that we have a chance for an eclipse, otherwise the Moon is too far north or south.
After this eclipse, the next total lunar eclipse will be January 21, 2019. However the Moon will set while in totality for us on that one.
If you’d like to explore eclipses further, check out this NASA website: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html.
The eclipse occurs on the 28th for Universal Time. It’s the evening of the 27th for us. The Moon travels through the Earth’s shadow from right to left. What are seen are points of contact with the shadow and mid-eclipse. From Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses (Espenak & Meeus) NASA.
Contact times are labeled P1, U1, U2, U3, U4, and P4. P2 and P3 are omitted because they are synonymous with U1 and U4 respectively:
- P1 – 8:11:47 p.m. Enter the penumbra (unseen). By about 8:30 the duskiness on the left edge of the moon will start to be noticeable.
- U1 – 9:07:11 p.m. Enter the umbra (partial eclipse begins).
- U2 – 10:11:10 p.m. Totality begins.
- Mid eclipse 10:48:17 p.m.
- U3 – 11:23:05 p.m. Totality ends, egress partial phase begins.
- U4 – 12:27:03 a.m. Partial phase ends. The Moon’s upper right edge should appear dusky for the next half hour or so.
- P4 – 1:22:27 a.m. Penumbral phase ends (unseen).
Note: The duskiness of the penumbral phase of the eclipse can be enhanced by viewing through sunglasses.
During the total phase, light leaks in around the Earth due to the bending of light in the Earth’s atmosphere, so the Moon is illuminated by the collective sunrises and sunsets around the globe. This usually gives the Moon a coppery hue, that some are now calling a blood moon. Occasionally, due to volcanic eruptions the Moon can become very dark.
This full moon is also the Harvest Moon and for those who care, a supermoon, it having reached perigee earlier that day.
Weather permitting there will be two GTAS venues in northern lower Michigan to view this eclipse. The first will be the Northwestern Michigan College Rogers Observatory, south of Traverse City, MI. The second will be at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at Platte River Point at the end of Lake Michigan Road off M22. These sites will be open for the visible parts of the eclipse from 9 to midnight.
Of course the eclipse can be seen from your yard with no optical aide whatsoever.
The partially eclipsed Moon setting through a thin clouds and the neighbor’s swing set at 7:09 EDT April 4, 2015. Taken with a Motorola Droid Razr phone through 10X50 binoculars. Credit: Bob Moler.
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