Archive
Ephemeris: 08/31/2026 – September’s Milky Way
This is Ephemeris for Monday, 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 past full, will rise at 9:35 this evening.
In the coming nights, as the moon leaves the evening sky, we will again be able to see the summer Milky Way. In September the Milky Way will twist from roughly northeast to south to northeast overhead to southwest. The teapot asterism of the constellation Sagittarius tilts and pours its tea onto the southwestern horizon and soon also succumbs to the rotation of the earth and sets. It will give us our last chance to see the great star clouds toward the center of our galaxy. The Milky Way will be with us until spring. Actually twisting, with new parts passing overhead. But, we will be looking out, opposite from the center, to the further reaches of the Milky Way that is not as bright, but the active star forming regions are closer.
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: 08/27/2026 – Nearly total lunar eclipse visible tonight
his is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, August 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 8:28, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:00. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:25 tomorrow morning.
Late tonight and into tomorrow morning, clouds permitting, we will be able to see a partial eclipse of the moon. The moon will be almost totally immersed in the earth’s umbral shadow, with only a tiny sliver of the top of it visible at maximum eclipse. The partial eclipse starts at 10:34 PM EDT. The maximum of eclipse will be at 12:13 AM, and it will end at 1:52 AM. So it will be great viewing for those who can stay up late to see it. The moon will pass through the northern part of the earth’s shadow and since about 93% of the moon’s diameter will be immersed, the reddish appearance of the moon in the shadow might be apparent to the naked eye, and should be apparent in binoculars. The dusky appearance of the moon may appear half an hour before and after the eclipse. Use sunglasses to make the penumbral shadow easier to see.
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: 08/26/2026 – Taking our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 31 minutes, setting at 8:30, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:59. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 6:15 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 9 PM tonight, a half-hour after sunset, Venus will be easily spotted in the west southwestern sky. A telescope will show a small, fat crescent disk of Venus. It is now rapidly approaching earth in its orbit, at 55.8 million miles (89.9 million kilometers) away from us. Venus’ phase is becoming an ever decreasing crescent as its apparent diameter grows in telescopes. At 6 AM, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter will be visible in the southwest, east and east northeast respectively. Saturn is the brightest “star” in its part of the sky, while Mars has the competition of brighter stars, and two brighter red stars of the coming winter evenings, while Jupiter outshines them all.
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: 08/24/2026 – Get ready for a significant partial lunar eclipse Thursday night
This is Ephemeris for Monday, 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, 4 days before full, will set at 3:57 tomorrow morning.
Late Thursday night and into Friday morning, clouds permitting, we will be able to see a partial eclipse of the moon. The moon will be almost totally immersed in the earth’s umbral shadow, with only a tiny sliver of the top of it visible at maximum eclipse. The partial eclipse starts at 10:34 PM EDT Thursday night (2:34 UT Friday morning the 28th). The maximum of eclipse will be at 12:13 AM (4:13 UT), and it will end at 1:52 AM (5:52 UT). So it will be nice viewing for those who can stay up late to see it. The moon will pass through the northern part of the earth’s shadow and since about 93% of the moon’s diameter will be immersed, the reddish appearance of the moon in the shadow might be apparent, and will definitely be apparent in binoculars.
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: 08/19/2026 – Taking a weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 19th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 8:41, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:51. The Moon, at first quarter today, will set at 11:35 this evening.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. By 9:15 PM tonight, a bit over a half-hour after sunset, Venus will be easily spotted in the western sky. A telescope will show a small, nearly half illuminated disk of Venus. It is now rapidly approaching earth in its orbit, at 60.9 million miles (98.1 mil km) away from us. Venus phase is turning into an ever decreasing crescent as its apparent diameter grows in telescopes. At 6 AM, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter will be visible in the south southwest, southeast and east respectively. Saturn is the brightest “star” in its part of the sky, while Mars has the competition of brighter stars, and two brighter red stars of the coming winter evenings. Jupiter is brightest of all.
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: 08/12/2026 – Eclipses, meteors and planets, oh my!
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 12th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 8:53, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:42. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
Today’s a double header of astronomical events with a slight eclipse of the sun from around 12:51 to 2:04 this afternoon for Northern Michigan, and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower tonight. Also our weekly look at the naked eye planets. Venus is our brilliant evening star low in the west after sunset. This Saturday Venus will achieve it’s greatest angular separation from the sun. It will then rapidly close the distance to the sun in 2 1/2 months. It will actually be moving around and between the earth and the sun growing a larger but thinner crescent in telescopes. In the morning, Saturn and Mars will be visible in the southeast and east respectively. Mars is competing with the brighter stars of winter, including the orange Aldebaran, and the red giant star Betelgeuse.
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
More on the solar eclipse here.
More on the Perseid meteor shower here.
Ephemeris: 08/11/2026 – The Perseid meteor shower peaks tomorrow night
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, August 11th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 13 minutes, setting at 8:54, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:41. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 6:22 tomorrow morning.
The Perseid meteor shower at its peak and will be visible all night tomorrow night. It won’t have to compete with the moon since it’s new, and incidently will eclipse the sun. The meteors will be seen all over the sky. Perseid meteors can be backtracked to a spot below the W shaped constellation of Cassiopeia, in the area of the constellation Perseus. As the night progresses, the radiant point will be rising higher in northeast. So lay down on a blanket in a dark location, keep mosquito repellent handy, dress warmly, because the ground and air will be chilly and dewy. Bring some hot coffee or chocolate to drink. And enjoy 60 meteors an hour, or more, at the peak after midnight. They will be near peak for the next few 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: 08/10/2026 – Previewing Wednesday’s (August 12 , 2026) solar eclipse
This is Ephemeris for Monday, August 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 16 minutes, setting at 8:56, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:40. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 4:58 tomorrow morning.
Early Wednesday afternoon there will be a very slight partial solar eclipse visible from northern Michigan. The eclipse begins around 12:51 and extends to 2:04 PM with the greatest coverage of the sun at 1:28 PM when a little bit less than 11% of the sun’s diameter will be covered by the moon. To view the eclipse you need to dig out your eclipse glasses from the 2024 eclipse. Inspect them against a strong light make sure there’s no pin holes that developed in them. You must discard if there are. The other way to view the eclipse is by projection either using a pinhole and a long cardboard box or by using a colander to provide both shade and a lot of small holes to project the sun’s image with. It’s the first of two astronomical events that day.
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: 08/07/2026 – The Great Rift
This is Ephemeris for Friday, August 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 24 minutes, setting at 9:00, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:37. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 1:20 tomorrow morning.
Once one finds the Milky Way which is pretty hard to miss this month, it becomes obvious that the Milky Way is split lengthwise starting near Deneb, the northernmost star of the Summer Triangle, almost all the way to the Teapot of Sagittarius low in the south. That dark split is called the Great Rift. Galileo first discovered that the hazy clouds of the Milky Way were actually made of faint stars, so it was thought the dark areas were due to a lack of stars. The great 18th century astronomer William Herschel did star counts all over the sky with his telescope. A map his sister drew of the flattened shape of his universe shows the lack of distant stars in one direction. It’s not really fewer stars, but interstellar clouds of dust blocking the light of the stars behind them.
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: 08/06/2026 – Looking for Sagittarius
This is Ephemeris for Thursday, August 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 9:01, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:35. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 12:32 tomorrow morning.
With the Moon out of the sky we get a look at the summer Milky Way in the evening. By 11 PM the Milky Way will stretch from the north-northeast, passing high in the east to the southern horizon. The asterism of the stout little Teapot in Sagittarius, low to the south, is near the bottom end of the Milky Way. The milky stream appears as steam rising out of its spout. With more stars there, one might be able to see the Centaur with a bow and arrow. The front part of the teapot is the bow. The bottom left, and the far right star are the back and the tip of the arrow which is pointing at the heart of Scorpius the scorpion in the south-southwest. We’ll be exploring the wonders of the summer Milky Way this month and next.
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
