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Ephemeris: 08/14/2026 – Star Party scheduled for Sleeping Bear Dunes tomorrow night
This is Ephemeris for Friday, August 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 8:49, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:45. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 9:42 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, Saturday August 15th, starting around 9 PM. The parking lane closest to the dune will be blocked off for telescopes. The start time is after sunset, and Venus and the crescent moon will be visible by then, but will set shortly over the dune. As it gets darker some of the brighter interstellar wonders of our Milky Way galaxy, will appear, with many star clusters and nebulae. The Rangers will leave around 11 PM. However, if it stays clear and there’s enough interest, society members will stay longer, with their telescopes. The last Sleeping Bear Dunes star party this year will be September 12th.
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: 07/17/2026 – Star Party scheduled for Sleeping Bear Dunes tomorrow night – Canceled due to Air Quality Alert!
This is Ephemeris for Friday, July 17th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 10 minutes, setting at 9:24, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:14. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 11:20 this evening.
Tomorrow night, Saturday, July 18th, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will team up with the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society to host a star party at the Dune Climb from 9 to 11 PM or later. It won’t be a star party only, because the featured attractions early on, will be Venus and the four day old crescent Moon. Planets and the Moon, when near the Sun in the summer appear low in the sk, and will set on the dune fairly early: Venus shortly after 10, and the moon by 10:30. Both should be visible before sunset. To my mind, Venus is best seen in telescopes during daylight, but the trick is to find it then. There will be much more to see as the sky darkens. The rangers have an alternate program, so you can still have an interesting time even if its cloudy.
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: 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: 09/06/2024 – Grand Traverse Astronomical Meeting Tonight
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, September 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 8:09, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:12. The Moon, 4 days past new, will set at 9:26 this evening.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host its September meeting tonight at 8:00 PM at Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H Rogers Observatory, which is located on Birmley Rd. South of Traverse City between Garfield and Keystone roads. The program topic will be a surprise, at least to me. After the meeting about 9:00 PM if it’s clear there will be viewing of the heavens through the observatory’s telescopes, featuring possibly the Moon and Saturn, the first of which may be too low or be obstructed, and when it’s darker the wonders of the Milky Way will be visible including nebulae, open star clusters, and my favorite globular star clusters, spherical masses of hundreds of thousands of stars, as old as the Milky Way itself.
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
Ephemeris: 08/30/2024 – Star party tomorrow night
This is Ephemeris for Friday, August 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 18 minutes, setting at 8:22, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:04. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 4:11 tomorrow morning.
Weather permitting, a Star Party will be held tomorrow night at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at the Dune Climb. The viewing will start at 9 pm. These events will be hosted by the park rangers and the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society, who will bring their telescopes to view the heavens, including the planet Saturn and the wonders of the summer Milky Way. The telescopes will be setup in the parking area closest to the dune. While twilight fades Saturn will be about the only object to view in the east-southeast. As it gets darker more and more wonders of the Milky Way will be seen. They include star clusters and nebulae, clouds of gas and dust that lie in abundance in the Milky Way.
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
Ephemeris: 08/09/2024 – Star Party tomorrow night!
This is Ephemeris for Friday, August 9th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 8:56, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:40. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 11:03 this evening.
Tomorrow The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will be part of the Port Oneida Rural Arts and Culture Fair, an event sponsored by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The society will bring their telescopes to the Thoreson Farm on South Thoreson Road off M22 North of Glen Arbor for a Star Party beginning at 9 p.m. South Thoreson Road is a loop off M22. On tap will be the fat waxing crescent Moon and some of the brighter wonders of the summer sky. Even though the moonlit skies will be bright, there are plenty of wonders still visible in the telescopes. We might have a shot at Saturn later in the evening along with a few bright Perseid meteors to wow the viewer. The peak of the Perseid meteor shower will be Monday morning after the Moon sets.
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
Ephemeris: 07/12/2024 – Star Party tomorrow night at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, July 12th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 9:27, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:10. The Moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 12:42 tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow night, Saturday, July 13th, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will team up with the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society to host a star party at the Dune Climb from 9 to 11 PM or later. It won’t be a star party only, because the featured attraction will be the first quarter Moon. To my mind, this is the best time to view the Moon, showing its craters with deep shadows near the terminator or sunrise line which crosses the Moon slowly over the month. There are no planets out in the evening, but we do have some interesting stars to look at besides the Moon. And the bright International Space Station will be seen moving from west to northeast, passing through the bowl of the Big Dipper around 10:28 pm.
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
Translations of some lunar feature names according to Virtual Moon Atlas
Mare Crisium – Sea of Crises
Mare Fecunditatis – Sea of Fruitfulness
Mare Frigoris – Sea of Cold
Mare Imbrium – Sea of Showers
Mare Nectaris – Sea of Nectar
Mare Serenitatis – Sea of Serenity
Mare Tranquillitatis – Sea of Tranquility
Mare Vaporum – Sea of Vapors
Montes Alpes – Alps Mountains
Montes Apenninus – Apennines Mountains
Craters are named for persons, real or otherwise.
Ephemeris: 07/05/2024 – GTAS meeting: processing astrophotographs
This is Ephemeris for Friday, July 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 9:30, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:04. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
Tonight’s meeting of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers observatory, which starts at 9 PM tonight, will feature a talk by Dan Dall’Olmo, one of our successful astrophotographers in the society. He will discuss image processing. Taking the picture is only the beginning. He will show how to bring out and sharpen images taken with digital cameras. Back in my day processing photographs involved chemicals in the darkroom. “I love the smell of Hypo in the morning”. Now it involves computers and software. Afterward if it’s, clear we’ll be viewing the sky. Note the later start time for the meeting. We follow the later sunsets this time of year, so viewing starts after sunset. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Rd. Between Garfield and Keystone roads.
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
Here are a couple of Dan’s photographs of celestial objects visible this time of year. The eaw images do not look this good, hence the image processing to bring out the image brightness and detail.
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