12/27/2016 – Ephemeris – The stars of Orion
Ephemeris for Tuesday, December 27th. The Sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:09. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:26 tomorrow morning.
The large and bright constellation of Orion the hunter is in the southeast at 9 p.m., with the bright star Sirius below it near the horizon. The equally spaced line of three stars of Orion’s belt are nearly vertical and point down to Sirius, also known as the Dog Star in Canis Major, Orion’s greater dog. The whole of its constellation stars aren’t up at 9 p.m., but they will all clear the horizon by 10 p.m. Those three belt stars are in the center of an elongated rectangle of stars At the top left of Orion’s shoulder stars is the red giant star Betelgeuse. The right shoulder star is Bellatrix. Both Bellatrix and Sirius along with the names of other stars and constellations should be familiar to fans of the Harry Potter novels and movies, as members of the house of Black. The knee stars at the bottom of the rectangle are, from left to right Saiph and the brilliant blue giant star Rigel. Between his belt and knees are stars of his sword.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Orion, star names, and constellation art animation position for 9 p.m. December 27. Created using Stellarium and GIMP. Artist: Johan Meuris.
In the image above I’ve added the belt star names, though they are generally covered in a program of their own.
12/26/2016 – Ephemeris – Orion takes its place as the central winter constellation
Ephemeris for Monday, December 26th. The Sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:08. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 6:33 tomorrow morning.
The great constellation of Orion the hunter has claimed his rightful position as the central winter constellation. It’s the most famous constellation of all. Think the Big Dipper is a big deal? They can’t even see it from the large population centers of Australia. Parts of Orion can be seen from every part of the Earth from pole to pole. Orion’s distinctive feature is his belt of three bright stars in a row. This tilted belt is in the center of a large rectangle of bright stars. The upper left star is Betelgeuse a red giant star. The lower right star is Rigel a blue giant star. Orion was an unlucky fellow of Greek myth. One wonders why he gets this splashy constellation in Winter while Hercules gets a dim upside down constellation in the spring sky.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Orion and the head of Taurus photograph by myself January 4, 2016 at 11:30 p.m. It’s a stack of unguided 20 second exposures.
Orion from mid latitudes north of the equator. Orion would be upside down if viewed south of the equator. Created using Stellarium.
The Ephemeris radio programs are very short (59 seconds) so I will visit Orion several times during the winter to explore its mythology and deep sky wonders within, or search past posts for Orion.
12/23/2016 – Ephemeris – Another possible set of events that could have been the Star of Bethlehem
Ephemeris for Friday, December 23rd. The Sun will rise at 8:18. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:06. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 3:43 tomorrow morning.
The brilliant planet Venus is out evening star now, and one could say that’s its our Christmas Star. And perhaps it was, or was part of the Star of Bethlehem. Back in August of 3 BC the planet Jupiter and Venus appeared to come very close to one another. The term for such an apparent close approach is called a conjunction. Astrologers make a big deal out of such a chance alignment. It’s like a trick photo of someone in the foreground appearing to hold up or leaning on a more distant object. Anyway, 10 months later in June of 2 BC Jupiter again appeared to join Venus, this time so close they could not be separated by the human eye. This all occurred against the constellation of Leo the lion which in Genesis is the symbol of Judah.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus and Mars in the twilight last night at 6 p.m., December 22, 2016. Photograph by Bob Moler. Click on the image to enlarge.
I have more information on this set of conjunctions in my December 2 post announcing my program on the Star of Bethlehem: https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/12022016-ephemeris-my-talk-about-the-star-of-bethlehem-is-tonight/
12/22/2016 – Ephemeris – Could Jupiter and Saturn have combined to be the Star of Bethlehem?
Ephemeris for Thursday, December 22nd. The Sun will rise at 8:17. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:05. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 2:45 tomorrow morning.
This morning the planet Jupiter is seen right below the waning crescent Moon. It reminds me of one of the possible answers to the questions to what the Star of Bethlehem was. Back in 7 BC Jupiter passed Saturn three times in that year. This is a reasonably rare occurrence especially against a particular constellation, which in this case was Pisces the fish, which would occur every 800 plus years. Early in the run of this program there was another so-called triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. This time it was against the constellation of Virgo the virgin in 1980 and 81. Jupiter passes Saturn every 20 years, but only when it does so when they are opposite the Sun in the sky is there a chance for a triple conjunction. Tomorrow I’ll look at two really close conjunctions of Jupiter and Venus that also could have been seen by the Magi as the Star of Bethlehem.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and the Moon at 7 a.m. this morning, December 22, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Saturn pass each other three times from May to December in 7 BC. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts) and GIMP. Click image to enlarge.
12/21/2016 – Ephemeris – A look at the bright planets at the start of winter
Ephemeris for the winter solstice Wednesday, December 21st. The Sun will rise at 8:17. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:05. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 1:46 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the naked eye planets now that it’s officially winter as of 5:45 a.m. In the east-southeast before 7:30 these mornings. Jupiter can be glimpsed in the morning twilight. Jupiter will rise tomorrow at 2:16 a.m. and will appear below the Moon. Venus and Mars are in the evening sky. At 6 p.m. these planets will be seen in the southwest and low in the sky. Venus is unmistakable as the brilliant evening star, Mars will be above and left of it. Venus will set at 8:46. Mars will set at 10:12. Mars’ setting time hasn’t changed much in the last 2 months. Venus is slowly heading northward for the rest of it’s evening appearance, and is moving higher in the sky, and is closing in on it’s greatest eastern elongation from the Sun.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus and Mars in the evening twilight of about an hour after sunset. 6 p.m. December 21, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Venus as it might be seen in a telescope at 6 p.m. December 21, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and the Moon at 7 a.m. December 22, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon as it might appear in binoculars at 7 a.m. December 22, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its Galilean moons at 7 a.m. December 22, 2016. Io is behind Jupiter at this time, however it will clear the planet by 7:38 a.m. EST (12:38 UT). Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Update 8:10 a.m.
Planets and Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on December 21, 2016. The night ends on the left with sunrise on December 22. Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
12/20/2016 – Ephemeris – The last full day of autumn
Ephemeris for Tuesday, December 20th. The Sun will rise at 8:16. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:04. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 12:46 tomorrow morning.
Today is the last full day of autumn. Tomorrow at 5:45 a.m. winter will begin as the Sun passes the winter solstice and stops its southward movement in the sky. Immediately it will slowly climb northward again. It will lengthen the daytime hours and increase the power of the Sun as it gets higher in our sky. The cooling of the northern hemisphere will continue until late January, on average, until the lengthening days and increased solar altitude will finally overcome it. Prescientific cultures weren’t all that sure that Sun would come back, since they didn’t understand what was really happening. So when the solstice finally arrived it was a time for great celebrations which survive to this day.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Comparing the sun’s path at the summer and winter solstices. This is a stereographic representation of the whole sky which distorts the sky and magnifies the size of the sun’s path near the horizon.
Take heart snow haters. Winter is the shortest season. You’ll find out why in early January.
12/19/2016 – Ephemeris – OK kids, do I have to turn this chariot around
Ephemeris for Monday, December 19th. The Sun will rise at 8:16. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:04. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 11:44 this evening.
The constellation Auriga the charioteer is half way up the sky in the east at 8 p.m. It is a pentagon of stars, with the brilliant star Capella at one of its corners. Capella represents a she goat he’s carrying. A narrow triangle of stars nearby Capella are her kids, an informal constellation or asterism. Within and near that pentagon, binoculars and telescopes will find several star clusters, groups of hundreds of stars born in the clump we still see them in. These star clusters will appear as fuzzy spots in binoculars. One called M38 is near the center of the pentagon. Another, M36 is below it. Still another star cluster, M37, is farther below still. The M designations come from Charles Messier who two centuries ago ran into them while looking for comets.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Auriga the charioteer with Capella and the Kids at 8 p.m. December 19, 2016. The object named the Starfish Cluster is M38. To the right is Taurus the bull with the Hyades, his face and above the Pleiades in his shoulder. Created using Stellarium and edited with GIMP. Click on the image to enlarge.
12/16/2016 – Ephemeris – The Pleiades in the mythology of many cultures
Ephemeris for Friday, December 16th. The Sun will rise at 8:14. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 5:03. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 8:28 this evening.
Let’s look at how some other cultures saw the Pleiades. To the Anishinabek native peoples around here the Pleiades is the “Hole in the Sky” or the seven stones that are heated for the sweat lodge ceremony. To the Kiowa* these were sister stars that had been whisked into the sky from the top of Devils Tower in Wyoming where they were threatened by a huge bear. In Norse mythology these were the goddess Freya’s hens. The name we know them by has rather misty origins. Some think the Greek name is from the mother of the seven sisters, Pleione. The Greek word for sail is similar to Pleiades, and some suggested that the appearance of the Pleiades in the morning sky signaled the best sailing weather in the Mediterranean region.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
* I originally reported it as Lakota on the program, and earlier as the Sioux.
Addendum
The Greek Pleiades a painting by Elihu Vedder in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Public Domain.
Seven maidens being attacked by a giant bear, having fled to the top of Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. Painting by Herbert Collins, www.nps.gov/deto
12/15/2015 – Ephemeris – The Seven Sisters of the Pleiades
Ephemeris for Thursday, December 15th. The Sun will rise at 8:13. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:02. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 7:21 this evening.
While I’ve mentioned the Pleiades with regard to its neighboring stars and constellations several times this autumn I haven’t looked at this beautiful star cluster itself. The Pleiades appears as a group of six or seven stars visible to the naked eye, of over a hundred stars, and is also known as the Seven Sisters. Some also mistake it for the Little Dipper, due to the little bowl shape in the center of the cluster. I call it the “tiny dipper”. The real Little Dipper is now hanging off Polaris in the north. There are a lot of stories about the Pleiades from many different cultures. From the Greek and Roman cultures we get our best known stories of them, that the seven sisters were the daughters of the god Atlas and Pleione. The 9 brightest stars bear the names of the sisters and their parents.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Pleiades (right) and the Hyades, the face of Taurus the bull (left) in this photograph I took 11:23 p.m. January 4, 2016.
The named stars of the Pleiades. This is also showing more stars than can be seen with the naked eye. This is the number of stars that can be seen in binoculars, which is the best way to observe them. Most telescopes offer too much magnification to fit all the stars in. A thirty power wide angle eyepiece can just fit all the stars in. Created using Stellarium. Note that this view is the orientation of the cluster at 8p.m. tonight.
12/14/2016 – Ephemeris – Mercury is seen briefly with the evening planets
Ephemeris for Wednesday, December 14th. The Sun will rise at 8:12. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:02. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 6:17 this evening.
In the east-southeast before 7:30 these mornings. Jupiter can be glimpsed in the morning twilight. Jupiter will rise tomorrow at 2:39 a.m. We are approaching Jupiter as it appears to move away from the Sun. We will pass it on April 7th next year. Mercury, Venus and Mars are in the evening sky. At 6 p.m. these planets will be seen in the southwest and low in the sky. Mercury will require a very low horizon, Venus will be the higher and the brightest of the three, Mars will be higher to the left. Mercury will set at 6:24 p.m., Venus will set at 8:30. Mars will set at 10:11. Mars’ setting time hasn’t changed much in the last month and a half. Venus is slowly heading northward for the rest of it’s evening appearance, and is moving higher in the sky.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Venus, Mars and Mercury in the trees at 6 p.m., December 14, 2016. This is approximately one hour after sunset. Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
Mercury might be spotted a half hour earlier a bit higher with binoculars.
Jupiter the Moon and a preview of the southern spring constellations at 6:30 a.m. December 15, 2016. Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon at 6:30 a.m. December 15, 2016. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and moons at 6:30 a.m. December 15, 2016. Io appeared from behind Jupiter at 5:42 a.m. (10:42 UT). Image created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on December 14, 2016. The night ends on the left with sunrise on December 15. Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
