10/10/14 – Ephemeris – Hunters Moon effect… Same as the Harvest Moon effect
Ephemeris for Friday, October 10th. The sun will rise at 7:51. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 15 minutes, setting at 7:06. The moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 8:41 this evening.
Let’s talk about the Moon one more time this week. Wednesday’s lunar eclipse came on the hunter’s moon. Like the harvest moon, the previous full moon, the bright Moon lingers in the twilit sky. We are two days past full moon and the Moon rises just before the end of twilight. 50 minutes is the average night to night advance in moon rise times. Depending on what part of the sky the moon is in, the nightly delay in rise times can be as little as 35 minutes or as long as an hour and 5 minutes. The smallest moon rise advance is when the moon is near the constellation Pisces and the longest advance time is when the moon is near Virgo. It doesn’t matter the season, it’s where the moon is in the sky. We only notice it when the moon is near full.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum (4 p.m.)
The Hunters/Harvest Moon effect for 2014. Note the shallowness of the Moon’s path. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
The Worm (March Full Moon) Moon effect for 2014. Note the the steepness of the Moon’s path. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Note that the brown shading on the bottom of the images is below the horizon. The yellow line is the ecliptic or plane of the Earth’s orbit. The motion of all the objects in the sky due to the Earth’s rotation is to the upper right parallel to the celestial equator line that crosses the horizon below the E or east compass point. The red smudge on the ecliptic is the display of the Earth’s shadow for the 5 days of the display. Note in the top image that early on October 8th the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, which gave us the lunar eclipse that morning. On the Worm Moon image the Moon misses the Earth’s shadow. However you can see that the Moon is tracking toward the ecliptic. The next month on April 15th, the Moon did indeed pass through the earth’s shadow, giving us a lunar eclipse that morning.
10/09/2014 – Ephemeris – The next lunar eclipses and recollections of what happened with yesterday’s eclipse
Ephemeris for Thursday, October 9th. The sun will rise at 7:50. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 18 minutes, setting at 7:08. The moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 8:01 this evening.
With the two total lunar eclipses done for this year, we can look forward to two more next year. The April 4th, 2015 eclipse won’t appear total here because the moon will set before totality. However the September 28th, 2015 lunar eclipse will be an evening eclipse. These 4 eclipses make a rare tetrad of total lunar eclipses that won’t be repeated until 2032 and 2033. After September 28th the next total lunar eclipse visible from northern Michigan will be in 2021. On the solar eclipse side there’s one on the 23rd of this month, a partial eclipse at sunset. I’ll have more on that later. After that is the big event, the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. The path of totality will run from coast to coast, running just south of St. Louis Missouri, and just north of Nashville Tennessee.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
What follows is my recollection of the October 8th lunar eclipse. Originally relayed in an email to Pat Stinson, freelance writer and author of the wonderful article in the Grand Traverse Insider about the activities of Space Week and the astronomical events in October:
The skies were trending clearer at midnight and again at 2:30 a.m. when I took a shower to prepare for the eclipse. After that it got slowly worse. That afternoon Ranger Marie Scott of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore said she’d go to our site, Platte River Point, clouds or not, and I was willing. In setting up the eclipse observing sites,earlier in the year, this site was the one place that if it were clear, we could see either the moon or the sun set onto the Lake Michigan horizon for the three eclipses this year. I loaded my van with my two telescopes, the C8 and an 11″ Dobsonian and lots of coffee.
I got to the site at 4:30 and began to set up. Marie arrived a few minutes later and another Grand Traverse Astronomical Society member Don Flegel arrived shortly after that. They had some rain in Kingsley, where he lived that morning. We had a strong, cold northwest wind. When we’re at the Point we commandeer the small parking lot to the north of the road that’s up against a hill. That hill and my van offered some protection from the wind. I got the C8 set up just in time to spot the moon emerging from the clouds a few minutes after first contact. We were able to follow the eclipse intermittently until about 5:45 when a large cloud covered the moon big time. We could see the glint of the moon off the water until after totality.
This was our situation until about 7:30 when the clouds began to break up, By then the moon was so low that the foreshortened breaks weren’t all that open. Then about 10 minutes before moon set it did peek out at intervals. Unlike the Cheshire Cat’s smile, the moon (cat) had a frown because the upper edge of the moon was coming back into sunlight. 5 minutes later the moon finally disappeared for good in a cloud bank as the puffy clouds overhead caught the sun’s golden sunrise rays.
Marie Scott counted 18 folks that at one time or another came out to witness the event. Marie also posted some pictures she took of the eclipse on the park’s Facebook page.
10/08/2014 – Ephemeris – The ongoing lunar eclipse and a peek at the planets
Note: This program is scheduled to be aired at two points during the total lunar eclipse. The first airing occurs at6:19 a.m., six minutes before totality starts. The second airing will occur at 7:59 a.m. during totality.
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 8th. The sun will rise at 7:48. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 7:10. The moon, at full today, will rise at 7:23 this evening.
There is a lunar eclipse occurring right now. Totality is either about to start or the moon is in totality with an orange or reddish hue, depending on when you hear this. You can see it right now in the west, if it’s reasonably clear. Totality will end at 7:24. The ending partial phase will be interrupted by moon setting near 8 a.m. Tonight Saturn will be low in the west-southwest before it sets at 8:47 p.m. Mars will be low in the southwest at 9 p.m. and will set at 9:54 p.m. The sky will stay devoid of bright planets until Jupiter rises, which it will do at 2:40 a.m. tomorrow morning. Jupiter is visible this morning in twilight in the south-southeast along with the brighter stars of winter visible, a preview of colder evenings to come.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn, Mars and the setting stars of summer at 8:30 p.m. on October 8, 2014.
Jupiter and a preview of the stars of winter at 6:30 a.m. on October 9, 2014.
Jupiter and its moons as seen through a telescope at 6:30 a.m. October 9, 2014.
10/07/2014 – Ephemereis – One more day: Tomorrow’s total lunar eclipse
Note: Being a radio program, I do have to repeat the eclipse timings a couple of times.
Ephemeris for Tuesday, October 7th. The sun will rise at 7:47. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 24 minutes, setting at 7:12. The moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:56 tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow’s Total Lunar Eclipse will be visible without losing too much sleep. Just set the alarm clock so you’ll be ready to view the start of the eclipse at 5:15 a.m. That’s when the partial phase starts when the upper left edge of the moon enters the Earth’s inner shadow called the umbra. The total phase or totality starts at 6:25 with morning twilight just beginning. The middle of the eclipse will occur at 6:54. Totality will end at 7:24 when twilight will be bright. The ending partial phase will not be completely visible from northern Michigan. From the Dakotas and westward the entire ending partial phase will be visible. Amazingly, next year we will have two more total lunar eclipses in the United States, April 4th and September 28th.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Click on the image above to display or download a more detailed Adobe Acrobat (PDF) image showing more information about the eclipse. The time shown will be Universal Time (UT). Subtract 4 hours for EDT, 5 hours for CDT, etc.
In the Grand Traverse area there are two locations the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) will be set up to view the eclipse if it is clear enough. Opens at 5 a.m.
- Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H. Rogers Observatory. located south of Traverse City on Birmley Road, between Garfield and Keystone roads. (One road south of Hammond)
- Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at Platte River Point. It’s in several miles from the Platte River Campground off M22 on Lake Michigan Rd. Park in the big parking lot to the left. The GTAS will have their scopes in the small parking lot to the right.
If it’s cloudy, there is a place to view the lunar eclipse on the Internet from Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. There will probably be more locations. I’ll put them up if and when I find them. Last eclipse, it was cloudy here, so I watched the eclipse Livestream from Griffith Observatory. They also have a running commentary and answer your questions. Though it still wasn’t as good as seeing it with your own eyeballs. Videos cannot duplicate the range of brightness and color that can be seen with your own eyes.
10/06/2014 – Ephemeris – Previewing Wednesday’s lunar eclipse
Ephemeris for Monday, October 6th. The sun will rise at 7:46. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 7:13. The moon, 2 days before full, will set at 6:42 tomorrow morning.
Wednesday’s Total Lunar Eclipse will be visible without losing too much sleep. Just set the alarm clock for about 5 a.m. The partial phase starts at 5:15 a.m. when the upper left edge of the moon enters the Earth’s inner shadow called the umbra. The total phase or totality starts at 6:25 with morning twilight just beginning. The middle of the eclipse will occur at 6:54. Totality will end at 7:24 when twilight will be bright. The ending partial phase will not be completely visible from northern Michigan. From the Dakotas and westward the entire ending partial phase will be visible. Amazingly, in the next eclipse season another lunar eclipse will be visible, though not as favorable as this one. That one is April 4th 2015 with a totality duration of only 5 minutes.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
AddendumClick on the image above to display or download a more detailed Adobe Acrobat (PDF) image showing more information about the eclipse. The time shown will be Universal Time (UT). Subtract 4 hours for EDT, 5 hours for CDT, etc.
In the Grand Traverse area there are two locations the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) will be set up to view the eclipse if it is clear enough. Opens at 5 a.m.
- Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H. Rogers Observatory. located south of Traverse City on Birmley Road, between Garfield and Keystone roads. (One road south of Hammond)
- Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at Platte River Point. It’s in several miles from the Platte River Campground off M22 on Lake Michigan Rd. Park in the big parking lot to the left. The GTAS will have their scopes in the small parking lot to the right.
10/03/2014 – Ephemeris – Sundials and Fall Astronomy Day on tap tomorrow at the NMC Observatory
Ephemeris for Friday, October 3rd. The sun will rise at 7:42. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 36 minutes, setting at 7:19. The moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 3:01 tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow is Fall Astronomy Day. To celebrate the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will move its first Friday of the month meeting and star party to Saturday the 4th. At 8 p.m local landscape architect and sundial expert Dean Connors will talk about, of course, sundials and the myriad of forms they take. Starting at 9 p.m. the star party portion of the night will begin with the moon as the featured celestial object. Members of the society will also provide information on this month’s two eclipses and how to observe a solar eclipse safely. The meeting and star party will be held at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory 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.
10/02/2014 – Ephemeris – The gibbous Moon tonight
Ephemeris for Thursday, October 2nd. The sun will rise at 7:41. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 39 minutes, setting at 7:21. The moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 1:50 tomorrow morning.
Tonight the moon will be featuring some of my favorite lunar landmarks, and if you spend any time looking at the moon with a small telescope, they become yours. The place to look is at the terminator, the sunrise line on the moon. In the north not far from the terminator is the walled plain called Plato. A bit farther away is a gash in the lunar Alps mountains caller the Alpine Valley. Near the center of the terminator and split by it is the fabulous crater Copernicus with a triple central peak which should poke into sunlight. Near the south pole is the large crater Clavius with an arc of decreasingly smaller craterlets on its floor. A bit north of that is the crater Tycho, which is more prominent when the moon is full than it is now.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The gibbous Moon one day after first quarter at 9 p.m. October 2, 2014. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas.
10/01/2014 – Ephemeris – Let’s start off the month with a look at the bright planets
Ephemeris for Wednesday, October 1st. The sun will rise at 7:40. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 7:23. The moon, at first quarter today, will set at 12:43 tomorrow morning.
Let’s check out the bright planets for this week. Mars and Saturn are in the southwestern sky at 8:30 p.m. with Mars above the equally bright and red star Antares with Saturn a ways right of them and as high in the sky as Antares. Saturn will set at 9:16 p.m. Mars is in the constellation of Ophiuchus as astronomers draw constellation boundaries, though it looks to be in Scorpius. Mars will set at 10:04. In the morning sky brilliant Jupiter will rise in the east-northeast at 3:02 a.m. Venus will rise about a half hour before the sun, so it will not be visible. On the 25th of this month Venus will be in superior conjunction with the sun, that is it will move behind the sun, and will then enter the evening sky.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Saturn and Mars with the evening constellations, showing constellation boundaries in red at 8:30 p.m. on October 1, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn through a telescope. Of the satellites only Titan should be visible with Saturn so low in the sky at 8:30 p.m. Created using Stellarium.
The first quarter Moon tonight at 8:30 p.m. with some interesting locations. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas.
Points of interest on the moon tonight:
- Alpine Valley – This is a fault valley some 79 miles (130 km) long and 7 miles (11 km) wide through the lunar Alps.
- Straight Wall – This is a fault that runs north-south on the moon and is only seen either one day after first quarter or one day after last quarter. It is 67 miles (110 km) long and 900 feet (300 meters) high. But instead of being a wall, it has only a 7 degree slope, which explains its brief appearance. Tonight it will cast a shadow. One day after last quarter the sun will shine directly on the slope, which is covered by lighter material and will show as a bright line.
Jupiter and the winter stars at 6:30 a.m. on October 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its satellites as seen through a telescope at 6:30 a.m. October 2, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
09/30/2014 – Ephemeris – Previewing October skies and events
Ephemeris for Tuesday, September 30th. The sun will rise at 7:39. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 45 minutes, setting at 7:24. The moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 11:43 this evening.
Let’s look at the skies for the month of October. The sun will still be moving south rapidly. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will drop from 11 hours and 42 minutes tomorrow to 10 hours, 14 minutes at month’s end. The altitude of the sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be 42 degrees tomorrow in the Interlochen area, and will descend to 31 degrees on Halloween. This month will see two eclipses visible from our area plus a close encounter that a comet will have near Mars and our assets on and around Mars. We will be able to see, weather permitting a total lunar eclipse in the morning a week from today, the 8th and a partial solar eclipse on the 23rd, just before sunset.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Star Chart for October 2014. Created using my LookingUp program.
The Moon is not plotted. The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 8 p.m. That is chart time.
Astronomical twilight ends at 9:00 p.m. on October 1st, decreasing to 8:11 on the 31st.
Add a half hour to the chart time every week before the 15th and subtract and hour for every week after the 15th.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
Also shown is the Summer Triangle in red. Clockwise from the top star is Deneb in Cygnus, Vega in Lyra and Altair in Aquila.
The green pointers from the Big Dipper are:
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- The arc of the dipper’s handle points to Arcturus.
Information on the total lunar eclipse on the 8th will be posted starting Monday October 6th.
09/29/2014 – Ephemeris – The Moon, Mars and Antares will line up tonight
Ephemeris for Monday, September 29th. The sun will rise at 7:37. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 7:26. The moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 10:49 this evening.
Tonight we’ll still have Mars hanging around the star Antares. However we’ll have the Moon joining the party. The three will nearly be in line at 9 p.m. with the fat crescent Moon on top, Mars below it and Antares below Mars. They will be in a straighter line but the Sun out makes them impossible to see. With binoculars or a small telescope the lunar seas visible, kind of in order from the Moon’s sunlit edge are Crises, Fertility, Nectar, Tranquility and half of Serenity. If you’re looking for the Man in the Moon, you’ll have to wait until the Moon is nearly full to completely discern his face. However most of the upside down rabbit is visible. The seas of Fertility and Nectar make up his ears, Tranquility, his head, and Serenity his body.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Moon, Mars and the bright red star Antares line up on the evening of September 29, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The moon tonight September 29, 2014. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas.
