03/12/2014 – Ephemeris – It’s Wednesday, do you know there the bright planets are?
Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 12th. The sun will rise at 8:00. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 44 minutes, setting at 7:44. The moon, 4 days before full, will set at 6:11 tomorrow morning.
Wednesday is where are the bright planets day on Ephemeris. Jupiter will be in the southeastern sky as darkness falls tonight. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now, and starting to move east after spending a couple of months backtracking to the west. It will pass due south at 9:05 p.m., and will set at 4:49 a.m. in the west-northwest. Reddish Mars is in Virgo now and above and left of the bright star Spica, which it now outshines. Mars will rise at 10:30 p.m. It will pass due south at 4:02 a.m. Saturn will rise at 12:50 a.m. in the east-southeast. It’s seen against the stars of Libra the scales this year. Venus will rise at 5:53 tomorrow morning and shines brightly in the southeast before sunrise.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, the Moon and the winter stars at 10 p.m. on March 12, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and moons at 10 p.m. on March 12, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon at 10 p.m. on March 12, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars rising at 11 p.m. on March 12, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Mars, Saturn, and Venus with the constellations of summer at 6:30 a.m. on March 13, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus, Mars and Saturn at the same magnification as seen in a telescope on March 13, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
03/11/2014 – Ephemeris – Observing the moon tonight: Bay of Rainbows and more
Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 11th. The sun will rise at 8:02. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 41 minutes, setting at 7:43. The moon, 4 days past first quarter, will set at 5:39 tomorrow morning.
The moon tonight is a pretty fat gibbous shape, with the sunrise line or terminator revealing the Bay of Rainbows, Sinus Iridium, that large half crater at the moon’s upper left edge, and the edge of the Sea of Showers, Mare Imbrium. In the figure of the man in the moon Imbrium is his big eye, kind of like the cartoon “Bill the Cat”. To the right of it, looking like a hole in a mountain chain, is Plato, whose dark floor is unmistakable even at full moon, when shadows are absent. The crater Copernicus is now beginning to be washed out as the morning shadows shrink. To the left of Copernicus, just catching the sun’s rays on the terminator, is the smaller crater Kepler. When the moon is full Kepler will show a fine ray system.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Moon at 10 p.m. on March 11, 2014. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas.
Note for those not in the Eastern Daylight time zone. 10 p.m. is 2 hours March 12, 2014. If viewing before that time the terminator will be shifted to the right. After the terminator will be shifted to the left.
03/10/2014 – Ephemeris – Observing the Moon tonight and the crater Copernicus
Ephemeris for Monday, March 10th. The sun will rise at 8:03. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 38 minutes, setting at 7:42. The moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 5:04 tomorrow morning.
The moon has certainly changed appearance since I last talked about it last Thursday. It’s gone from a fat crescent to its gibbous phase. Gibbous by the way means hump-backed. Near the sunrise terminator can be seen the great crater Copernicus on the left side of the moon. This crater is 56 miles in diameter and the crater floor is two miles below the top of the crater rim. It has a three central peaks and the interior of the crater walls have slumped causing terracing. All these are easily seen with a small telescope. The crater has been dated to less than a billion years old, and it has a spray of ejecta around it that is roughly circular and can best be seen at full moon when the crater is washed out due to lack of shadows.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Moon at 10 p.m. on March 10,2014 pointing out the crater Copernicus. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas.
Copernicus from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
03/07/2014 – Ephemeris – Astronomy events at the Rogers Observatory tonight
Ephemeris for Friday, March 7th. The sun will rise at 7:09. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 6:38. The moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 1:51 tomorrow morning.
A Star Bowl quiz will be held this evening between the NMC Astronomy Club and the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society at this evening’s meeting of the society at 8 p.m. at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory. The society will accept anyone to help us. These NMC students are smart. After the Star Bowl there will be a star party starting at 9 p.m. On tap if its clear will be the Moon, and the planet Jupiter. Plus Orion and its great nebula, a star nursery only 1400 light years away will be a wonderful sight with its clouds and wisps of gas and dust illuminated by a clutch of hot baby stars. The Observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Road off either Garfield or Keystone roads.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
03/06/2014 – Ephemeris – Observing the Moon tonight!
Ephemeris for Thursday, March 6th. The sun will rise at 7:11. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 25 minutes, setting at 6:36. The moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 12:56 tomorrow morning.
The Moon’s appearance has changed since I last talked about it on Tuesday. The Crescent is wider. The terminator, the sunrise line on the Moon that gives the Moon it’s now crescent phase has uncovered most of the Sea of Tranquility. In fact the sun will have risen at the Apollo 11 landing site by this evening. With a small telescope just beneath the center of the moon and near the terminator is one of my favorite craters Theophilus with its well-defined central peak. It’s kind of middle-aged for craters on the moon from 1 to 3 billion years old. It’s in much better shape than the crater Cyrillus of nearly the same size that it partially overlaps, which is thought to be at least a billion years older and shows it.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Moon at 9 p.m. March 6, 2014 highlighting the Sea of Tranquility the Apollo 11 landing site (approximate) and the crater Theophilus. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas.
Lunar craters Theophilus and Cyrillus. Credit: NASA/LRO mapped onto Virtual Moon Atlas.
03/05/2014 – Ephemeris – It’s Wednesday, do you know where your planets are?
Ephemeris for Ash Wednesday, Wednesday, March 5th. The sun will rise at 7:12. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 22 minutes, setting at 6:35. The moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 11:56 this evening.
Wednesday is the “Where are the bright planets?” day on Ephemeris. Jupiter will be in the southeastern sky as darkness falls tonight. It’s cruising against the stars of Gemini now. It will pass due south at 8:33 p.m., and will set at 4:16 a.m. in the west-northwest. Reddish Mars is in Virgo now and above and left of the bright star Spica, which it now outshines. Mars will rise at 10:01 p.m. It will pass due south at 3:32 a.m. Saturn will rise at 12:18 a.m. in the east-southeast. It’s seen against the stars of Libra the scales this year. Venus will rise at 4:57 tomorrow morning and shines brightly in the southeast before sunrise.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, the Moon and the winter constellations at 9 p.m. on March 5, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The Moon at 9 p.m. on March 5, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and its moons at 9 p.m. on March 5, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The Stellarium timing is a bit off. Ganymede won’t emerge from behind Jupiter until 9:37 p.m. It will disappear into Jupiter’s shadow at 11:07 p.m. and emerge from the shadow at 1:17 a.m.
Mars rising near the star Spica at 11 p.m. March 5, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The morning planets Mars, Saturn and Venus with the moon at 6 a.m. March 6, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
The planets below is how they’d look in a small telescope. They are magnified twice as much as Jupiter and its moons above.
Mars at 6 a.m., March 6, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn and its moons at 6 a.m., March 6, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
Venus at 6 a.m., March 6, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
03/04/2014 – Ephemeris – Observing the Moon tonight
Ephemeris for Fat Tuesday, Tuesday, March 4th. The sun will rise at 7:14. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 6:34. The moon, 3 days past new, will set at 10:52 this evening.
The Moon tonight is visible in the west after sunset. The sunrise terminator is slowly moving across its face. The solar day on the Moon equals its orbit of the Earth with respect to the sun of about 29 and a half days. As the moon is oriented in our sky the dark nearly circular sea. The Sea of Crises is rotated downward so it appear at between 4 and 5 o’clock on the moon’s face. At the bottom is the partially uncovered Sea of Fertility. With binoculars or preferably a small telescope can be seen the large crater Langrenus close to the lunar equator. A picture of that crater was one of the first brought back by the Apollo 8 crew in 1968. I’ve found it for the blog entry for this episode at bobmoler.wordpress.com.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The moon rotated as if it were setting in the west showing the Sea of Crises (Mare Crisium) and the crater Langrenus. The image was enhanced to show Earth shine. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas.
The crater Langrenus as imaged by the Apollo 8 crew on their historic orbiting of the Moon Christmas Eve 1968. Credit: NASA.
The crater Langrenus as imaged by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA\GSFC\Arizona State University.
Note on credits: GSFC is the Goddard Space Flight Center.
03/03/2014 – Ephemeris – The dim zodiacal constellation of Cancer the Crab
Ephemeris for Monday, March 3rd. The sun will rise at 7:16. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 16 minutes, setting at 6:33. The moon, 2 days past new, will set at 9:44 this evening.
At 9 this evening, the faint constellation, and member of the Zodiac, Cancer the crab is located in the south-southeast half way between the bright stars Castor and Pollux of the constellation Gemini, high in the south and the bright star Regulus in Leo the lion in the east Cancer is very dim, looking like an upside-down Y. In the center of Cancer is a fuzzy spot to the unaided eye. In binoculars or a low power telescope this fuzzy spot becomes a cluster of stars. It is the Beehive cluster. At 525 light years away, it is one of the closest star clusters, but more distant than the Pleiades and Hyades the face of Taurus the bull. Back a few thousand years ago Cancer was the farthest north of the constellations, Gemini has that honor today.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The constellation Cancer the crab at 9 p.m. March 3, 2014. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Skycharts).
The Beehive star cluster, M44. Its ancient name was the Praesepe or manger when glimpsed by the naked eye. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Skycharts)
02/28/2014 – Ephemeris – Looking forward to March and spring
Ephemeris for Friday, February 28th. The sun will rise at 7:21. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 6:29. The moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 7:11 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the skies for the month of March. The sun will pass the celestial equator in March as the promising season of spring will begin. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will increase from 11 hours and 10 minutes tomorrow to 12 hours 43 minutes on the 31st. The altitude, or angle, of the sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be just under 38 degrees tomorrow and will ascend to nearly 50 degrees on the 31st. The altitude of the sun in the Straits area will be a degree lower. Local apparent noon this month, when the sun passes due south, will be about 12:49 p.m. Spring will begin on the 20th at 11:57 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (15:57 UT), which now rules most of the year and will start a week from Sunday.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Star Chart for mid-month for March 2014 at 10 p.m. Credit: Bob Moler.
Add a half hour to 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.
02/27/2014 – Ephemeris – Lepus the hare, the rabbit that got away
Ephemeris for Thursday, February 27th. The sun will rise at 7:23. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 4 minutes, setting at 6:27. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 6:36 tomorrow morning.
Orion, the central winter constellation is seen in the south at 9 p.m. He is a hunter, but he’s preoccupied with the charge of Taurus the bull from the upper right. At Orion’s feet, and unnoticed by him is the small constellation of Lepus the hare. It’s very hard to see a rabbit in its eight dim stars: however, I do see a rabbit’s head ears and shoulders. A misshapen box is the head and face of this critter facing to the left. His ears extend upwards from the upper right star of the box, and the bend forward a bit. Two stars to the right of the box and a bit farther apart hint at the front part of the body. In Lepus telescopes can find M79, a distant globular star cluster, one of the few of these compact star clusters visible in the winter sky.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Lepus the hare as imagined in Stellarium. I haven’t added the four stars in the ears as I saw it based on the older Sky and Telescope magazine star charts.
Globular star cluster M79 is very distant: 41,000 light years from us and 60,000 light years from the center of the Milky Way. It possibly was a member of the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy that seems to have become entangled with our own Milky Way galaxy. That’s what massive galaxies do to smaller, less massive dwarf galaxies: “Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated”.
