06/09/11 – Ephemeris – The moon tonight
Thursday, June 9th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 9:26. The moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 2:10 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 5:57.
Lets take a look at the moon tonight. It’ll be a day past first quarter and we see features at the terminator, the sunrise line which gives the moon a slightly gibbous shape. In small telescopes, at the north or top end of the moon, the wide flat crater Plato has just entered sunlight. Long shadows from its crater walls will retreat across its flat floor. If you look closely you’ll notice that the floor of Plato is slightly convex to conform with the curvature of the moon itself. South of Plato is a distinctive triangle of three craters on the flat floor of the Sea of Showers The largest is Archimedes, the northern of the other two is Aristellus, while the other is Autolycus. They are near the Apollo 15 landing site.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
06/08/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets this week
Wednesday, June 8th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 9:25. The moon, at first quarter today, will set at 1:44 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 5:57.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the south southwest as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its lower left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will set at 3:12 a.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. The shadows of the rings on the planet and planet on the rings are now near their maximum extent. Its bright moon Titan is also visible. Folks with good telescopes and good eyesight can also see uo to fours of Saturn’s fainter moons. Jupiter will rise at 3:40 a.m. in the east. Mars will rise at 4:30. Venus now rises too close to sunrise to be seen in the twilight as is Mercury.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
06/07/11 – Ephemeris – The T.A.P.E. Forum Tonight
Tuesday, June 7th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 9:24. The moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 1:17 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 5:57.
Tonight there’s a free forum at the Dennos museum starting at 7 p.m.. Its called TAPE: Traverse Astronomy, Philosophy, and Energy Forum. It features Zach Constan of the National Superconducting Cyclotron laboratory at Michigan State, Mary Stewart Adams on the Emmet County Dark Sky Park Committee, and yours truly. In my part of it, which starts shortly after 7 I’ll talk about how astronomy is connected to all the other sciences, and is the only one where scientific discoveries can be made in the back yard. I’ll give a bit of the history of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society, our outreach in the past and the plans for events this summer including 5 nights at the Sleeping Bear Dunes and two asteroid Vesta nights.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
T.A.P.E. Poster
06/06/11 – Ephemeris – The moon tonight
Monday, June 6th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 25 minutes, setting at 9:24. The moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 12:50 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 5:58.
The moon tonight is a fat crescent. In binoculars the small Sea of Crises is prominently located as a gray patch at the edge of the moon. The Sea of Fertility is below it, while the sea of Tranquility is between them and near the terminator, the sunrise line on the moon. In telescopes there are three craters south of Tranquility, most prominent of which is Theophilus. With its prominent central peak. Farther to the north of Crises and near the terminator is the crater Posidonus, larger than Theophilus, but has a double crater wall on one side. Larger telescopes can see cracks in its floor . It has no central peak, and shows its age of maybe three and a half billion years.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The moon on June 6, 2011 - Virtual Moon Atlas
I’ll be part of the T.A.P.E Forum Tuesday June 7 at 7 p.m.
I’m giving a presentation for the T.A.P.E. Traverse Astronomy, Philosophy and Energy. It’s a free presentation at the Dennos Museum Center on the Northwestern Michigan College campus. My talk is about astronomy, our Grand Traverse Astronomical Society and our outreach program.
T.A.P.E. Poster
06/03/11 – Ephemeris – Local meteorite program tonight
Friday, June 3rd. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 22 minutes, setting at 9:21. The moon, 2 days past new, will set at 11:07 this evening. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 5:59.
Those fascinating bits of rock and metal that fall from the sky, called meteorites will be the subject tonight as the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society holds its monthly meeting at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory starting at 8 p.m. Society member Joe Brooks has a collection of these celestial visitors, and has visited area schools with his collection. Meteorites, for the most part, come from the asteroid belt, bits of a planet that was destroyed or never quite formed due to Jupiter’s disruptive gravitational influence. He has one that may be part of the asteroid Vesta that the Dawn Spacecraft will visit this summer. The observatory is located south of Traverse City, on Birmley Road between Keystone and Garfield roads.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
06/02/11 – Ephemeris – The stars Mizar and Alcor
Thursday, June 2nd. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 9:21. The moon, 1 day past new, will set at 10:21 this evening. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 5:59.
The Big Dipper is high in the northwest at 11 p.m. now. It’s handle is also the tail of the Great Bear or Ursa Major. An Native American view of the bear was the the stars of the Big Dipper’s handle were not a tail, but hunters following the bear. The star Mizar, at the bend of the handle has a dim companion called Alcor. This was the cooking pot the hunters will cook the bear in. The ancient Arabs saw these two stars as the Horse and the Rider, and it was an eye test for warriors. If you could see Alcor, your eyesight was good enough. Even with my glasses I can rarely see this dim star, so I suppose I’d be the Arabic equivalent of a 4F. If you have a telescope, check out the Mizar-Alcor pair and you’ll find that Mizar has a close companion itself.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Stars Mizar and Alcor in the Big Dipper. Cartes du Ciel
06/01/11 – Ephemeris – The bright planets for this week
Wednesday, June 1st. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 9:20. The moon is new today, and won’t be visible. | Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:00.
It’s Wednesday and time again to take a look at the whereabouts of the bright planets. The ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the south as it gets dark. It’s near the bright star Spica to its lower left. Spica has a blue tinge, while Saturn is yellowish. It will cross the meridian due south at 9:45 p.m. and will set at 3:40 a.m. Saturn is a wonderful sight is a telescope with its rings. Its bright moon Titan is also visible. Jupiter will rise at 4:07 a.m. in the east. Mars will rise at 4:46. Venus now rises too close to sunrise to be seen in the twilight as is Mercury. There will be a partial solar eclipse this afternoon for most of Alaska. Parts of Canada from the Yukon to Nova Scotia and Greenland. That means it won’t be visible from here.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
05/31/11 – Ephemeris – June preview
Tuesday, May 31st. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 18 minutes, setting at 9:19. The moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 5:38 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:00.
Let’s preview June skies. There will be a lot of sun in June and very little night. The daylight hours will increase a bit from 15 hours and 19 minutes tomorrow to 15 hours and 33 minutes on the 21st, retreating back to 15 hours 30 minutes at month’s end. At this time of the year the sunset times for Ludington, Interlochen, Petoskey and Mackinaw City are very nearly the same. However the sunrise times are at their most divergent. With Ludington’s sunrise being 14 minutes later than Mackinaw City’s. The altitude of the sun above the southern horizon at local noon will hover around 68 to 69 degrees. Local noon, when the sun is actually due south will occur at about 1:43 p.m. Here’s what we’ve been waiting for: Summer will start on the 21st at 1:16 p.m.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
05/30/11 – Ephemeris – The constellation Corona Borealis
Memorial Day, Monday, May 30th. Today the sun will be up for 15 hours and 16 minutes, setting at 9:18. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 4:56 tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:01.
High in the southeast east at 10:30 this evening can be seen a small nearly circular constellation of Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. It is just below Boötes, the kite shaped constellation off the handle of the Big Dipper. According to Greek myth the crown was given by the gods to the princess Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete. The crown is more like a tiara with the bright star Gemma also known as Alphecca at the front. While stars suggest that the crown is diamond studded, however the meaning of Gemma, a blossom suggests that Corona Borealis is a floral crown. Corona’s most famous star isn’t even visible to the unaided eye. It is R Coronae Borealis, a variable star, which appears to be surrounded by a dust cloud.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Corona Borealis with Boötes at 10:30 p.m. on May 30th. Created with Stellarium.
