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Ephemeris: 03/10/2026 – Finding Cancer the crab
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 38 minutes, setting at 7:42, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:02. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 3:50 tomorrow morning.
The constellation of Cancer the crab is made of dim stars, which are generally connected, in constellation charts, with lines that make either the letter K or an upside down Y. It lies directly between the star pair Castor and Pollux in Gemini and Regulus in Leo. In the center of the constellation is, what to the naked-eye is a fuzzy spot called Praesepe, or the manger. The two nearby stars, one above left, and one below left are Asellus Borealis, and Asellus Australis, the northern and southern donkey colts feeding out of the manger. Viewing that fuzzy spot with a pair of binoculars will reveal that it’s not fuzzy at all. It resolves into a cluster of stars, which astronomers, over the years, have called the Beehive cluster.
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; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/27/2025 – Cancer the celestial crab
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, March 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 8:04, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:30. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:08 tomorrow morning.
At 10 PM, between the stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini high in the southwest and the star Regulus in Leo the Lion in the southeast lies the dimmest constellation of the zodiac, Cancer the crab. To me its 5 brightest stars make an upside down Y. There are the stars in the center of the constellation Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis, the north and south donkeys. There’s a fuzzy spot between and just west of them called Praesepe, the manger, from which they are eating hay. In binoculars, it resolves into a cluster of stars called the Beehive cluster. We amateur astronomers also know it as M44, the 44th object on 18th century comet hunter Charles Messier’s list of fuzzy objects that might be mistaken for comets.
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: 03/26/2024 – The dimmest constellation of the Zodiac is Cancer the crab
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 8:03, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:31. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 9:44 this evening.
The dimmest constellation of the Zodiac is Cancer the crab. It is located high in the southeast at 9 PM between the backwards question mark that is the front of Leo the lion towards the lower left and Castor and Pollux of Gemini to the upper right. Its claim to more modern astronomical fame is the star cluster within it called the Beehive Cluster also known in ancient times as Praesepe the manger which looks like a fuzzy spot to the naked eye. In binoculars or a small telescope it shows up as a rather sparse open cluster of stars and to me the whole cluster appears somewhat triangular like an old-fashioned beehive. The Beehive cluster is relatively close to us at about 610 light years away.
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
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