Archive
09/24/2018 – Ephemeris – The harvest moon and the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
Ephemeris for Monday, September 24th. The Sun will rise at 7:32. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 4 minutes, setting at 7:36. The Moon, at full today, will rise at 7:51 this evening.
Tonight at 10:53 p.m. the Moon will be full. And since it’s only two days past the autumnal equinox, this makes it the Harvest Moon. This full moon also marks the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival to honor the Moon and the story of Chang’e a mortal woman to took an elixir and flew off to the Moon and became a goddess. Another story revolves around the Jade Rabbit pounding Medicine. I talked about the figure of a rabbit seen on the face of the Moon last Monday. He is a companion to Chang’e, and has a mortar on the Moon with him. He pounds out the medicine that makes the inhabitants of the sky immortal. The Chinese lunar probes are named Chang’e. Chang’e 3 landed on the Moon in 2013 and sent out a lunar rover named Yutu , the Jade Rabbit.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Chang’e 3 Lander on the Moon. Credit China National Space Administration 
Yutu Rover on the Moon. Credit China National Space Administration.
12/17/2013 – Ephemeris – The Chinese have landed a rover on the Moon
Ephemeris for Tuesday, December 17th. The sun will rise at 8:14. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:03. The moon, at full today, will rise at 5:45 this evening.
Over the weekend the Chinese landed a spacecraft on the moon with a rover. The spacecraft was Chang’E 3 and the third of their successful lunar spacecraft. Name after an ancient moon goddess it deposited a rover named Yutu, or Jade Rabbit named for the goddess’ pet rabbit. The aim point was to be the beautiful Bay of Rainbows or Sinus Iridium, but it landed just outside it in Mare Imbrium, the Sea of Showers. Some astronomers think that the actual landing spot is more interesting mineralogically speaking than the original aim point. Both Chang’E and Yutu are solar powered and it’s difficult to see them surviving the two-week lunar night, Night will fall on the site on December 25th or 26th. Give the Chinese credit though for a flawless landing.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Chang’E 3 as seen from the Yutu rover. There’s a lot more pictures and information from Emily Lakdawalla’s Planetary Society Blog, where I got this picture link from.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 