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Ephemeris: 02/02/2026 – Groundhog Day’s significance
This is Ephemeris for Ground Hog Day, Monday, February 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 5:53, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:59. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 7:00 this evening.
I don’t know if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow this morning or not, but February 2nd was a special day to the ancients. It is also Candlemas day for the Catholic Church, and celebrated as a cross-quarter day, the middle of the season of Winter. Though the exact date of the middle of winter is the 4th. And if Phil sees his shadow, and we do get 6 more weeks of winters, that’s OK too. By the calendar it’s actually more like 7 weeks to the vernal or spring equinox and the official end of winter. Of the other cross-quarter days, two stand out today. They’re May 1st, May Day, and Halloween, October 31st. As far as winter goes, we’ve had lots of snow, and some extremely cold temperatures a couple of weeks ago.
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: 02/03/2025 – Did the groundhog see his shadow yesterday?
Did it matter?
This is Ephemeris for Monday, February 3rd. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 5:54, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:57. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 12:35 tomorrow morning.
I don’t know if Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday morning or not, but February 2nd was a special day to the ancients. It is celebrated as a cross-quarter day, the middle of the season of winter, though the real date of the middle of winter is tomorrow. And if Phil saw his shadow, and we do get 6 more weeks of winter, that’s OK too. By the calendar, it’s actually more like 6 ½ weeks to the vernal or spring equinox the official end of winter, plus this is Northern Michigan. I don’t know if Phil is any better or worse than the National Weather Service at long range forecasts. Of the other cross-quarter days, two others stand out. They are May 1st, May Day; and Halloween.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 02/02/2024 – It’s Groundhog Day!
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Groundhog Day, Friday, February 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 5:52, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:00. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 2:11 tomorrow morning.
I’m not sure if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow this morning or not, but February 2nd was a special day to the ancients. It is also Candlemas day for the Catholic Church, and it is celebrated as a cross-quarter day, the middle of the season of winter, though the exact date of the middle of winter is the 4th. And if Phil sees his shadow, and we do get 6 more weeks of winter, that’s OK too. By the calendar, it’s actually more like 6 ½ weeks to the vernal or spring equinox and the official end of winter. Of the other cross-quarter days, two others stand out. They are May 1st, May Day; and Halloween. The way this year has been going, winter has had a hard time getting started. The temperatures are above normal and the snowfall is below normal. A lot of grass is showing, and the bay isn’t even thinking of freezing over.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
02/02/2021 – Ephemeris – Happy Groundhog Day
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Ground Hog Day, Tuesday, February 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 5:53, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:59. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:48 this evening.
I’m not sure if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow this morning or not, but February 2nd was a special day to the ancients. It is also Candlemas day for the Catholic Church. It is also celebrated as a cross-quarter day. The middle of the season of Winter, though the exact date of the middle of winter is the 4th. And if Phil sees his shadow, and we do get 6 more weeks of winter, that’s OK too. By the calendar it is actually 6 weeks and 5 days to the vernal or spring equinox, the official end of winter. But this is northern Michigan. Of the other cross-quarter days, only one stands out today. It’s May 1st, May Day. The way this year has been going, winter has had a hard time getting started. But when it gets going… Look out!
The event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Poor Punxsutawney Phil, rousted out of his mid winter nap on a previous Groundhog Day. Phil looks kind of grumpy. I don’t blame him. Credit: http://www.fuzzytoday.com.
02/02/2012 – Ephemeris – February 2nd isn’t just for groundhogs
Ephemeris for Groundhog Day, Thursday, February 2nd. The sun will rise at 8:00. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 5:52. The moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 4:39 tomorrow morning.
I’m not sure if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow this morning or not, but February 2nd was a special day to the ancients. It is also Candlemas day for the Catholic Church. It is also celebrated as a cross-quarter day. The middle of the season of Winter, though the exact date of the middle of winter is the 4th. And if Phil sees his shadow and we do get 6 more weeks of winters, that’s OK too. By the calendar it actually more like 7 weeks to the vernal or spring equinox and the official end of winter. Of the other cross-quarter days, only one stands out today. It’s May 1st, May Day. The way this year has been going, winter has had a hard time getting started. The temperatures are above normal and the snowfall below normal.
* Times, as always are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.
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