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03/27/2014 – Ephemeris – Hydra and the Great Underwater Panther
Ephemeris for Thursday, March 27th. The sun will rise at 7:32. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 31 minutes, setting at 8:03. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 6:06 tomorrow morning.
Today I will take a fresh, for me at least look at the constellation of Hydra the water snake of Greek origin and the Great Underwater Panther of our local Anishinabek people. Between the bright star Regulus in Leo the lion and Procyon in Canis Minor, Orion’s small hunting dog is a drooping group of 6 stars that makes up the head of Hydra. The rest of his stars trail snakily to the southeastern horizon at 10 p.m. He won’t be fully risen until 1 a.m. In the mythology of the Anishinabek people The head of Hydra is the head of the Great Underwater Panther, his back and tail run to Regulus and the front of Leo. In the spring of thinning ice when someone broke through it was credited to this panther, who pulled the person underwater.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Anishinabek people contain the Ojibwe or Chippewa, Ottawa or Odawa, and Algonquin peoples. The Chippewa and Ottawa are indigenous to much of northern Michigan.
Alternately showing Leo and Hydra of our “Western” constellations and the Anishinabek constellation of the Great Underwater Panther. Created using Stellarium. The constellation drawing of the panther is mine after Michael Wassegijig Price.
The constellation Great Underwater Panther screen shot taken from the YouTube video “Stellar Connections: Explorations in Cultural Astronomy – Pt. 2” by Michael Wassegijig Price.
Below is the video source for the above image.
Here is a link to the video.
04/10/2012 – Ephemeris – The story of Corvus the crow
Ephemeris for Tuesday, April 10th. The sun will rise at 7:06. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 15 minutes, setting at 8:21. The moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 1:27 tomorrow morning.
The small constellation of Corvus the crow is located low in the southeast at 10 this evening. It’s made of 5 dim stars, but the pattern is a distinctive distorted box with two stars at the upper left marking that corner. To the right is a fainter constellation of a thick stemmed goblet called Crater. Both appear above the long constellation of Hydra the water snake who is slithering just above the southern horizon.. In Greek mythology Corvus, then white, was the god Apollo’s pet. Apollo once bid Corvus to take a cup and fetch him some water. Corvus however dallied and waited for an unripe fig to ripen. Corvus grabbed a snake and returned with a story as to how the snake had delayed him. The angry Apollo turned the crow and all crows to this day black.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Hydra the Water Snake at 10 p.m. on April 9th, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
Yesterday’s chart, but little change. OK, it for 9:56 p.m. Check out Corvus the crow and Crater the cup. Sextens the sextant came later. The Greeks didn’t have them.
04/09/2012 – Ephemeris – The constellation of Hydra the water snake
Ephemeris for Monday, April 9th. The sun will rise at 7:08. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 12 minutes, setting at 8:20. The moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 12:25 tomorrow morning.
In the south and southeastern sky at 10 p.m. can be found the constellation of Hydra the water snake. Unlike the monster of the same name this Hydra has but one head, which is its most distinctive part. At 10 p.m. look to the south. The head of Hydra is located below a line from the constellation Leo the Lion in the south where Mars is now and Gemini high in the west southwest. Hydra’s head is a small but distinctive group of 6 stars that make a drooping loop to the right. The rest of Hydra wends its way just above the southern horizon ending under Virgo below the star Spica and Saturn this year. Some delineations of Hydra have the tail tickling the constellation Libra which is just about to rise at that time.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Hydra the Water Snake at 10 p.m. on April 9th, 2012. Created using Stellarium.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 