Archive
Ephemeris: 01/03/2025 – GTAS Telescope Clinic tonight
This is Ephemeris for Friday, January 3rd. The Sun will rise at 8:20. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 5:15. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 9:37 this evening.
Did you or someone in your family get a telescope for Christmas, or have one in a closet or attic because you don’t know how to put it together or how to operate it? Or maybe you are trying to figure out which one to buy. Well, tonight’s your night. The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) will host the annual Telescope Clinic starting at 8 pm at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory. Professor Jerry Dobek will demonstrate the types of telescopes and how to use them. He and other members may be able to help particular problems by seeing participants telescopes, so “bring ‘em if you’ve got ‘em.” This is interesting to say the least. Go to gtastro.org for information and a Zoom link for the meeting.
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: 11/01/2024 – Grand Traverse Astronomical Society Meeting tonight
This is Ephemeris for Friday, November 1st. The Sun will rise at 8:21. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 9 minutes, setting at 6:30. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host its November meeting tonight at 8:00 PM at Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H Rogers Observatory. This will be an unstructured meeting, and a good time for anyone interested to ask knowledgeable members anything about the sky or, since Christmas is coming, about what kind of telescope to buy. Afterward, about 9 PM if it’s clear, there will be viewing of the heavens through the observatory’s telescopes, featuring Saturn, Jupiter and the wonders of the Milky Way, including nebulae, open and globular star clusters, containing hundreds to hundreds of thousands of stars. The observatory is located on Birmley Rd. South of Traverse City between Garfield and Keystone roads.
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
One of the discussion items will be the currently active sun in how it affects the earth.
Ephemeris: 09/06/2024 – Grand Traverse Astronomical Meeting Tonight
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, September 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 8:09, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:12. The Moon, 4 days past new, will set at 9:26 this evening.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host its September meeting tonight at 8:00 PM at Northwestern Michigan College’s Joseph H Rogers Observatory, which is located on Birmley Rd. South of Traverse City between Garfield and Keystone roads. The program topic will be a surprise, at least to me. After the meeting about 9:00 PM if it’s clear there will be viewing of the heavens through the observatory’s telescopes, featuring possibly the Moon and Saturn, the first of which may be too low or be obstructed, and when it’s darker the wonders of the Milky Way will be visible including nebulae, open star clusters, and my favorite globular star clusters, spherical masses of hundreds of thousands of stars, as old as the Milky Way itself.
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: 06/07/2024 – GTAS hears from NASA engineer tonight
This is Ephemeris for Friday, June 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 9:26, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:57. The Moon, 1 day past new, will set at 11:19 this evening.
Tonight’s meeting of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will start at 9 pm, at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory. The later start time in June and July will allow the following star party, which will start at the end of the meeting, around 10 pm, to start after sunset. The sky will still be in bright twilight. We are pleased to have Joe Gibson, Principal Flight Software Engineer, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to speak to us. After the program, at about 10 pm, if it’s clear will be viewing of the skies as it gets dark. The public is always welcome. This meeting also marks the Society’s 42nd anniversary. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Road between Garfield and Keystone roads.
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
08/03/2018 – Ephemeris – Mars will be featured tonight at the NMC Rogers Observatory
Ephemeris for Friday, August 3rd. The Sun rises at 6:31. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 9:05. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 12:37 tomorrow morning.
Tonight the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host a star party at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory from 9 to 11 p.m. If it’s clear the planets Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Venus will be the featured attractions. This is our nearest star party to the closest approach of Mars earlier this week, so Mars will be at its largest appearing in telescopes, however the position of Mars is quite far south in our sky, allowing our atmosphere to degrade the crispness of the view. Saturn is always magnificent with its rings, and Jupiter with it’s moons and cloud bands. Venus is getting nearer now and showing a gibbous phase. Later on the wonders of the Milky Way will be on display.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 