Archive
03/01/2021 – Ephemeris – Previewing March skies
This is Ephemeris for Monday, March 1st. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 6:30, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:18. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 9:33 this evening.
Let’s preview the month of March. In March the increase in daylight hours is at its greatest, with Spring 3 weeks away. Daylight hours will increase from 11 hours and 11 minutes today to 12 hours and 44 minutes on the 31st. Along with that the altitude of the Sun at local noon will increase from 38 degrees today to 49 ½ degrees at month’s end. Local noon today, by the way, for Interlochen and Traverse City is 12:54 pm, which is mainly due to the fact that our standard time meridian happens to run through Philadelphia. That’s before daylight time starts on the 14th. On that date local noon will be 1:50 pm. Spring will begin later this month on the 20th when the Sun will pass overhead for someone on the equator heading northward.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
March Evening Star Chart
Star Chart for March 2021 (10 p.m. EDT March 15, 2021). Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 10 p.m. EDT in the evening and 6 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian. (An hour and 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere (rotating star finder) you may have to set it to 45 minutes or 1 hour 45 minutes earlier than your current time.
Note the chart times of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th add ½ hour (28 minutes if you’re picky). For each week after the 15th subtract ½ hour. The planet positions are updated each Wednesday on this blog. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th, check the Wednesday planet posts on this blog.
March Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for March mornings 2021 (6 a.m. EST March 15, 2021). Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
The morning planets have yet to rise at chart time.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- The leaky bowl of the Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus, and
- Extend it as a spike to Spica.
- The Summer Triangle appears in red.
Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical
| EST/EDT | |||||||
| Morning twilight | Evening twilight | Dark night | Moon | ||||
| Date | Astro. | Nautical | Nautical | Astro. | Start | End | Illum. |
| 2021-03-01 | 5h43m | 6h17m | 19h32m | 20h06m | 20h06m | 21h34m | 0.89 |
| 2021-03-02 | 5h41m | 6h15m | 19h33m | 20h07m | 20h07m | 22h51m | 0.81 |
| 2021-03-03 | 5h40m | 6h14m | 19h35m | 20h09m | 20h09m | – | 0.71 |
| 2021-03-04 | 5h38m | 6h12m | 19h36m | 20h10m | 20h10m | 0h09m | 0.6 |
| 2021-03-05 | 5h36m | 6h10m | 19h37m | 20h11m | 20h11m | 1h27m | 0.49 |
| 2021-03-06 | 5h34m | 6h08m | 19h39m | 20h13m | 20h13m | 2h41m | 0.37 |
| 2021-03-07 | 5h32m | 6h07m | 19h40m | 20h14m | 20h14m | 3h48m | 0.27 |
| 2021-03-08 | 5h31m | 6h05m | 19h41m | 20h15m | 20h15m | 4h47m | 0.18 |
| 2021-03-09 | 5h29m | 6h03m | 19h43m | 20h17m | 20h17m | 5h29m | 0.11 |
| 2021-03-10 | 5h27m | 6h01m | 19h44m | 20h18m | 20h18m | 5h27m | 0.05 |
| 2021-03-11 | 5h25m | 5h59m | 19h45m | 20h20m | 20h20m | 5h25m | 0.02 |
| 2021-03-12 | 5h23m | 5h57m | 19h47m | 20h21m | 20h21m | 5h23m | 0 |
| 2021-03-13 | 5h21m | 5h56m | 19h48m | 20h22m | 20h22m | 5h21m | 0.01 |
| 2021-03-14 | 6h19m | 6h54m | 20h49m | 21h24m | 21h24m | 6h19m | 0.03 |
| 2021-03-15 | 6h17m | 6h52m | 20h51m | 21h25m | 22h13m | 6h17m | 0.07 |
| 2021-03-16 | 6h15m | 6h50m | 20h52m | 21h26m | 23h15m | 6h15m | 0.13 |
| 2021-03-17 | 6h13m | 6h48m | 20h53m | 21h28m | – | 6h13m | 0.2 |
| 2021-03-18 | 6h11m | 6h46m | 20h54m | 21h29m | 0h18m | 6h11m | 0.28 |
| 2021-03-19 | 6h09m | 6h44m | 20h56m | 21h31m | 1h21m | 6h09m | 0.37 |
| 2021-03-20 | 6h11m | 6h46m | 21h01m | 21h36m | 2h23m | 6h11m | 0.46 |
| 2021-03-21 | 6h09m | 6h44m | 21h02m | 21h38m | 3h23m | 6h09m | 0.56 |
| 2021-03-22 | 6h07m | 6h42m | 21h04m | 21h39m | 4h19m | 6h07m | 0.66 |
| 2021-03-23 | 6h05m | 6h40m | 21h05m | 21h41m | 5h08m | 6h05m | 0.75 |
| 2021-03-24 | 6h03m | 6h38m | 21h07m | 21h42m | 5h51m | 6h03m | 0.84 |
| 2021-03-25 | 6h01m | 6h36m | 21h08m | 21h43m | – | – | 0.91 |
| 2021-03-26 | 5h59m | 6h34m | 21h09m | 21h45m | – | – | 0.97 |
| 2021-03-27 | 5h57m | 6h32m | 21h11m | 21h46m | – | – | 1 |
| 2021-03-28 | 5h55m | 6h31m | 21h12m | 21h48m | – | – | 1 |
| 2021-03-29 | 5h52m | 6h29m | 21h13m | 21h50m | – | – | 0.97 |
| 2021-03-30 | 5h50m | 6h27m | 21h15m | 21h51m | 21h51m | 22h50m | 0.92 |
| 2021-03-31 | 5h48m | 6h25m | 21h16m | 21h53m | 21h53m | – | 0.84 |
Twilight calendar was generated using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
See my blog post: Twilight Zone for the definitions of the different periods of twilight here: https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2019/09/27/
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
Mar 1 Mo Venus: 6.3° W
2 Tu 12:19 am Moon Perigee: 365400 km
3 We 6:32 pm Mars-Pleiades: 2.6° S
5 Fr 12:11 am Mercury-Jupiter: 0.3° N
5 Fr 7:56 pm Moon Descending Node
5 Fr 8:30 pm Last Quarter
6 Sa 5:59 am Mercury Greatest Elongation: 27.3° W
In morning. Not the best for our latitude.
7 Su 3:45 pm Moon South Dec.: 25.2° S
9 Tu 6:02 pm Moon-Saturn: 3.9° N
10 We 10:35 am Moon-Jupiter: 4.3° N
10 We 6:36 pm Neptune Conjunction
10 We 8:02 pm Moon-Mercury: 3.9° N
13 Sa 5:21 am New Moon
18 Th 1:04 am Moon Apogee: 405300 km
19 Fr 1:48 pm Moon-Mars: 2.1° N
19 Fr 11:31 pm Moon Ascending Node
20 Sa 5:37 am Vernal Equinox Yea Spring!
20 Sa 3:15 pm Mars-Aldebaran: 6.9° N
21 Su 10:40 am First Quarter
22 Mo 4:35 am Moon North Dec.: 25.3° N
24 We 5:58 am Moon-Beehive: 2.7° S
26 Fr 2:17 am Venus Superior Conjunction
Enters the evening sky
28 Su 2:48 pm Full Moon (supermoon)
30 Tu 2:12 am Moon Perigee: 360300 km
Apr 1 Th Venus: 2° E
All event times are given for UTC-5:00: Eastern Standard Time before the 14th or UTC-4:00 Daylight Saving Time thereafter.
Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC),
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html
If you go to the above site you can print out a list like the above for the entire year or calendar pages for your time zone.
Note that the site is now kept up for archival purposes. Fred Espenak retired from NASA several years ago and has his own site, AstroPixels, which contain the same information: http://astropixels.com/almanac/almanac.html.
Sun and Moon Rising and Setting Events
Ephemeris of Sky Events for Interlochen/TC March, 2021 Local time zone: EST +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM | | | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN| +=======================================================================+ |Mon 1| 07:19a 06:30p 11:11 | 07:34p 06:16a | Rise 09:33p 90%| |Tue 2| 07:18a 06:32p 11:14 | 07:35p 06:15a | Rise 10:51p 82%| |Wed 3| 07:16a 06:33p 11:17 | 07:36p 06:13a | Rise 12:09a 73%| |Thu 4| 07:14a 06:34p 11:20 | 07:38p 06:11a | Rise 01:26a 62%| |Fri 5| 07:12a 06:36p 11:23 | 07:39p 06:09a |L Qtr Rise 02:41a 51%| |Sat 6| 07:11a 06:37p 11:26 | 07:40p 06:08a | Rise 03:48a 40%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 7| 07:09a 06:38p 11:29 | 07:41p 06:06a | Rise 04:46a 29%| |Mon 8| 07:07a 06:40p 11:32 | 07:43p 06:04a | Rise 05:34a 20%| |Tue 9| 07:05a 06:41p 11:35 | 07:44p 06:02a | Rise 06:12a 12%| |Wed 10| 07:03a 06:42p 11:39 | 07:45p 06:00a | Rise 06:43a 6%| |Thu 11| 07:01a 06:44p 11:42 | 07:47p 05:59a | Rise 07:09a 2%| |Fri 12| 07:00a 06:45p 11:45 | 07:48p 05:57a | Rise 07:31a 0%| |Sat 13| 06:58a 06:46p 11:48 | 07:49p 05:55a |New Set 07:06p 0%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ | EDT | Time Change | | | |Sun 14| 07:56a 07:48p 11:51 | 08:51p 06:53a | Set 09:09p 3%| |Mon 15| 07:54a 07:49p 11:54 | 08:52p 06:51a | Set 10:12p 6%| |Tue 16| 07:52a 07:50p 11:57 | 08:53p 06:49a | Set 11:15p 12%| |Wed 17| 07:50a 07:51p 12:00 | 08:55p 06:47a | Set 12:18a 18%| |Thu 18| 07:49a 07:53p 12:04 | 08:56p 06:45a | Set 01:21a 26%| |Fri 19| 07:47a 07:54p 12:07 | 08:57p 06:44a | Set 02:23a 35%| |Sat 20| 07:45a 07:55p 12:10 | 08:59p 06:42a | Set 03:23a 44%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 21| 07:43a 07:56p 12:13 | 09:00p 06:40a |F Qtr Set 04:18a 54%| |Mon 22| 07:41a 07:58p 12:16 | 09:01p 06:38a | Set 05:08a 64%| |Tue 23| 07:39a 07:59p 12:19 | 09:03p 06:36a | Set 05:50a 73%| |Wed 24| 07:37a 08:00p 12:22 | 09:04p 06:34a | Set 06:26a 82%| |Thu 25| 07:36a 08:02p 12:25 | 09:05p 06:32a | Set 06:57a 89%| |Fri 26| 07:34a 08:03p 12:29 | 09:07p 06:30a | Set 07:24a 95%| |Sat 27| 07:32a 08:04p 12:32 | 09:08p 06:28a | Set 07:50a 99%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 28| 07:30a 08:05p 12:35 | 09:10p 06:26a |Full Rise 08:08p 100%| |Mon 29| 07:28a 08:07p 12:38 | 09:11p 06:24a | Rise 09:28p 98%| |Tue 30| 07:26a 08:08p 12:41 | 09:12p 06:22a | Rise 10:50p 93%| |Wed 31| 07:24a 08:09p 12:44 | 09:14p 06:20a | Rise 12:11a 85%| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ * Nautical Twilight ** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset
Created using my LookingUp for DOS output as text.
02/28/2020 – Ephemeris – Previewing March Skies
Ephemeris for Friday, February 28th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 6:28, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:21. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 11:30 this evening.
Let’s look at the skies for the month of March. The Sun will pass the celestial equator as the promising season of spring will begin. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will increase from 11 hours and 11 minutes Sunday to 12 hours 45 minutes on the 31st. The altitude, or angle, of the Sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be 38 degrees Sunday and will ascend to nearly 50 degrees on the 31st. Spring will start on the 19th at 11:50 p.m. Part of the fault for that early date is the switch to daylight saving time this early in the year a while back. The Gregorian calendar reform of 1582 will keep the vernal equinox from falling much further back. So spring will come a bit early this year, calendar-wise.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
March Evening Star Chart
Star Chart for March 2020 (10 p.m. EDT March 15, 2020). Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 10 p.m. EDT in the evening and 6 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. The brilliant planet Venus is our Evening Star in the West at chart time. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian, West 75° longitude. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT).
March Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for March mornings 2020 (6 a.m. EST March 15, 2020). Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- The leaky bowl of the Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus.
- The Summer Triangle appears in red.
Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical
| EST/EDT | |||||||
| Morning twilight | Evening twilight | Dark night | Moon | ||||
| Date | Astro. | Nautical | Nautical | Astro. | Start | End | Illum. |
| 2020-03-01 | 5h43m | 6h17m | 19h33m | 20h06m | 0h33m | 5h43m | 0.41 |
| 2020-03-02 | 5h41m | 6h15m | 19h34m | 20h08m | 1h36m | 5h41m | 0.52 |
| 2020-03-03 | 5h39m | 6h13m | 19h35m | 20h09m | 2h40m | 5h39m | 0.62 |
| 2020-03-04 | 5h37m | 6h11m | 19h36m | 20h10m | 3h42m | 5h37m | 0.73 |
| 2020-03-05 | 5h36m | 6h10m | 19h38m | 20h12m | 4h40m | 5h36m | 0.82 |
| 2020-03-06 | 5h34m | 6h08m | 19h39m | 20h13m | 5h31m | 5h34m | 0.91 |
| 2020-03-07 | 5h32m | 6h06m | 19h40m | 20h14m | – | – | 0.97 |
| 2020-03-08 | 6h30m | 7h04m | 20h42m | 21h16m | – | – | 0.97 |
| 2020-03-09 | 6h28m | 7h02m | 20h43m | 21h17m | – | – | 1 |
| 2020-03-10 | 6h26m | 7h01m | 20h44m | 21h18m | – | – | 1 |
| 2020-03-11 | 6h25m | 6h59m | 20h46m | 21h20m | 21h20m | 22h26m | 0.96 |
| 2020-03-12 | 6h23m | 6h57m | 20h47m | 21h21m | 21h21m | 23h45m | 0.9 |
| 2020-03-13 | 6h21m | 6h55m | 20h48m | 21h23m | 21h23m | – | 0.81 |
| 2020-03-14 | 6h19m | 6h53m | 20h50m | 21h24m | 21h24m | 1h01m | 0.71 |
| 2020-03-15 | 6h17m | 6h51m | 20h51m | 21h25m | 21h25m | 2h14m | 0.6 |
| 2020-03-16 | 6h15m | 6h49m | 20h52m | 21h27m | 21h27m | 3h21m | 0.49 |
| 2020-03-17 | 6h13m | 6h48m | 20h53m | 21h28m | 21h28m | 4h21m | 0.38 |
| 2020-03-18 | 6h11m | 6h46m | 20h55m | 21h30m | 21h30m | 5h13m | 0.29 |
| 2020-03-19 | 6h09m | 6h44m | 20h56m | 21h31m | 21h31m | 5h55m | 0.2 |
| 2020-03-20 | 6h11m | 6h46m | 21h01m | 21h36m | 21h36m | 6h11m | 0.12 |
| 2020-03-21 | 6h09m | 6h44m | 21h03m | 21h38m | 21h38m | 6h09m | 0.07 |
| 2020-03-22 | 6h07m | 6h42m | 21h04m | 21h39m | 21h39m | 6h07m | 0.03 |
| 2020-03-23 | 6h04m | 6h40m | 21h05m | 21h41m | 21h41m | 6h04m | 0 |
| 2020-03-24 | 6h02m | 6h38m | 21h07m | 21h42m | 21h42m | 6h02m | 0 |
| 2020-03-25 | 6h00m | 6h36m | 21h08m | 21h44m | 21h44m | 6h00m | 0.02 |
| 2020-03-26 | 5h58m | 6h34m | 21h10m | 21h45m | 22h23m | 5h58m | 0.05 |
| 2020-03-27 | 5h56m | 6h32m | 21h11m | 21h47m | 23h25m | 5h56m | 0.1 |
| 2020-03-28 | 5h54m | 6h30m | 21h12m | 21h48m | – | 5h54m | 0.17 |
| 2020-03-29 | 5h52m | 6h28m | 21h14m | 21h50m | 0h28m | 5h52m | 0.25 |
| 2020-03-30 | 5h50m | 6h26m | 21h15m | 21h51m | 1h31m | 5h50m | 0.35 |
| 2020-03-31 | 5h48m | 6h24m | 21h16m | 21h53m | 2h33m | 5h48m | 0.45 |
Twilight calendar was generated using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
See my blog post: Twilight Zone for the definitions of the different periods of twilight here: https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
Mar 1 Su Venus: 44.6° E
2 Mo 02:57 pm First Quarter
4 We 09:58 am Moon Ascending Node
4 We 08:34 pm Moon North Dec.: 23.4° N
6 Fr 04:08 pm Moon-Beehive: 1.1° S
8 Su 08:09 am Neptune Conjunction
9 Mo 01:48 pm Full Moon
10 Tu 02:33 am Moon Perigee: 357100 km
16 Mo 05:34 am Last Quarter
16 Mo 09:00 pm Moon Descending Node
17 Tu 10:07 am Moon South Dec.: 23.5° S
18 We 04:19 am Moon-Mars: 0.8° N
18 We 06:18 am Moon-Jupiter: 1.6° N
18 We 08:04 pm Moon-Saturn: 2.3° N
19 Th 11:50 pm Vernal Equinox
20 Fr 06:24 am Mars-Jupiter: 0.7° N
21 Sa 01:48 pm Moon-Mercury: 4° N
23 Mo 09:59 pm Mercury Greatest Elongation: 27.8° W
24 Tu 05:28 am New Moon
24 Tu 11:23 am Moon Apogee: 406700 km
24 Tu 05:59 pm Venus Greatest Elongation: 46.1° E
31 Tu 12:51 pm Moon Ascending Node
31 Tu 04:00 pm Mars-Saturn: 0.9° N
Apr 1 We Venus: 45.9° E
All event times prior to 2 a.m. March 8 are given for UTC-5 Eastern Standard Time, after that time are given for UTC-4 Eastern Daylight Time
Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC),
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html.
If you go to the above site you can print out a list like the above for the entire year or calendar pages for your time zone.
Sun and Moon Rising and Setting Events
LU Ephemeris of Sky Events for Interlochen/TC March, 2020 Local time zone: EST +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM | | | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN| +=======================================================================+ |Sun 1| 07:19a 06:31p 11:11 | 07:34p 06:16a | Set 01:36a 42%| |Mon 2| 07:17a 06:32p 11:14 | 07:35p 06:14a |F Qtr Set 02:39a 52%| |Tue 3| 07:15a 06:33p 11:18 | 07:37p 06:12a | Set 03:41a 62%| |Wed 4| 07:14a 06:35p 11:21 | 07:38p 06:11a | Set 04:39a 72%| |Thu 5| 07:12a 06:36p 11:24 | 07:39p 06:09a | Set 05:31a 81%| |Fri 6| 07:10a 06:37p 11:27 | 07:40p 06:07a | Set 06:15a 89%| |Sat 7| 07:08a 06:39p 11:30 | 07:42p 06:05a | Set 06:54a 95%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ | EDT | Time Change | | | |Sun 8| 08:07a 07:40p 11:33 | 08:43p 07:04a | Set 08:27a 99%| |Mon 9| 08:05a 07:41p 11:36 | 08:44p 07:02a |Full Rise 07:46p 100%| |Tue 10| 08:03a 07:43p 11:39 | 08:46p 07:00a | Rise 09:07p 97%| |Wed 11| 08:01a 07:44p 11:42 | 08:47p 06:58a | Rise 10:26p 92%| |Thu 12| 07:59a 07:45p 11:46 | 08:48p 06:56a | Rise 11:45p 85%| |Fri 13| 07:57a 07:47p 11:49 | 08:50p 06:54a | Rise 01:01a 75%| |Sat 14| 07:56a 07:48p 11:52 | 08:51p 06:53a | Rise 02:14a 65%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 15| 07:54a 07:49p 11:55 | 08:52p 06:51a | Rise 03:21a 54%| |Mon 16| 07:52a 07:50p 11:58 | 08:54p 06:49a |L Qtr Rise 04:21a 44%| |Tue 17| 07:50a 07:52p 12:01 | 08:55p 06:47a | Rise 05:12a 34%| |Wed 18| 07:48a 07:53p 12:04 | 08:56p 06:45a | Rise 05:55a 25%| |Thu 19| 07:46a 07:54p 12:07 | 08:58p 06:43a | Rise 06:31a 17%| |Fri 20| 07:44a 07:55p 12:11 | 08:59p 06:41a | Rise 07:00a 10%| |Sat 21| 07:43a 07:57p 12:14 | 09:00p 06:39a | Rise 07:26a 5%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 22| 07:41a 07:58p 12:17 | 09:02p 06:37a | Rise 07:49a 2%| |Mon 23| 07:39a 07:59p 12:20 | 09:03p 06:35a | Rise 08:11a 0%| |Tue 24| 07:37a 08:01p 12:23 | 09:04p 06:33a |New Set 08:21p 1%| |Wed 25| 07:35a 08:02p 12:26 | 09:06p 06:31a | Set 09:21p 2%| |Thu 26| 07:33a 08:03p 12:29 | 09:07p 06:29a | Set 10:22p 6%| |Fri 27| 07:31a 08:04p 12:32 | 09:09p 06:27a | Set 11:25p 11%| |Sat 28| 07:30a 08:06p 12:36 | 09:10p 06:25a | Set 12:28a 18%| +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Sun 29| 07:28a 08:07p 12:39 | 09:11p 06:23a | Set 01:31a 26%| |Mon 30| 07:26a 08:08p 12:42 | 09:13p 06:21a | Set 02:32a 35%| |Tue 31| 07:24a 08:09p 12:45 | 09:14p 06:20a | Set 03:30a 45%| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ * Nautical Twilight ** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset
Generated using my LookingUp for DOS program.
03/01/2016 – Ephemeris – Previewing March skies
Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 1st. The Sun will rise at 7:19. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 6:31. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 2:15 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the skies for the month of March. The sun will pass the celestial equator as the promising season of spring will begin. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will increase from 11 hours and 11 minutes today to 12 hours 45 minutes on the 31st. The altitude, or angle, of the sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be 38 degrees today and will ascend to nearly 50 degrees on the 31st. Jupiter will reach opposition from the Sun on the 8th and enter the evening sky. That evening our time a total solar eclipse will be visible from Indonesia to the Pacific Ocean. Spring will begin on the 20th at 12:31 a.m. Easter, announced by the full moon on the 23rd will be celebrated on the 27th for western churches.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
March Star Chart
Star Chart for March 2016. Created using my LookingUp program. To enlarge in Firefox Right-click on image then click View image.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 10 p.m. EST. That is chart time. Note, Traverse City is located 45 minutes behind our time meridian. To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 45 minutes earlier than the current time.
Evening astronomical twilight ends at 7:34 p.m. EST on the 1st, increasing to 9:14 p.m. EDT on the 31st.
Morning astronomical twilight starts at 6:16 a.m. EDT on the 1st, and decreasing to 6:20 a.m. EST on the 31st.
Add a half hour to the chart time every week before the 15th and subtract a half hour for every week after the 15th. Before the 13th also subtract an hour for Standard Time.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star
- A leaky Big Dipper drips on Leo
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus
Calendar of Planetary Events
Credit: Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC)
To generate your own calendar go to http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html
Times are Eastern Time. Some additions made to aid clarity.
Date Time(EST) Event
Mar 01 Tu Venus: 24.9° W
01 Tu 6:11 pm Last Quarter
02 We 1:53 am Moon-Saturn: 3.9° S
03 Th 9:19 am Moon South Dec.: 18.2° S
07 Mo 5:54 am Moon-Venus: 3.5° S
08 Tu 4:58 am Jupiter Opposition from the Sun
08 Tu 8:54 pm New Moon
08 Tu 8:58 pm Total Solar Eclipse* (Indonesia & Pacific)
09 We 1:31 am Moon Descending Node
10 Th 2:02 am Moon Perigee: 359500 km
13 Su 2:00 am Daylight Saving Time starts (EDT) Boo Hiss!
14 Mo 9:44 am Moon-Aldebaran: 0.3° S
15 Tu 1:03 pm First Quarter
16 We 1:01 am Moon North Dec.: 18.2° N
20 Su 12:31 am Vernal Equinox – Yea Spring!
20 Su 3:05 pm Moon-Regulus: 2.8° N
21 Mo 11:57 pm Moon-Jupiter: 2.3° N
22 Tu 8:58 pm Moon Ascending Node
23 We 7:48 am Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (not visible from here)
23 We 8:01 am Full Moon
23 We 4:05 pm Mercury Superior Conjunction with the Sun
25 Fr 10:16 am Moon Apogee: 406100 km
28 Mo 2:45 pm Moon-Mars: 4.6° S
29 Tu 10:58 am Moon-Saturn: 3.8° S
30 We 6:12 pm Moon South Dec.: 18.2° S
31 Th 11:17 am Last Quarter
Apr 01 Venus: 17.4° W
* Coverage on NASA-TV-2 & www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Comet Catalina
Comet Catalina has become too faint to be seen in binoculars as it heads out of the solar system. To follow the comet further go to Seiichi Yashida’s Weekly Bright Comets page. Comet Catalina is no longer the brightest comet on the list, and is currently listed second. Click on it [C/2013 US10 ( Catalina )] for finder charts and other information.
When last we saw the comet was headed toward the constellation. But it’s headed almost straight away from the Earth now, and the Earth’s motion around the Sun is making the comet appear to start a loop north of Perseus. Another proof that Copernicus was right.
02/28/2014 – Ephemeris – Looking forward to March and spring
Ephemeris for Friday, February 28th. The sun will rise at 7:21. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 6:29. The moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 7:11 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the skies for the month of March. The sun will pass the celestial equator in March as the promising season of spring will begin. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will increase from 11 hours and 10 minutes tomorrow to 12 hours 43 minutes on the 31st. The altitude, or angle, of the sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be just under 38 degrees tomorrow and will ascend to nearly 50 degrees on the 31st. The altitude of the sun in the Straits area will be a degree lower. Local apparent noon this month, when the sun passes due south, will be about 12:49 p.m. Spring will begin on the 20th at 11:57 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (15:57 UT), which now rules most of the year and will start a week from Sunday.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Star Chart for mid-month for March 2014 at 10 p.m. Credit: Bob Moler.
Add a half hour to every week before the 15th and subtract and hour for every week after the 15th.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
03/01/2012 – Ephemeris – Preview of March skies
Ephemeris for Thursday, March 1st. The sun will rise at 7:19. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 6:30. The moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 3:18 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the skies for the month of March. The sun will pass the celestial equator as the promising season of spring will begin. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will increase from 11 hours and 11 minutes today to 12 hours 44 minutes on the 31st. The altitude, or angle, of the sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be 38 degrees today and will ascend to nearly 50 degrees on the 31st. The altitude of the sun in the Straits area will be a degree lower. Local apparent noon this month, when the sun passes due south, will be about 12:49 p.m. Spring will begin on the 20th at 1:14 a.m. Mars will be in opposition with the sun Saturday and closest to us on Monday.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 