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08/26/2013 – Ephemeris – The constellation of Delphinus the dolphin
Ephemeris for Monday, August 26th. The sun rises at 6:58. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 8:29. The moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:22 this evening.
With Nova Delphinus in our skies let’s take a look at this celestial dolphin. Located below the eastern edge of the Summer Triangle of three of the brightest stars in the sky, which is overhead in our sky at 10 p.m., is the tiny constellation of Delphinus the dolphin. Delphinus’ 6 stars in a small parallelogram with a tail, really does look like a dolphin leaping out of the water. The parallelogram itself has the name Job’s Coffin. The origin of this asterism or informal constellation is unknown. Of the dolphin itself: the ancient Greeks appreciated this aquatic mammal as we do, and told stories of dolphins rescuing shipwrecked sailors. The nova can be spotted in binoculars using the chart at http://www.skyandtelescope.com or below.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
My finder chart for Nova Delphinus 2013. Created using Carte du Ceil (Sky Charts)
The dot for the Nova will show it brighter than it is. It should be fading now.
08/20/2013 – Ephemeris – A “new” star in Delphinus
Ephemeris for Tuesday, August 20th. The sun rises at 6:51. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 48 minutes, setting at 8:39. The moon, at full today, will rise at 8:07 this evening.
There’s a new nova visible to the unaided eye, well just barely, if the moon wasn’t out. “New nova” is kind of redundant because Nova is Latin for new, The entire Latin term is Nova Stellum or new star. It isn’t really a new star, but one that brightened catastrophically, siphoning gas off a companion red giant star. At least that’s what we think. Detailed analysis will come later. It’s informal name is Nova Delphinus, which lies between the tiny constellation of Delphinus the dolphin and Sagitta the arrow in and near the Summer Triangle. http://www.skyandtelescope.com has a finder chart. It’s best to use binoculars to locate it. The Arrow points right to it, while the two stars that cross the body of the dolphin also point to it. Novae are unusual, but not rare.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
My finder chart for Nova Dephinus 2013. Created using Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts)
The Summer Triangle with Delphinus and Sagitta. Created using Stellarium and The Gimp.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 