01/02/2015 – Ephemeris – Telescope Clinic tonight in Traverse City

Ephemeris for Friday, January 2nd.  The sun will rise at 8:20, the latest sunrise of the year.  It’ll be up for 8 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 5:13.   The moon, 2 days before full, will set at 6:38 tomorrow morning.

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 operate?  Or maybe you are trying to figure out which one to buy.  Well, tonight’s your night.  The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will host a telescope clinic at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory on Birmley Road, south of Traverse City starting at 8 p.m.  Telescope experts from the society will help you set up your telescope and give you observing tips.  So bring ’em if you’ve got ’em.  If it’s clear, at 9 p.m., there will be a star party to try out your telescope, or try them out on the lights of Traverse City.  Can’t make it?  We can help you after any meeting.

Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.

Addenda

Remember the Quadrantid meteor shower tomorrow evening and into Sunday morning:

The moon will interfere with the meteor shower, so only the brightest will be visible.  The radiant will rise from the northeast.  The radiant will be nearly overhead at the start of twilight.  On a dark night up to 120 meteors per hour may be seen according to the International Meteor Organization.

 

The Earth will reach perihelion Sunday.

This is the closest the Earth gets to the Sun in its orbit this year.  The Sun will be 91,402,000 miles or 147,096,000 kilometers away at around 1 a.m. January 4th, 2015 EST or 6 hr UT January 5th 2015.  It makes winter the shortest season because the Earth is moving its fastest during perihelion.  It’s only by a few days.  And in northern Michigan where it seems that winter overlaps half of fall and spring besides, that few days difference is buried under snow.