08/18/2015 – Ephemeris – The autumn queen is rising

Ephemeris for Tuesday, August 18th.  The Sun rises at 6:48.  It’ll be up for 13 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 8:44.   The Moon, half way from new to first quarter, will set at 10:31 this evening.

A look to the northeast at 10 p.m. or later will reveal a letter W pattern of stars.  This is the constellation of Cassiopeia the queen.  Cassiopeia is so far north that it never sets for us in Michigan.  It is opposite the pole star Polaris from the Big Dipper.  So as the Big Dipper is rotating down the sky in the northwest, Cassiopeia is rotating up in the northeast.  The pivot is the star Polaris, the north star.  There’s a dim star that appears above the middle star of the W which turns the W into a very crooked backed chair.  Above Cassiopeia is a dim church steeple shaped constellation of Cepheus the king.  The Milky Way flows through Cassiopeia and a corner of Cepheus and up through Cygnus, and on to the south.

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

Addendum

Cassiopeia and nearby constellations mentioned in the above program. Created using Stellarium.