05/07/2018 – Ephemeris – Twilight

Note:  Sorry for the delay.  I was hit with a fast developing cold Sunday.  So I was unable to post this at my normal time, and was unable to record my next Tuesday through Monday programs.

Ephemeris for Monday, May 7th. The Sun rises at 6:24. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 8:55. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 3:14 tomorrow morning.

We are in the time of year when it appears that twilight doesn’t seem to end. There are three definitions of twilight, Civil, Nautical and Astronomical. Each ends in the evening when the Sun is 6, 12, and 18 degrees below the horizon respectively. Astronomers don’t really care about civil twilight, the sky is too bright. Sailors using a sextant for star positions can usually see the horizon for star sighting up to the end of nautical twilight. Astronomers consider the skies dark at the end of astronomical twilight, barring he Moon being up. The brightest stars and planets become visible a half hour after sunset. We begin to pick out constellations at the end of nautical twilight. For instance, for tonight, nautical twilight ends at 10:10 p.m., while astronomical twilight ends at 10:57.

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