08/20/2020 – Ephemeris – Where are we in the Milky Way Galaxy?

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, August 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 47 minutes, setting at 8:39, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:52. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 9:59 this evening.

If we are in the Milky Way galaxy, where are we, and where’s the center of this vast spiral? Astronomers have found that the Sun is located in an offshoot of a spiral arm called the Orion Spur and the naked eye stars in the sky are also in it. In the winter constellation of Orion we are looking away from the center of the galaxy. This time of year, looking to the south in the evening at the Teapot of stars that is Sagittarius we look toward the center, which we can’t see due to the gas and dust in the way. It’s there, just above the spout of the Teapot. It can be seen, but not in visible light. It was the first thing detected with a radio telescope and it can be seen in the infrared. But there, 27,000 light years away is a 4 million solar mass black hole at the center.

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

Addendum

The Sun in the Orion Spur and the nearby spiral arms of the Milky Way Galaxy. The direction to the center of the galaxy is down. Click on the image to enlarge. Public Domain, Wikimedia.

Our place in the Milky Way. Note that we appear to be in a barred spiral galaxy. The arms are numbered and named. 3kpc is the 3 kiloparsec arm. 3kpc = 9,780 light years. The Sun is about 27,000 light years from the center. Credit NASA and Wikimedia Commons, via EarthSky.org.

Location of the center of the Milky Way and the Teapot of Sagittarius. It is blocked by gas and dust in visible light.

An image from the Chandra X-ray Telescope of the center of the Milky Way. SGR A or Sagittarius A is a radio source. SGR A*, pronounced Sagittarius A Star, is the 4 million solar mass black hole in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Credit NASA.