07/02/2021 – Ephemeris – Virtual star party to be held tonight

This is Ephemeris for Friday, July 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 9:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:02. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 2:14 tomorrow morning.

The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society hold a virtual star party starting at 10 pm tonight via Zoom app on the Internet. Jerry Dobek, professor of astronomy at Northwestern Michigan College, will host the event with the 16-inch telescope and an imager, but only if it’s clear in Traverse City. It should feature a look at Venus to start. There will be other objects visible in the darkening twilight, such as binary stars and a dramatic pair with contrasting colors. As it gets darker, we might spot clusters of stars including the Great Hercules Globular Cluster, a veritable popcorn ball of stars. Also, bright clouds of gas expelled by dying stars. Instructions to join the meeting and a link can be found on the society’s website, www.gtastro.org.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT-4). They may be different for your location.