09/30/2021 – Ephemeris – Previewing October skies

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, September 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 44 minutes, setting at 7:24, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:41. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 1:42 tomorrow morning.

Let’s look at the skies for this month of October. The Sun will still be moving south rapidly. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area will drop from 11 hours and 41 minutes tomorrow to 10 hours 12 minutes on the 31st. The altitude of the sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be 42 degrees tomorrow, and will descend to 31 degrees on Halloween, also in the Interlochen/Traverse City area. The Straits area will have the sun a degree lower. Local noon, when the Sun is due south, will be about 1:30 pm in Interlochen and Traverse City. Bits of Halley’s comet will return later in the month as the Orionid meteor shower. However, it will have to compete with a nearly full moon.

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

October Evening Star Chart

Star Chart for October 2021. (9 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2021) Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.

The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 9 p.m. EDT in the evening and 6 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian, West 75° longitude. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 1 hour 45 minutes earlier than the current time.

October Morning Star Chart

Star Chart for October mornings, 2021 (6 a.m. EDT, October 15, 2021). Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.

For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations, click here.

• Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris, the North Star.
• Leaky dipper drips on Leo.
• Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus.
• The Summer Triangle is in red.
• OriR – Orionid Radiant – Peak 22nd – Zenithal Hourly Rate = 20

Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical

			EDT
	Morning	Twilight	Evening	Twilight	Dark	Night	Moon
Date	Astro.	Nautical	Nautical	Astro.	Start	End	Illum.
2021-10-01	6h09m	6h43m	20h29m	21h03m	21h03m	1h42m	0.21
2021-10-02	6h10m	6h44m	20h27m	21h01m	21h01m	2h49m	0.13
2021-10-03	6h11m	6h45m	20h25m	20h59m	20h59m	4h01m	0.07
2021-10-04	6h13m	6h47m	20h23m	20h57m	20h57m	5h15m	0.02
2021-10-05	6h14m	6h48m	20h21m	20h55m	20h55m	6h14m	0
2021-10-06	6h15m	6h49m	20h19m	20h54m	20h54m	6h15m	0.01
2021-10-07	6h16m	6h50m	20h18m	20h52m	20h52m	6h16m	0.04
2021-10-08	6h18m	6h52m	20h16m	20h50m	20h50m	6h18m	0.1
2021-10-09	6h19m	6h53m	20h14m	20h48m	21h10m	6h19m	0.19
2021-10-10	6h20m	6h54m	20h12m	20h46m	21h53m	6h20m	0.29
2021-10-11	6h21m	6h55m	20h11m	20h44m	22h46m	6h21m	0.4
2021-10-12	6h23m	6h57m	20h09m	20h43m	23h50m	6h23m	0.51
2021-10-13	6h24m	6h58m	20h07m	20h41m	–	6h24m	0.62
2021-10-14	6h25m	6h59m	20h06m	20h39m	1h00m	6h25m	0.72
2021-10-15	6h26m	7h00m	20h04m	20h38m	2h13m	6h26m	0.81
2021-10-16	6h28m	7h01m	20h02m	20h36m	3h25m	6h28m	0.89
2021-10-17	6h29m	7h03m	20h01m	20h34m	4h35m	6h29m	0.94
2021-10-18	6h30m	7h04m	19h59m	20h33m	5h43m	6h30m	0.98
2021-10-19	6h31m	7h05m	19h57m	20h31m	–	–	1
2021-10-20	6h33m	7h06m	19h56m	20h30m	–	–	1
2021-10-21	6h34m	7h08m	19h54m	20h28m	–	–	0.98
2021-10-22	6h35m	7h09m	19h53m	20h26m	–	–	0.94
2021-10-23	6h36m	7h10m	19h51m	20h25m	–	–	0.89
2021-10-24	6h37m	7h11m	19h50m	20h24m	20h24m	20h56m	0.82
2021-10-25	6h39m	7h12m	19h48m	20h22m	20h22m	21h38m	0.74
2021-10-26	6h40m	7h14m	19h47m	20h21m	20h21m	22h29m	0.66
2021-10-27	6h41m	7h15m	19h45m	20h19m	20h19m	23h27m	0.56
2021-10-28	6h42m	7h16m	19h44m	20h18m	20h18m	–	0.46
2021-10-29	6h43m	7h17m	19h43m	20h17m	20h17m	0h31m	0.37
2021-10-30	6h45m	7h19m	19h41m	20h15m	20h15m	1h39m	0.27
2021-10-31	6h46m	7h20m	19h40m	20h14m	20h14m	2h50m	0.18

Twilight calendar was generated using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

See my blog post: Twilight Zone for the definitions of the different periods of twilight here: https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/.

NASA Calendar of Planetary Events

Date         Time ET  Event
Oct  1  Fr            Venus: 44.9° E
     1  Fr   9:08 am  Moon-Beehive: 3.3° S
     6  We   7:05 am  New Moon
     7  Th  11:50 pm  Mars Solar Conjunction
     8  Fr   1:28 pm  Moon Perigee: 363400 km
     9  Sa  12:12 pm  Mercury Inferior Conj.
     9  Sa   2:36 pm  Moon-Venus: 2.9° S
     9  Sa   3:35 pm  Moon Descending Node
    10  Su            S Taurid peak ZHR = 5 See IMO Calendar
    12  Tu   5:09 am  Moon South Dec.: 26.2° S
    12  Tu  11:25 pm  First Quarter
    14  Th   3:12 am  Moon-Saturn: 4.1° N
    15  Fr   5:58 am  Moon-Jupiter: 4.3° N
    16  Sa   9:24 am  Venus-Antares: 1.5° N
    20  We  10:57 am  Full Moon
    21  Th   7:30 am  Orionid Shower: ZHR = 20
    23  Sa   7:47 am  Moon Ascending Node
    24  Su  11:30 am  Moon Apogee: 405600 km
    25  Mo  12:59 am  Mercury Greatest Elongation: 18.4° W
    26  Tu  12:04 pm  Moon North Dec.: 26.3° N
    27  We   4:40 pm  Moon-Pollux: 2.8° N
    28  Th   4:05 pm  Last Quarter
    28  Th   5:32 pm  Moon-Beehive: 3.6° S
    29  Fr   5:59 pm  Venus Greatest Elongation: 47° E
Nov  1  Mo            Venus: 47° E

All event times are given for UTC-4 hr: Eastern Daylight Saving Time.

Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC),
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html.

If you go to the above site, you can print out a list like the above for the entire year or calendar pages for your time zone.

Sun and Moon Rising and Setting Events

LU                  Ephemeris of Sky Events for Interlochen/TC
October, 2021    Local time zone: EDT
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE |  SUN     SUN  DAYLIGHT|   TWILIGHT*    |MOON  RISE OR    ILLUM |
|      |  RISE    SET    HOURS |  END    START  |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Fri  1| 07:41a  07:22p  11:41 | 08:25p  06:38a |      Rise 02:49a   23%|
|Sat  2| 07:42a  07:20p  11:38 | 08:23p  06:39a |      Rise 04:01a   15%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun  3| 07:43a  07:19p  11:35 | 08:21p  06:40a |      Rise 05:15a    8%|
|Mon  4| 07:44a  07:17p  11:32 | 08:20p  06:41a |      Rise 06:30a    3%|
|Tue  5| 07:46a  07:15p  11:29 | 08:18p  06:43a |      Rise 07:46a    0%|
|Wed  6| 07:47a  07:13p  11:26 | 08:16p  06:44a |New   Set  07:41p    0%|
|Thu  7| 07:48a  07:11p  11:23 | 08:14p  06:45a |      Set  08:06p    3%|
|Fri  8| 07:49a  07:09p  11:20 | 08:12p  06:46a |      Set  08:35p    9%|
|Sat  9| 07:51a  07:08p  11:17 | 08:11p  06:47a |      Set  09:09p   17%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 10| 07:52a  07:06p  11:14 | 08:09p  06:49a |      Set  09:53p   26%|
|Mon 11| 07:53a  07:04p  11:11 | 08:07p  06:50a |      Set  10:46p   37%|
|Tue 12| 07:54a  07:02p  11:08 | 08:05p  06:51a |F Qtr Set  11:50p   48%|
|Wed 13| 07:56a  07:01p  11:05 | 08:04p  06:52a |      Set  01:00a   59%|
|Thu 14| 07:57a  06:59p  11:02 | 08:02p  06:54a |      Set  02:13a   70%|
|Fri 15| 07:58a  06:57p  10:59 | 08:00p  06:55a |      Set  03:25a   79%|
|Sat 16| 07:59a  06:55p  10:56 | 07:59p  06:56a |      Set  04:35a   87%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 17| 08:01a  06:54p  10:53 | 07:57p  06:57a |      Set  05:43a   93%|
|Mon 18| 08:02a  06:52p  10:50 | 07:56p  06:58a |      Set  06:49a   97%|
|Tue 19| 08:03a  06:50p  10:47 | 07:54p  07:00a |      Set  07:54a  100%|
|Wed 20| 08:05a  06:49p  10:44 | 07:52p  07:01a |Full  Rise 07:07p  100%|
|Thu 21| 08:06a  06:47p  10:41 | 07:51p  07:02a |      Rise 07:29p   98%|
|Fri 22| 08:07a  06:46p  10:38 | 07:49p  07:03a |      Rise 07:53p   95%|
|Sat 23| 08:09a  06:44p  10:35 | 07:48p  07:05a |      Rise 08:22p   90%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 24| 08:10a  06:42p  10:32 | 07:46p  07:06a |      Rise 08:56p   84%|
|Mon 25| 08:11a  06:41p  10:29 | 07:45p  07:07a |      Rise 09:38p   76%|
|Tue 26| 08:13a  06:39p  10:26 | 07:44p  07:08a |      Rise 10:29p   67%|
|Wed 27| 08:14a  06:38p  10:23 | 07:42p  07:10a |      Rise 11:27p   58%|
|Thu 28| 08:15a  06:36p  10:21 | 07:41p  07:11a |L Qtr Rise 12:31a   48%|
|Fri 29| 08:17a  06:35p  10:18 | 07:39p  07:12a |      Rise 01:39a   38%|
|Sat 30| 08:18a  06:33p  10:15 | 07:38p  07:13a |      Rise 02:50a   29%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 31| 08:19a  06:32p  10:12 | 07:37p  07:14a |      Rise 04:03a   19%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset

Generated using my LookingUp for DOS program.

09/29/2021 – Ephemeris – Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 29th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 47 minutes, setting at 7:26, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:39. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 12:40 tomorrow morning.

Let’s search for the naked-eye planets for this week. Venus should be visible in the southwestern evening twilight by 7:45 tonight. It will set at 8:59 pm. By 8 pm, Jupiter will be spotted in the southeastern sky. The Jupiter should be easy to spot at that hour. Saturn will be dimmer, but a bit higher and to its right. They will be visible into the morning hours, with Saturn setting first at 2:26 am, with Jupiter following at 3:49. Saturn’s rings can be seen in a spotting scope of about 20 power magnification. Though at that power the rings won’t appear separated from the planet, so Saturn will look like an elliptical disk. Jupiter’s four brightest moons are spread out, two on each side. They all might be visible in binoculars tonight.

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

Addendum

Venus in evening twilight at 7:45 pm, about a half hour after sunset tonight, September 29, 2021. Created using Stellarium.

Jupiter and Saturn in the southeast at 8 pm. Created using Stellarium.

Low magnification view of the waxing crescent Moon as it would appear at 6:30 am tomorrow, September 30, 2021. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic views of the bright planets (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification, this evening at 8 pm, September 29, 2021. Apparent diameters: Venus, 18.65″, 62.6% illuminated; Saturn 17.68″, its rings 41.18″; Jupiter, 46.41″. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The naked-eye planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on September 29, 2021. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 30th. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program.

09/28/2021 – Ephemeris – Andromeda, a damsel in distress

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, September 28th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 50 minutes, setting at 7:28, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:38. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 11:46 this evening.

In the east at 9 this evening can be found a large square of stars, the Great Square of Pegasus the flying horse. The square is standing on one corner. What looks like its hind legs stretching to the left from the left corner star is another constellation, Andromeda the chained princess. She is seen in the sky as two diverging curved strings of stars that curve upward. She was doomed due to her mother, Queen Cassiopeia’s boasting, which angered the god Poseidon. She was rescued by the hero Perseus, a nearby constellation, riding his steed Pegasus. Andromeda’s claim to astronomical fame is the large galaxy seen with the naked-eye just above the upper line of stars. The Great Andromeda Galaxy is two and a half million light years away.

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

Addendum

Andromeda finder animation surrounded by the other constellations in her story, except the monster, which will rise later. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.

Great Andromeda Galaxy finder chart. This image shows the galaxy almost to its fullest extent. In the finder animation above, the galaxy looks pretty much as it would to the naked eye. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium.

Astronomers often refer to this galaxy as M 31 for short. It was the 31st entry in Charles Messier’s catalog of objects that could be confused as being comets by comet hunters like himself. It was added in 1764. He didn’t care what these fuzzy objects were, just that they didn’t move against the background stars. Actually, M 31 is in the background. The stars are in the foreground, in our Milky Way Galaxy.

 

09/27/2021 – Ephemeris – The native peoples constellations of the Crane and the Moose

This is Ephemeris for Monday, September 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 7:30, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:37. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 11:00 this evening.

The evening sky hosts two more of the constellations of the Anishinaabe native peoples of our area. Overhead, where the official constellation Cygnus the Swan is, or the Northern Cross is Ajijaak, the Sand Hill Crane flying northward through the Milky Way, wings outstretched, with its long legs trailing behind. In the eastern sky where the official constellation of Pegasus the flying horse is climbing the sky upside down is. His body is the Great Square, an informal constellation. To the Anishinaabe, it is the Mooz (Moose), who is upright. His magnificent antlers take up the dim official constellation of Lacerta the lizard between Pegasus and Cygnus. Also in the sky is Ojiig the Fisher, our Big Dipper, whose bloody tail will soon swoop down and paint the trees with their fall colors. (You can search for “Fisher” above right for his story, and his relevant appearances in autumn and late winter.)

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

Addendum

The Anishinaabe constellations of Ajijaak, the Crane and Mooz (Moose) compared to the official International Astronomical Union (IAU) constellations. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.

The Ojibwe constellation art is part of the latest versions of Stellarium. Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) constellation art by Annette S Lee and William Wilson from Ojibwe Sky Star Map Constellation Guide, ISBN 978-0-615-98678-4.

09/24/2021 – Ephemeris – Capricornus, home this season to Jupiter and Saturn

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, September 24th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 3 minutes, setting at 7:35, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:33. The Moon, halfway from full to last quarter, will rise at 9:26 this evening.

Nearly 2000 years ago the southernmost of the constellations of the zodiac was Capricornus the water goat. That’s why the latitude on the Earth where the Sun is overhead on the winter solstice is called the Tropic of Capricorn. Not anymore, Sagittarius, one constellation west, has that honor today*. Capricornus is large, but made up of dim stars. To me, it looks like a 45 degree isosceles triangle, long side up, but which all the sides are sagging. The constellation is found low in the south at 10 to 11 p.m. The image that is supposed to be represented by the stars is that of a goat whose hind quarters are replaced by a fish’s tail, not a mermaid but a mer-goat. This autumn, Jupiter is at the left end of Capricornus, with Saturn on the right.

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

The reason for the shift is lunisolar precession, which I talked about yesterday.

Addendum

Capricornus w/Jupiter & Saturn finder animation for 10 pm, September 24, 2021. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.

09/23/2021 – Ephemeris – The Earth’s axial tilt gives us our seasons

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, September 23rd. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 6 minutes, setting at 7:37, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:32. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 9:03 this evening.

The Earth has an axial tilt* of about 23 and a half degrees, which gives us our seasons. Because the Earth rotates on its axis, it has a slight equatorial bulge. Earth’s polar diameter is 7,900 miles (12,714 kilometers) while its equatorial diameter is 7,926 miles (12,756 kilometers), a difference of 26 miles (42 kilometers). The gravitational tug on that equatorial bulge by the Moon and Sun actually keeps the tilt stable, but does cause the Earth’s axis to precess like a top slowing down. It’s why Polaris will no longer be our North Pole star in centuries to come, just as it wasn’t in centuries past. It’s also why the constellations of the zodiac no longer align with the astrological signs of Ptolemy’s zodiac of the second century AD.

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

* Astronomers call axial tilt “obliquity” or “obliquity of the ecliptic”.

Addendum

The Moon and Sun’s gravitational force act on the Earth’s equatorial bulge, attempting to cause the Earth to straighten up and fly right. Because the Earth is spinning, it acts like a gyroscope and the torque to straighten it up causes it to be applied 90 degrees away in the direction of the rotation causing the procession. Image credit: Open Course: Astronomy.

Precession of a spinning top: the spin axis traces the surface of a cone. The axis, in the case of the Earth, traces a circle of radius 23.5 degrees on the sky. Credit NASA.

The 25,700-year cycle of precession traced on the sky as seen from near the Earth. The current North Pole star is Polaris (top). In about 8,000 years it will be the bright star Deneb (left), and in about 12,000 years, Vega (left center). The Earth’s rotation is not depicted to scale – in this span of time, it would actually rotate over 9 million times. Credit image: Tfr000, caption: Wikipedia.

09/22/2021 – Ephemeris – Autumn starts this afternoon and a look at the naked-eye planets

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, September 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 9 minutes, setting at 7:39, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:31. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 8:43 this evening.

Here on Earth, the season of fall will begin at 3:21 this afternoon. Let’s search for rest of the naked-eye planets for this week. Venus should be visible in the southwestern evening twilight by 8 o’clock tonight. It will set at 9:08 pm. By 8:15 pm, Jupiter and Saturn will be seen low in the southeastern sky. The brighter Jupiter will be easy to spot at that hour. Saturn will be dimmer, but a bit higher and to its right. They will be visible into the morning hours, with Saturn setting first at 2:55 am, with Jupiter following at 4:19. Saturn’s rings can be seen in a spotting scope of about 20 power magnification. Though at that power the rings won’t appear separated from the planet, so Saturn will look like an elliptical disk.

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

Addendum

Venus in twilight at 8 pm, or about 20 minutes after sunset, tonight, September 22, 2021. An animation showing its altitude at that time of 10 degrees (about the width of your fist held at arm’s length). Created using Stellarium and GIMP.

Waning gibbous Moon, about 15 minutes after rising as it might be visible in binoculars or small telescope. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic views of the bright planets (north up) as they would be seen in a small telescope, with the same magnification, this evening. Venus at 8 pm, Jupiter and Saturn at 10 pm, September 22, 2021. Apparent diameters: Venus, 17.61″, and 65.3% illuminated; Saturn 17.86″, its rings 41.61″; Jupiter, 47.20″. The ” symbol means seconds of arc (1/3600th of a degree.) Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night, starting with sunset on the right on September 22, 2021. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 23rd. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp program.

09/21/2021 – Ephemeris – Autumn starts tomorrow

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, September 21st. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 12 minutes, setting at 7:41, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:30. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 8:23 this evening.

Enjoy the last full day of summer. Summer will last until 3:21 pm (19:21 UTC) tomorrow, when the center of the Sun will cross the celestial equator, an imaginary line above the Earth’s equator, heading southward. At that instant, autumn will begin. Shortly after, the Sun will be up less than half the day. The day and the point in the sky that the Sun crosses is called the autumnal equinox. The word equinox means equal night, implying that day and light are of equal length. Geometrically that’s true, but the Earth’s atmosphere and the definition of sunrise and sunset, prolong daylight by a few minutes. The amount of heat we are getting and will get from the Sun cannot sustain our current temperatures, and it will get a lot colder on average before it gets warmer again.

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

Addendum

That is not a pumpkin on the head of the motorcyclist. That’s the Sun rising as I’m traveling east on South Airport Road south of Traverse City, MI on the autumnal equinox. This is the east-west section of the road. The Sun is rising over the hills some 6 miles to the east. When the Sun is on the celestial equator, it rises due east and sets due west. Credit: Bob Moler.

The Sun’s path through the sky on an equinox day from the Traverse City/Interlochen area in Michigan. The Sun is plotted every 15 minutes. This is a stereographic projection which compresses the image near the zenith and enlarges the image towards the horizon. Created using my LookingUp program.

Earth 3 days before autumnal equinox, 1:17 pm EDT, September 19, 2021. The mitten shape of Michigan was in the clear that day and is visible above center of the image. The image taken by the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) on the DSCOVR satellite in halo orbit around the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrange point, about a million miles sunward of the Earth. At the time, DSCOVR was 892,682 miles (1,436,797 kilometers) from Earth.

09/20/2021 – Ephemeris – The Harvest Moon rises tonight

This is Ephemeris for Monday, September 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 15 minutes, setting at 7:43, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:29. The Moon, at full today, will rise at 8:03 this evening.

Tonight’s full moon is the Harvest Moon. It is the most famous of the named full moons, and was very useful in the days before electric lights. The reason is that the Moon, around the time it is full now, doesn’t advance its rising time very much from night to night, effectively extending the light of twilight to allow more time to gather in crops. This is because the Moon is moving north as well as eastward. The farther north it is, the longer it stays up and retards the advance in rise times. On average, the Moon rises 50 minutes later each night. This week, the interval is down near 20 minutes advance in moonrise times per day, extending twilight and the time each day to harvest the crops for a few more days.

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

Addendum

The autumn vs spring sunset ecliptic. I’m using the autumnal equinox 2021, with the tip of the spout of the Sagittarius Teapot at due south, and vernal equinox 2022, with the red star Betelgeuse in Orion at due south as examples. Click on the image to enlarge it. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.

The ecliptic for the autumnal equinox runs low in the south, a preview of the Sun’s apparent travel for the next six months of fall and winter. Besides the planets, the Moon at sticks close to that line, as do the planets. The full moon rising in the east as the Sun sets does so at a shallow angle, so for a week or so around the full moon, its advance in rise times can be as little as 20 minutes per night. In spring, it can be much longer than an hour.

09/17/2021 – Ephemeris – The Moon has an atmosphere of sorts; Plus, I capture Inspiration 4 passing overhead

This is Ephemeris for Friday, September 17th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 24 minutes, setting at 7:49, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:25. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 4:24 tomorrow morning.

Jupiter, tonight, will be above the Moon. Everyone knows that the Moon is airless, that is has no atmosphere. That is not strictly true. Apollo astronauts saw glows and crepuscular rays in the direction of the Sun before its rising an after it set as they orbited the Moon. In 2013 NASA sent an orbiter spacecraft named LADEE to the Moon to investigate. LADEE stands for Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer. It orbited low over the Moon’s equator. The atmosphere of the Moon consists of some gasses like sodium, neon, argon and helium plus dust electrostatically charged by the Sun’s x-ray and ultraviolet emissions and sent aloft, up to many kilometers. The dust will fall back down, but the gasses will be dissipated by the solar wind. It’s very tenuous.

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

Addenda

Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon tonight at 9 pm tonight, September 17, 2021. Jupiter will be moving to be directly below Jupiter by one in the morning. Created using Stellarium.

Apollo 17 twilight ray sketches. Credit: NASA/Apollo 17 Astronauts.

Artist’s depiction of LADEE in orbit of the Moon. Courtesy NASA.

Inspiration 4 spacecraft caught flying over Northern Michigan

The thin vertical streak on the left side of the image is the Inspiration 4 spacecraft against the stars of Hercules in a 15 second exposure with a Canon Rebel T5 camera, f/3.5, ISO 6400, 18 mm fl. The famous Keystone of Hercules asterism is to the upper right of center. It’s a bit out of focus due to my problem seeing the screen at a high angle. (Getting old). It was quite dim, so I actually couldn’t see it in the moonlight. Credit: mine.

I was guided to the time and place in the sky by heavens-above.com.