09/09/2022 – Ephemeris – Observe the Harvest Moon at the Sleeping Bear Dunes Saturday night (weather permitting)

Update 9/10/2022, 6 pm: The weather does not permit it! We’ll have another, again weather permitting, on September 24th. This time with dark skies and a look at the summer Milky Way, two days after the end of summer. (It still counts).

This is Ephemeris for Friday, September 9th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 8:04, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:15. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:14 tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow night, September 10th, there will be, weather permitting, a star party at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, this will take place at the Dune Climb. Actually, it will be mostly a Moon and planet party. The event will be made possible by the rangers of the park and the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society. The society’s and member’s telescopes will take over the parking lot closest to the Dunes. The event starts at 8 p.m., near sunset, while it’s still light out and the location can be found. The Moon will join the party, rising at 8:41 pm. Oh, and it’s a supermoon. There will be a short talk about Harvest Moon lore and why it was important. See if you can find the Man in the Moon and the Chinese rabbit pounding medicine.

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 Harvest Moon with Jupiter and Saturn at 9 pm, September 10, 2022. Created using Stellarium.