02/10/2023 – Ephemeris – Finding Orion’s greater hunting dog, Canis Major

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, February 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 13 minutes, setting at 6:04, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:49. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:14 this evening.

The great winter constellation or star group, Orion the hunter, is located in the southern sky at 9 p.m. His elongated rectangle of a torso is vertical. In the center of the rectangle are three stars in a line that make his belt. As a hunter, especially one of old, he has two hunting dogs. The larger, Canis Major, can be found by following the three belt stars of Orion down and to the left. They point to Sirius, the brightest nighttime star, also known as the Dog Star. It’s in the heart of a stick figure dog low in the southeast facing Orion that appears to be begging. There’s a fine star cluster, called Messier, or M 41, at the 5 o’clock position from Sirius. It’s easily visible in binoculars or a small telescope.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Orion and Canis Major animation for earlier than 9 in the evening. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.

10/10/2022 – Ephemeris – Indigenous Peoples Day

This is Ephemeris for Indigenous Peoples Day, Monday, October 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 14 minutes, setting at 7:06, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:53. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 7:39 this evening.

Today the United States celebrates Columbus Day, a Monday near the date Christopher Columbus landed on a Caribbean island, and found people who got there at least 15 thousand years earlier. Due to superior technology, and nothing else really, the Europeans conquered the peoples of the continents they called the Americas, deeming the indigenous peoples, incorrectly, as savages. My astronomical journey started with learning the constellations and stories from the ancient Greeks. About twelve years ago I began to investigate the constellations and stories of the Anishinaabe peoples, whose ancestral lands we live on, which turn out to be as rich and meaningful as those I learned in my youth from the Old World.

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

Proclamation by Governor Whitmer:

October 10, 2022: Indigenous Peoples’ Day

October 10, 2022

WHEREAS, the idea of Indigenous Peoples’ Day was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native Nations to the United Nations-sponsored International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas; and,

WHEREAS, in 1990, representatives from 120 Indigenous Nations at the First Continental Conference on 500 Years of Indian Resistance unanimously passed a resolution to transform Columbus Day into an opportunity to reveal historic truths about pre-existing Indigenous cultures and Peoples that have survived a colonization process, most often violent, and continue to exist and thrive in present day America; and,

WHEREAS, the United States endorsed the United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on December 16, 2010, and Article 15 of that declaration states:

• Indigenous Peoples have the right to the dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories, and aspirations, which shall be appropriately reflected in education and public information.
• States should take effective measures, in consultation and cooperation with the Indigenous Peoples concerned, to combat prejudice and eliminate discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding, and good relations among Indigenous Peoples and all other segments of society; and,

WHEREAS, the state of Michigan recognizes the presence of the three major tribal groups in our state today, the Chippewa (Ojibwe), Ottawa (Odawa), and Potawatomi (Bodéwadmik), who have lived upon this land since time immemorial, and values the progress our society has accomplished through Native American thought, culture, and contributions; and,

WHEREAS, many communities and municipalities in the land we now call Michigan have passed resolutions to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the second Monday in October; and,

WHEREAS, the resolution states that Indigenous Peoples’ Day shall be used to reflect upon the ongoing struggles of Indigenous Peoples on this land and to celebrate the thriving cultures and values that the Odawa, Ojibwe, Bodéwadmik, and other Indigenous Peoples contribute to society; and,

WHEREAS, on this second Monday of October, we should honor the historic, cultural, and contemporary significance of Indigenous Peoples and their ancestral lands that also became known as the Americas and celebrate their contributions to communities throughout the land we now call Michigan, the United States, and all over the world;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, do hereby proclaim October 10, 2022, as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Michigan to uplift our country’s Indigenous roots, history, and contributions.

Turtle Island = North America

The Anishinaabe, of which the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi are a part, see North America as Turtle Island

03/08/2022 – Ephemeris – International Women’s Day

This is Ephemeris for International Women’s Day, Tuesday, March 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 6:39, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:06. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 1:25 tomorrow morning.

The planet Venus is the only major planet named after a goddess. Satellites of the planets are named after both male and female deities. When asteroids were discovered between Mars and Jupiter they began to receive female deity names, however errant asteroids that that came close to the Earth’s orbit received male names. Venus, named after the Roman goddess of love, by convention, has female names for its land forms. But before that convention was adopted the first bright radar feature found on Venus, in 1967, was Maxwell Montes, named after James Clerk Maxwell whose work in the 19th century predicted radio waves. It is by reflected radio waves (radar) by which that feature had been found using the Arecibo radio telescope.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Radar map of Venus produced by the radar altimeter of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter, 1978-1992. Note Maxwell Montes at the top, part of Ishtar Terra, a continent-like land mass. Another large land mass is Aphrodite Terra in the center right. Click on the image to enlarge it.  Credit: NASA.

04/12/2021 – Ephemeris – Human space flight began 60 years ago today

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Monday, April 12th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 8:24, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:01. The Moon, 1 day past new, will set at 9:05 this evening.

60 years ago today Yuri Gagarin a Soviet Air Force pilot became the first cosmonaut and first person to orbit the Earth in his Vostok-1 spacecraft. The event has been celebrated around the world since 2001 as Yuri’s Night. Gagarin was strictly a passenger on his flight, but was given a key to override the automated functions of the spacecraft to take over manually if needed. He ejected from the capsule as planned to land by parachute. His flight came three weeks before the United States and NASA launched Alan Shepard on his sub-orbital flight in his Freedom 7 Mercury Capsule on May 5th 1961. It wasn’t until February 20th the next year that John Glenn made three orbits of the Earth in his Friendship 7 Capsule to match Gagarin’s feat.

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

Addendum

Yuri Gagarin in his space suit and helmet.

Vostok-1 rocket at launch carrying Yuri Gagarin on his single orbit of the Earth. The current Soyuz rocket is a direct descendant of the R-7 used for Yuri Gagarin’s flight and the Soviet’s first ICBM.

The Vostok capsule upon landing. Gagarin was ejected from the capsule at 7 kilometers altitude to land with his own parachute rather than trying to survive a rough hard earth landing in the capsule.

Yuri’s Night logo

06/03/2019 – Ephemeris – We’re starting Ephemeris’ 45th journey around the Sun

Ephemeris for Monday, June 3rd. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 23 minutes, setting at 9:22, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:59. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.

With this program Ephemeris begins its 45th journey around the Sun. While this short program mostly covers the wonders visible in the heavens with the naked eye, binoculars or small telescope, as last week has shown we also cover news developments, hopefully whetting your appetite to dig deeper. Over the last 44 years we’ve seen the rise and demise of the Space Shuttle program, the fantastic images and data brought back by the Hubble Space Telescope, the planetary probes Viking, Voyager, Galileo, Cassini, MESSENGER, New Horizons, Rosetta, Dawn and others to visit all the planets in the solar system plus asteroids, dwarf planets, and comets. Discoveries beyond the solar system boggle the mind. Let’s go for another orbit around the Sun on spaceship Earth.

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

 

02/02/2015 – Ephemeris – Ground Hog Day and other Cross-Quarter days

Ephemeris for Ground Hog Day, Monday, February 2nd.  The sun will rise at 8:01.  It’ll be up for 9 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 5:52.   The moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:26 tomorrow morning.

If Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog in Punxsutawney, PA sees his shadow we’re supposed to be in for 6 weeks of winter, otherwise spring is just around the corner.  The way the seasons really work, is that Ground Hog day is about half the way from the winter solstice to the spring equinox.  In reality calendar-wise winter is about 12 weeks and 5 days, so we only have 6 weeks a few days to go of winter anyway.  Groundhog day, May Day, and All Saints Day are holidays near cross quarter days, which are said to mark when seasons are half over.  It seems no one cares when summer is half over around the first of August when Back to School Sales used to start.  Of course now those sales seem to start the day after school lets out in June.

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

Addendum

Poor Punxsutawney Phil, rousted out of his mid winter nap. They might be in the middle of a blizzard today. Credit: http://www.fuzzytoday.com

04/12/2013 – Ephemeris – Yuri’s Night

Ephemeris for Friday, April 12th.  The sun will rise at 7:03.  It’ll be up for 13 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 8:23.   The moon, 2 days past new, will set at 11:00 this evening.

A special celebration has been sneaking into my consciousness: Yuri’s Night.  It is celebrated in many places around the world, including at NASA.  The closest celebration to us is in Ann Arbor. It is the anniversary of Yuri Gargarin’s, and mankind’s first orbital flight around the earth in 1961.  These are all in the nature of parties, talks and the like celebrating the beginning of humankind’s first steps into space.  Gargarin never flew in space again and tragically died in 1968 when his jet crashed.

NASA has released a series of ebooks about the Soviet space program written by Boris Chertok, one of the rocket designers.  It’s in four volumes Rockets and People.  I skipped to the 4th, the Moon Race and their heart breaking development of the N1 moon  rocket that never really worked.

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

Addendum

Link to NASA’s page to download Rockets and People.