Archive
06/29/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing July skies
Ephemeris for Friday, June 29th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:00. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 10:38 this evening.
Lets preview July’s skies. The Sun, having reached its northern solstice, is beginning to slide southward again, at first imperceptibly, then with greater speed. The daylight hours will decrease from 15 hours and 30 minutes Sunday to 14 hours 41 minutes at month’s end. The daylight hours will be slightly shorter south of Interlochen, and slightly longer to the north. The altitude of the Sun at local noon, when the Sun is due south will decrease from 68 degrees today to 63 degrees at month’s end. The Sun will be a degree lower in the Straits area. Despite the warmth, the Earth will reach its greatest distance from the Sun on Friday the 6th. The planets visible this month in the evening are Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and later, Mars.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
July Evening Star Chart
Star Chart for July 2018 (11 p.m. EDT July 15, 2018). Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 11 p.m. EDT in the evening and 4:30 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian. (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.
Note the chart times of 11 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th add ½ hour (28 minutes if you’re picky). For each week after the 15th subtract ½ hour. The planet positions are updated each Wednesday on this blog. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th, check the Wednesday planet posts on this blog.
July Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for July 2018 mornings based on 4:30 a.m. July 15th. Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
Star chart annotations
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- Leaky Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus and
- Continue with a spike to Spica.
- The Summer Triangle is in red.
- DAqR – Delta Aquariid meteor shower radiant
Twilight
Evening nautical twilight ends at 11:00 p.m. EDT on the 1st, decreasing to 10:28 p.m. EDT on the 31st.
Evening astronomical twilight ends at 12:03 a.m. EDT on the 1st, decreasing to 11:28 a.m. EDT on the 31st.
Morning astronomical twilight starts at 3:38 a.m. EDT on the 1st, and increasing to 4:28 a.m. EDT on the 31st.
Morning nautical twilight starts at 4:41 a.m. EDT on the 1st, and increasing to 5:17 a.m. EDT on the 31st.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
Jul 01 Su Venus: 40.7° E
04 We 1:39 am Mercury-Beehive: 0.6° S
06 Fr 3:51 am Last Quarter
06 Fr 11:59 am Aphelion: 1.0167 AU
09 Mo 7:36 pm Venus-Regulus: 1° N
10 Tu 5:30 am Moon-Aldebaran: 1.1° S
12 Th 12:59 am Mercury Elongation: 26.4° E
12 Th 8:01 am Moon North Dec.: 20.8° N
12 Th 10:48 pm New Moon
12 Th 11:01 pm Partial Solar Eclipse (S Australia)
13 Fr 4:28 am Moon Perigee: 357400 km
13 Fr 10:50 pm Moon Ascending Node
14 Sa 6:04 pm Moon-Mercury: 2.2° S
15 Su 12:14 pm Moon-Regulus: 1.7° S
15 Su 11:31 pm Moon-Venus: 1.6° S
19 Th 3:52 pm First Quarter
20 Fr 7:57 pm Moon-Jupiter: 4.8° S
25 We 2:10 am Moon-Saturn: 2.2° S
25 We 4:55 pm Moon South Dec.: 20.8° S
27 Fr 1:31 am Mars Opposition
27 Fr 1:44 am Moon Apogee: 406200 km
27 Fr 4:21 pm Full Moon
27 Fr 4:22 pm Total Lunar Eclipse (S.America, Europe, Africa, Asia)
27 Fr 6:40 pm Moon Descending Node
28 Sa 4:50 pm Delta Aquarid Shower: ZHR = 20
31 Tu 3:51 am Mars closest to the Earth 57.59 mkm
Aug 01 We Venus: 45.1° E
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
July, 2018 Local time zone: EDT
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM |
| | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Sun 1| 06:01a 09:32p 15:30 | 10:57p 04:35a | Rise 11:49p 88%|
|Mon 2| 06:01a 09:31p 15:30 | 10:56p 04:36a | Rise 12:19a 81%|
|Tue 3| 06:02a 09:31p 15:29 | 10:56p 04:37a | Rise 12:47a 72%|
|Wed 4| 06:02a 09:31p 15:28 | 10:56p 04:37a | Rise 01:13a 63%|
|Thu 5| 06:03a 09:30p 15:27 | 10:55p 04:38a | Rise 01:39a 53%|
|Fri 6| 06:04a 09:30p 15:26 | 10:54p 04:39a |L Qtr Rise 02:06a 43%|
|Sat 7| 06:04a 09:30p 15:25 | 10:54p 04:40a | Rise 02:36a 33%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 8| 06:05a 09:29p 15:24 | 10:53p 04:41a | Rise 03:10a 23%|
|Mon 9| 06:06a 09:29p 15:22 | 10:52p 04:42a | Rise 03:50a 14%|
|Tue 10| 06:07a 09:28p 15:21 | 10:51p 04:43a | Rise 04:38a 7%|
|Wed 11| 06:08a 09:28p 15:20 | 10:51p 04:44a | Rise 05:36a 2%|
|Thu 12| 06:08a 09:27p 15:18 | 10:50p 04:46a |New Set 09:09p 0%|
|Fri 13| 06:09a 09:26p 15:17 | 10:49p 04:47a | Set 10:04p 1%|
|Sat 14| 06:10a 09:26p 15:15 | 10:48p 04:48a | Set 10:50p 5%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 15| 06:11a 09:25p 15:14 | 10:47p 04:49a | Set 11:29p 12%|
|Mon 16| 06:12a 09:24p 15:12 | 10:46p 04:50a | Set 12:02a 21%|
|Tue 17| 06:13a 09:24p 15:10 | 10:44p 04:52a | Set 12:32a 31%|
|Wed 18| 06:14a 09:23p 15:08 | 10:43p 04:53a | Set 01:01a 41%|
|Thu 19| 06:15a 09:22p 15:07 | 10:42p 04:54a |F Qtr Set 01:29a 52%|
|Fri 20| 06:16a 09:21p 15:05 | 10:41p 04:56a | Set 01:57a 62%|
|Sat 21| 06:17a 09:20p 15:03 | 10:40p 04:57a | Set 02:28a 72%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 22| 06:18a 09:19p 15:01 | 10:38p 04:58a | Set 03:03a 80%|
|Mon 23| 06:19a 09:18p 14:59 | 10:37p 05:00a | Set 03:41a 87%|
|Tue 24| 06:20a 09:17p 14:57 | 10:36p 05:01a | Set 04:25a 93%|
|Wed 25| 06:21a 09:16p 14:55 | 10:34p 05:03a | Set 05:13a 97%|
|Thu 26| 06:22a 09:15p 14:53 | 10:33p 05:04a | Set 06:06a 99%|
|Fri 27| 06:23a 09:14p 14:50 | 10:31p 05:05a |Full Rise 09:16p 100%|
|Sat 28| 06:24a 09:13p 14:48 | 10:30p 05:07a | Rise 09:51p 99%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 29| 06:25a 09:12p 14:46 | 10:28p 05:08a | Rise 10:23p 96%|
|Mon 30| 06:26a 09:10p 14:44 | 10:27p 05:10a | Rise 10:51p 91%|
|Tue 31| 06:27a 09:09p 14:41 | 10:25p 05:11a | Rise 11:17p 85%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset
Ephemeris of Sky Events is created with my DOS version LookingUp program.
05/31/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing June skies
Ephemeris for Thursday, May 31st. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 19 minutes, setting at 9:20, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:00. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 11:10 this evening.
Let’s preview June skies. There will be a lot of Sun in June and very little night. The daylight hours will increase a bit from 15 hours and 21 minutes Tomorrow to 15 hours and 34 minutes on the 21st, retreating back to 15 hours 31 minutes at month’s end. The altitude of the sun above the southern horizon at local noon will hover around 68 to 69 degrees. Local noon, when the sun is actually due south will occur at about 1:43 p.m. Summer begins on the 21st at 6:07 a.m. when the sun reaches its farthest north. The actual amount of night-time will be quite short mostly due to the length of daylight, but also because twilight lasts much longer than average because the sun sets at a shallow angle. On the 21st there’s theoretically only 3 ½ hours of total darkness.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
June Evening Star Chart
Star Chart for June 2018 (11 p.m. EDT June 15, 2018). Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 11 p.m. EDT in the evening and 4:30 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian. (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.
Note the chart times of 11 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th add ½ hour (28 minutes if you’re picky). For each week after the 15th subtract ½ hour. The planet positions are updated each Wednesday on this blog. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th, check the Wednesday planet posts on this blog.
June Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for June 2018 mornings based on 4:30 a.m. June 15th. Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
Star chart annotations
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- Leaky Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus and
- Continue with a spike to Spica.
- The Summer Triangle is in red.
Twilight
Evening nautical twilight ends at 10:46 p.m. EDT on the 1st, increasing to 10:59 p.m. EDT on the 30th.
Evening astronomical twilight ends at 11:44 p.m. EDT on the 1st, increasing to 12:02 a.m. EDT on the 30th.
Morning astronomical twilight starts at 3:44 a.m. EDT on the 1st, and decreasing to 3:38 a.m. EDT on the 30th.
Morning nautical twilight starts at 4:42 a.m. EDT on the 1st, and decreasing to 4:40 a.m. EDT on the 30th.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
Jun 01 Fr Venus: 34.5° E
01 Fr 3:09 am Moon South Dec.: 20.7° S
02 Sa 12:34 pm Moon Apogee: 405300 km
03 Su 7:58 am Moon-Mars: 3.5° S
03 Su 8:39 am Moon Descending Node
05 Tu 9:53 pm Mercury Superior Conj.
06 We 2:32 pm Last Quarter
07 Th 11:35 pm Venus-Pollux: 4.7° S
13 We 3:43 pm New Moon
14 Th 7:55 pm Moon Perigee: 359500 km
14 Th 8:52 pm Moon North Dec.: 20.8° N
16 Sa 9:13 am Moon-Venus: 2.3° N
16 Sa 1:50 pm Moon Ascending Node
16 Sa 3:38 pm Moon-Beehive: 1.5° N
18 Mo 3:25 am Moon-Regulus: 1.7° S
19 Tu 10:23 pm Venus-Beehive: 0.4° N
20 We 6:51 am First Quarter
21 Th 6:07 am Summer Solstice
23 Sa 2:47 pm Moon-Jupiter: 4.6° S
24 Su 5:35 pm Mercury-Pollux: 4.8° S
27 We 8:25 am Saturn Opposition
27 We 11:59 pm Moon-Saturn: 2° S
28 Th 12:53 am Full Moon
28 Th 10:30 am Moon South Dec.: 20.8° S
29 Fr 10:43 pm Moon Apogee: 406100 km
30 Sa 12:44 pm Moon Descending Node
Jul 01 Su Venus: 40.7° E
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 NMC Observatory
June, 2018 Local time zone: EDT
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM |
| | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Fri 1| 06:00a 09:20p 15:20 | 10:43p 04:37a | Rise 11:56p 90%|
|Sat 2| 05:59a 09:21p 15:21 | 10:44p 04:36a | Rise 12:38a 83%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 3| 05:59a 09:22p 15:22 | 10:45p 04:36a | Rise 01:14a 75%|
|Mon 4| 05:59a 09:22p 15:23 | 10:46p 04:35a | Rise 01:46a 67%|
|Tue 5| 05:58a 09:23p 15:25 | 10:47p 04:34a | Rise 02:15a 58%|
|Wed 6| 05:58a 09:24p 15:26 | 10:48p 04:34a |L Qtr Rise 02:43a 48%|
|Thu 7| 05:57a 09:25p 15:27 | 10:49p 04:33a | Rise 03:10a 38%|
|Fri 8| 05:57a 09:25p 15:28 | 10:50p 04:33a | Rise 03:37a 28%|
|Sat 9| 05:57a 09:26p 15:28 | 10:51p 04:32a | Rise 04:06a 19%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 10| 05:57a 09:26p 15:29 | 10:52p 04:32a | Rise 04:39a 11%|
|Mon 11| 05:57a 09:27p 15:30 | 10:52p 04:31a | Rise 05:17a 5%|
|Tue 12| 05:56a 09:28p 15:31 | 10:53p 04:31a | Rise 06:02a 1%|
|Wed 13| 05:56a 09:28p 15:31 | 10:54p 04:31a |New Set 09:20p 0%|
|Thu 14| 05:56a 09:29p 15:32 | 10:54p 04:31a | Set 10:26p 2%|
|Fri 15| 05:56a 09:29p 15:32 | 10:55p 04:31a | Set 11:25p 7%|
|Sat 16| 05:56a 09:29p 15:33 | 10:55p 04:30a | Set 12:14a 14%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 17| 05:56a 09:30p 15:33 | 10:56p 04:30a | Set 12:55a 24%|
|Mon 18| 05:56a 09:30p 15:33 | 10:56p 04:30a | Set 01:30a 34%|
|Tue 19| 05:56a 09:30p 15:33 | 10:56p 04:31a | Set 02:01a 45%|
|Wed 20| 05:57a 09:31p 15:33 | 10:57p 04:31a |F Qtr Set 02:29a 56%|
|Thu 21| 05:57a 09:31p 15:33 | 10:57p 04:31a | Set 02:57a 66%|
|Fri 22| 05:57a 09:31p 15:33 | 10:57p 04:31a | Set 03:24a 76%|
|Sat 23| 05:57a 09:31p 15:33 | 10:57p 04:31a | Set 03:54a 84%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 24| 05:58a 09:31p 15:33 | 10:57p 04:32a | Set 04:26a 90%|
|Mon 25| 05:58a 09:31p 15:33 | 10:57p 04:32a | Set 05:02a 95%|
|Tue 26| 05:58a 09:31p 15:32 | 10:57p 04:33a | Set 05:42a 99%|
|Wed 27| 05:59a 09:31p 15:32 | 10:57p 04:33a | Set 06:27a 100%|
|Thu 28| 05:59a 09:31p 15:31 | 10:57p 04:34a |Full Rise 09:54p 99%|
|Fri 29| 06:00a 09:31p 15:31 | 10:56p 04:34a | Rise 10:37p 97%|
|Sat 30| 06:00a 09:31p 15:30 | 10:56p 04:35a | Rise 11:15p 93%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset
05/01/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing May Skies
Ephemeris for Tuesday, the first day of May. The Sun rises at 6:32. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 15 minutes, setting at 8:47. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 10:32 this evening.
They say April showers bring May flowers, but I don’t think they meant snow showers. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area will increase from 14 hours and 15 minutes today to 15 hours 19 minutes on May 31st. The altitude, or angle, of the sun above the southern horizon at local noon will ascend from 60 degrees today to 67 degrees at month’s end. The altitude of the sun in the Straits area will be a degree lower than that but your length of daylight will be a few minutes longer. Local apparent noon this month, when the sun passes due south, will be about 1:38 p.m. The Eta Aquariid meteor shower will reach its peak about 3 a.m. this Saturday morning the 5th, but the bright morning Moon will interfere.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
May Evening Sky Chart
Star Chart for May 2018 (11 p.m. EDT May 15, 2018). Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 11 p.m. EDT in the evening and 5 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT and 45 minutes behind our daylight standard time meridian. during EST). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 1 hour 45 minutes (Daylight Time) or 45 minutes (Standard Time) earlier than the current time.
Note the chart times of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th add ½ hour (28 minutes if you’re picky). For each week after the 15th subtract ½ hour. The planet positions are updated each Wednesday on this blog. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th, check the Wednesday planet posts on this blog.
May Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for May 2018 mornings based on 5 a.m. May 15th. Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
Star chart annotations
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- Leaky Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus and
- Continue with a spike to Spica.
- The Summer Triangle is in red.
- EAqr is the Eta Aquariid meteor shower radiant. This shower will be plagued by a waning gibbous moon. It will be addressed in the May 3rd program. This is a shower of bits from Halley’s Comet.
Twilight
Evening nautical twilight ends at 10:02 p.m. EDT on the 1st, increasing to 10:44 p.m. EDT on the 31st.
Evening astronomical twilight ends at 10:46 p.m. EDT on the 1st, increasing to 11:42 p.m. EDT on the 31st.
Morning astronomical twilight starts at 4:40 a.m. EDT on the 1st, and decreasing to 3:45 a.m. EDT on the 31st.
Morning nautical twilight starts at 5:25 a.m. EDT on the 1st, and decreasing to 4:44 a.m. EDT on the 31st.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
May 01 Tu Venus: 27.2° E
02 We 9:24 am Venus-Aldebaran: 6.4° N
04 Fr 4:31 pm Moon-Saturn: 1.9° S
04 Fr 7:00 pm Moon South Dec.: 20.6° S
05 Sa 3:03 am Eta Aquarid Shower: ZHR = 60
05 Sa 8:35 pm Moon Apogee: 404500 km
06 Su 3:24 am Moon-Mars: 3° S
07 Mo 6:24 am Moon Descending Node
07 Mo 10:09 pm Last Quarter
08 Tu 8:10 pm Jupiter Opposition
13 Su 1:21 pm Moon-Mercury: 2.5° N
15 Tu 7:48 am New Moon
17 Th 2:11 pm Moon-Venus: 4.8° N
17 Th 5:06 pm Moon Perigee: 363800 km
18 Fr 11:02 am Moon North Dec.: 20.7° N
20 Su 7:57 am Moon-Beehive: 1.7° N
20 Su 9:13 am Moon Ascending Node
21 Mo 8:53 pm Moon-Regulus: 1.5° S
21 Mo 11:49 pm First Quarter
27 Su 1:39 pm Moon-Jupiter: 4.3° S
29 Tu 10:20 am Full Moon
31 Th 9:20 pm Moon-Saturn: 1.8° S
Jun 01 Fr Venus: 34.5° E
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
May, 2018 Local time zone: EDT
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM |
| | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Tue 1| 06:32a 08:47p 14:15 | 10:00p 05:20a | Rise 10:32p 96%|
|Wed 2| 06:31a 08:49p 14:17 | 10:01p 05:18a | Rise 11:31p 91%|
|Thu 3| 06:29a 08:50p 14:20 | 10:03p 05:17a | Rise 12:26a 85%|
|Fri 4| 06:28a 08:51p 14:23 | 10:04p 05:15a | Rise 01:15a 78%|
|Sat 5| 06:27a 08:52p 14:25 | 10:06p 05:13a | Rise 02:00a 69%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 6| 06:25a 08:53p 14:28 | 10:07p 05:12a | Rise 02:39a 60%|
|Mon 7| 06:24a 08:55p 14:30 | 10:09p 05:10a |L Qtr Rise 03:14a 51%|
|Tue 8| 06:23a 08:56p 14:33 | 10:11p 05:08a | Rise 03:45a 41%|
|Wed 9| 06:21a 08:57p 14:35 | 10:12p 05:06a | Rise 04:14a 32%|
|Thu 10| 06:20a 08:58p 14:38 | 10:14p 05:05a | Rise 04:42a 23%|
|Fri 11| 06:19a 08:59p 14:40 | 10:15p 05:03a | Rise 05:09a 15%|
|Sat 12| 06:18a 09:00p 14:42 | 10:17p 05:02a | Rise 05:38a 8%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 13| 06:16a 09:02p 14:45 | 10:18p 05:00a | Rise 06:09a 3%|
|Mon 14| 06:15a 09:03p 14:47 | 10:20p 04:59a | Rise 06:45a 1%|
|Tue 15| 06:14a 09:04p 14:49 | 10:21p 04:57a |New Set 09:20p 1%|
|Wed 16| 06:13a 09:05p 14:52 | 10:23p 04:56a | Set 10:32p 3%|
|Thu 17| 06:12a 09:06p 14:54 | 10:24p 04:54a | Set 11:40p 9%|
|Fri 18| 06:11a 09:07p 14:56 | 10:26p 04:53a | Set 12:41a 17%|
|Sat 19| 06:10a 09:08p 14:58 | 10:27p 04:51a | Set 01:33a 26%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 20| 06:09a 09:09p 15:00 | 10:29p 04:50a | Set 02:17a 37%|
|Mon 21| 06:08a 09:10p 15:02 | 10:30p 04:49a |F Qtr Set 02:55a 48%|
|Tue 22| 06:07a 09:12p 15:04 | 10:32p 04:47a | Set 03:27a 59%|
|Wed 23| 06:06a 09:13p 15:06 | 10:33p 04:46a | Set 03:56a 70%|
|Thu 24| 06:05a 09:14p 15:08 | 10:34p 04:45a | Set 04:24a 79%|
|Fri 25| 06:05a 09:15p 15:09 | 10:36p 04:44a | Set 04:52a 87%|
|Sat 26| 06:04a 09:16p 15:11 | 10:37p 04:43a | Set 05:20a 93%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 27| 06:03a 09:16p 15:13 | 10:38p 04:42a | Set 05:51a 97%|
|Mon 28| 06:02a 09:17p 15:15 | 10:39p 04:41a | Set 06:24a 99%|
|Tue 29| 06:02a 09:18p 15:16 | 10:41p 04:40a |Full Rise 09:21p 100%|
|Wed 30| 06:01a 09:19p 15:18 | 10:42p 04:39a | Rise 10:18p 98%|
|Thu 31| 06:00a 09:20p 15:19 | 10:43p 04:38a | Rise 11:10p 95%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunset and sunrise
03/30/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing April skies
Ephemeris for Good Friday, Friday, March 30th. The Sun will rise at 7:27. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 40 minutes, setting at 8:07. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:50 tomorrow morning.
The 4th month of the year begins on Sunday. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will increase from 12 hours and 46 minutes Sunday to 14 hours 12 minutes on April 30th. The altitude, or angle, of the Sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be 50 degrees Sunday and will ascend to 60 degrees on April 30th. The altitude of the Sun in the Straits area will be a degree lower. The actual time of local apparent noon when the sun passes due south, will be about 1:43 p.m. The Lyrid meteor shower will reach it’s peak on the early afternoon of the 22nd. So the early morning hours between 3 and 5 a.m. are the best time to see it when the Moon has set and the radiant is high in the sky.
Addendum
April Evening Sky Chart
Star Chart for April 2018 (10 p.m. EDT April 15, 2018). 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 5 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT and 45 minutes behind our daylight standard time meridian. during EST). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 1 hour 45 minutes (Daylight Time) or 45 minutes (Standard Time) earlier than the current time.
Note the chart times of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th add ½ hour (28 minutes if you’re picky). Watch out for the time change. For each week after the 15th subtract ½ hour. The planet positions are updated each Wednesday on this blog. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th, check the Wednesday planet posts on this blog.
April Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for April 2018 mornings based on 5 a.m. April 15th. Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
Star chart annotations
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- Leaky Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus and
- Continue with a spike to Spica.
- The Summer Triangle is in red.
- LyrR is the Lyrid meteor shower radiant. The Lyrid meteor shower will reach its peak for us on the morning of the 22nd. The actual peak time is variable for this shower and can occur as early as 6 a.m. to as late as 5 p.m. Also the peak numbers of meteors are variable. Best time to observe without the Moon is between 3 a.m. and the start of twilight.
Twilight
Evening nautical twilight ends at 9:17 p.m. EDT on the 1st, increasing to 10:00 p.m. EDT on the 30th.
Evening astronomical twilight ends at 9:54 p.m. EDT on the 1st, increasing to 10:44 p.m. EDT on the 30th.
Morning astronomical twilight starts at 5:47 a.m. EDT on the 1st, and decreasing to 4:43 a.m. EDT on the 30th.
Morning nautical twilight starts at 6:23 a.m. EDT on the 1st, and decreasing to 5:27 a.m. EDT on the 30th.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
Apr 01 Su Venus: 19.9° E
01 Su 1:47 pm Mercury Inferior Conj.
02 Mo 3:02 pm Mars-Saturn: 1.3° N
03 Tu 10:14 am Moon-Jupiter: 4.2° S
07 Sa 8:50 am Moon-Saturn: 2.1° S
07 Sa 10:37 am Moon South Dec.: 20.3° S
07 Sa 2:15 pm Moon-Mars: 3.5° S
08 Su 1:32 am Moon Apogee: 404100 km
08 Su 3:18 am Last Quarter
10 Tu 4:09 am Moon Descending Node
15 Su 9:57 pm New Moon
17 Tu 3:29 pm Moon-Venus: 5.5° N
18 We 10:35 am Uranus Conjunction
19 Th 12:45 am Moon-Aldebaran: 1.1° S
20 Fr 10:44 am Moon Perigee: 368700 km
21 Sa 3:38 am Moon North Dec.: 20.4° N
22 Su 1:49 pm Lyrid Shower: ZHR = 20
22 Su 5:46 pm First Quarter
23 Mo 2:17 am Moon-Beehive: 2° N
23 Mo 8:19 am Moon Ascending Node
24 Tu 12:47 pm Venus-Pleiades: 3.5° S
24 Tu 3:39 pm Moon-Regulus: 1.2° S
29 Su 1:59 pm Mercury Elongation: 27° W
29 Su 8:58 pm Full Moon
30 Mo 1:16 pm Moon-Jupiter: 4.1° S
May 01 Tu Venus: 27.2° E
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
April, 2018 Local time zone: EDT
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM |
| | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Sun 1| 07:23a 08:10p 12:46 | 09:15p 06:19a | Rise 09:35p 97%|
|Mon 2| 07:21a 08:11p 12:49 | 09:16p 06:17a | Rise 10:40p 93%|
|Tue 3| 07:19a 08:12p 12:53 | 09:18p 06:15a | Rise 11:44p 87%|
|Wed 4| 07:18a 08:14p 12:56 | 09:19p 06:13a | Rise 12:44a 80%|
|Thu 5| 07:16a 08:15p 12:59 | 09:20p 06:11a | Rise 01:41a 71%|
|Fri 6| 07:14a 08:16p 13:02 | 09:22p 06:09a | Rise 02:33a 62%|
|Sat 7| 07:12a 08:17p 13:05 | 09:23p 06:07a | Rise 03:20a 53%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 8| 07:10a 08:19p 13:08 | 09:25p 06:05a |L Qtr Rise 04:03a 43%|
|Mon 9| 07:09a 08:20p 13:11 | 09:26p 06:03a | Rise 04:40a 34%|
|Tue 10| 07:07a 08:21p 13:14 | 09:28p 06:01a | Rise 05:14a 25%|
|Wed 11| 07:05a 08:22p 13:17 | 09:29p 05:59a | Rise 05:45a 17%|
|Thu 12| 07:03a 08:24p 13:20 | 09:31p 05:57a | Rise 06:14a 11%|
|Fri 13| 07:01a 08:25p 13:23 | 09:32p 05:55a | Rise 06:42a 5%|
|Sat 14| 07:00a 08:26p 13:26 | 09:34p 05:53a | Rise 07:10a 2%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 15| 06:58a 08:27p 13:29 | 09:35p 05:51a |New Set 08:05p 0%|
|Mon 16| 06:56a 08:29p 13:32 | 09:37p 05:49a | Set 09:16p 1%|
|Tue 17| 06:55a 08:30p 13:35 | 09:38p 05:47a | Set 10:27p 5%|
|Wed 18| 06:53a 08:31p 13:38 | 09:40p 05:45a | Set 11:38p 11%|
|Thu 19| 06:51a 08:32p 13:41 | 09:41p 05:43a | Set 12:47a 19%|
|Fri 20| 06:50a 08:34p 13:44 | 09:43p 05:41a | Set 01:50a 29%|
|Sat 21| 06:48a 08:35p 13:47 | 09:44p 05:39a | Set 02:46a 40%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 22| 06:46a 08:36p 13:49 | 09:46p 05:37a |F Qtr Set 03:34a 51%|
|Mon 23| 06:45a 08:37p 13:52 | 09:47p 05:35a | Set 04:15a 62%|
|Tue 24| 06:43a 08:39p 13:55 | 09:49p 05:33a | Set 04:51a 73%|
|Wed 25| 06:41a 08:40p 13:58 | 09:50p 05:31a | Set 05:22a 82%|
|Thu 26| 06:40a 08:41p 14:01 | 09:52p 05:29a | Set 05:52a 90%|
|Fri 27| 06:38a 08:42p 14:04 | 09:53p 05:28a | Set 06:20a 95%|
|Sat 28| 06:37a 08:44p 14:06 | 09:55p 05:26a | Set 06:48a 99%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 29| 06:35a 08:45p 14:09 | 09:57p 05:24a |Full Rise 08:25p 100%|
|Mon 30| 06:34a 08:46p 14:12 | 09:58p 05:22a | Rise 09:30p 99%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunset and sunrise
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
03/01/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing March skies
Ephemeris for Thursday, March 1st. The Sun will rise at 7:20. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 10 minutes, setting at 6:30. The Moon, at full today, will rise at 6:16 this evening.
Let’s look at the skies for the month of March. The Sun will pass the celestial equator in March as the promising season of spring will begin. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will increase from 11 hours and 10 minutes today to 12 hours 43 minutes on the 31st. The altitude, or angle, of the Sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be just under 38 degrees today and will ascend to nearly 50 degrees on the 31st. The altitude of the Sun in the Straits area will be a degree lower. Local apparent noon this month, when the Sun passes due south, will be about 12:49 p.m. and an hour later when daylight time starts. Spring will begin on the 20th at 12:15 p.m. Daylight Time, which now rules most of the year will start on the 11th.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
March Evening Sky Chart
Star Chart for March 2018 (10 p.m. EDT March 15, 2018). 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. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian. during EDT and 45 minutes behind our daylight standard time meridian. during EST). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 1 hour 45 minutes (Daylight Time) or 45 minutes (Standard Time) earlier than the current time if you are near your time meridian. Note that Daylight time starts at 2 a.m. Sunday March 11th for most US states.
Note the chart times of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th add ½ hour (28 minutes if you’re picky). Watch out for the time change. For each week after the 15th subtract ½ hour. The planet positions are updated each Wednesday on this blog. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th, check the Wednesday planet posts on this blog.
March Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for March 2018 mornings based on 6 a.m. March 15th. Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
Star chart annotations
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- Leaky Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus and
- Continue with a spike to Spica.
- The Summer Triangle is in red.
Twilight
Evening nautical twilight ends at 7:32 p.m. EST on the 1st, increasing to 9:16 p.m. EDT on the 31st.
Evening astronomical twilight ends at 8:06 p.m. EST on the 1st, increasing to 9:52 p.m. EDT on the 31st.
Morning astronomical twilight starts at 5:44 a.m. EST on the 1st, and decreasing to 5:49 a.m. EDT on the 31st.
Morning nautical twilight starts at 6:17 a.m. EST on the 1st, and decreasing to 6:25 a.m. EDT on the 31st.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
Mar 01 Th Venus: 12.4° E
01 Th 12:09 am Moon-Regulus: 0.9° S
01 Th 7:51 pm Full Moon (Worm Moon)
04 Su 8:32 am Neptune Solar Conjunction
07 We 1:57 am Moon-Jupiter: 4.4° S
09 Fr 6:20 am Last Quarter
09 Fr 7:37 pm Moon-Mars: 4.2° S
10 Sa 9:37 pm Moon-Saturn: 2.5° S
11 Su 1:39 am Moon South Dec.: 20.1° S
11 Su 2:00 am Daylight Saving Time begins
11 Su 4:13 am Moon Apogee: 404700 km
13 Tu 11:48 pm Moon Descending Node
15 Th 10:59 am Mercury Greatest Eastern Elongation: 18.4°
17 Sa 9:12 am New Moon
18 Su 3:07 pm Moon-Venus: 3.9° N
19 Mo 3:51 am Mercury-Venus: 3.8° N
20 Tu 12:15 pm Vernal Equinox
22 Th 6:33 pm Moon-Aldebaran: 0.9° S
24 Sa 11:35 am First Quarter
24 Sa 10:04 pm Moon North Dec.: 20.2° N
26 Mo 1:17 pm Moon Perigee: 369100 km
26 Mo 8:52 pm Moon-Beehive: 2.2° N
27 Tu 6:56 am Moon Ascending Node
28 We 9:38 am Moon-Regulus: 1° S
31 Sa 8:37 am Full Moon (Blue Moon)
Apr 01 Su Venus: 19.9° E
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
March, 2018 Local time zone: EST
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM |
| | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Thu 1| 07:20a 06:30p 11:10 | 07:33p 06:17a |Full Rise 06:16p 100%|
|Fri 2| 07:18a 06:31p 11:13 | 07:35p 06:15a | Rise 07:29p 99%|
|Sat 3| 07:16a 06:33p 11:16 | 07:36p 06:13a | Rise 08:40p 95%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 4| 07:15a 06:34p 11:19 | 07:37p 06:12a | Rise 09:48p 89%|
|Mon 5| 07:13a 06:35p 11:22 | 07:38p 06:10a | Rise 10:53p 82%|
|Tue 6| 07:11a 06:37p 11:25 | 07:40p 06:08a | Rise 11:57p 73%|
|Wed 7| 07:09a 06:38p 11:28 | 07:41p 06:06a | Rise 12:58a 64%|
|Thu 8| 07:07a 06:39p 11:31 | 07:42p 06:05a | Rise 01:56a 55%|
|Fri 9| 07:06a 06:41p 11:35 | 07:44p 06:03a |L Qtr Rise 02:50a 45%|
|Sat 10| 07:04a 06:42p 11:38 | 07:45p 06:01a | Rise 03:40a 36%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
| EDT | Time Change | | |
|Sun 11| 08:02a 07:43p 11:41 | 08:46p 06:59a | Rise 05:25a 27%|
|Mon 12| 08:00a 07:45p 11:44 | 08:48p 06:57a | Rise 06:05a 19%|
|Tue 13| 07:58a 07:46p 11:47 | 08:49p 06:55a | Rise 06:42a 12%|
|Wed 14| 07:57a 07:47p 11:50 | 08:50p 06:54a | Rise 07:15a 7%|
|Thu 15| 07:55a 07:48p 11:53 | 08:52p 06:52a | Rise 07:45a 3%|
|Fri 16| 07:53a 07:50p 11:56 | 08:53p 06:50a | Rise 08:13a 0%|
|Sat 17| 07:51a 07:51p 12:00 | 08:54p 06:48a |New Set 08:06p 0%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 18| 07:49a 07:52p 12:03 | 08:56p 06:46a | Set 09:13p 2%|
|Mon 19| 07:47a 07:54p 12:06 | 08:57p 06:44a | Set 10:21p 7%|
|Tue 20| 07:45a 07:55p 12:09 | 08:58p 06:42a | Set 11:30p 13%|
|Wed 21| 07:44a 07:56p 12:12 | 09:00p 06:40a | Set 12:39a 22%|
|Thu 22| 07:42a 07:57p 12:15 | 09:01p 06:38a | Set 01:48a 32%|
|Fri 23| 07:40a 07:59p 12:18 | 09:02p 06:36a | Set 02:53a 43%|
|Sat 24| 07:38a 08:00p 12:21 | 09:04p 06:34a |F Qtr Set 03:54a 54%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 25| 07:36a 08:01p 12:25 | 09:05p 06:32a | Set 04:47a 65%|
|Mon 26| 07:34a 08:02p 12:28 | 09:06p 06:30a | Set 05:34a 76%|
|Tue 27| 07:32a 08:04p 12:31 | 09:08p 06:28a | Set 06:14a 85%|
|Wed 28| 07:31a 08:05p 12:34 | 09:09p 06:26a | Set 06:49a 92%|
|Thu 29| 07:29a 08:06p 12:37 | 09:11p 06:25a | Set 07:21a 97%|
|Fri 30| 07:27a 08:07p 12:40 | 09:12p 06:23a | Set 07:50a 100%|
|Sat 31| 07:25a 08:09p 12:43 | 09:13p 06:21a |Full Rise 08:27p 100%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunset and sunrise
02/01/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing February skies
Ephemeris for Thursday, February 1st. The Sun will rise at 8:01. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 5:51. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 7:30 this evening.
Lets look ahead at our short month of February. It’s so short that this year it has no full moons. To make up for it both January and March have two. We’re in the depths of winter but the Sun is continuing its return to northern climes. This is reflected in the increase in daylight hours, from 9 hours 49 minutes today to 11 hours 7 minutes on the 28th. These times are for the Interlochen/Traverse City area. Daylight durations are slightly shorter in the northern part of our listening area and slightly longer to the south. As the month goes on the weather should generally warm and clear up. Venus is moving away from the Sun and will become more and more visible after sunset as the month wears on. Today Venus will set 24 minutes after the Sun. This will increase to an hour after the Sun.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addenda
February Evening Sky Chart
Star Chart for February 2018 (9 p.m. EST February 15, 2018). Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 9 p.m. EST 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. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian. during EDT and 45 minutes behind our daylight standard time meridian. during EST). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 1 hour 45 minutes (Daylight Time) or 45 minutes (Standard Time) earlier than the current time if you are near your time meridian.
Note the chart times of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th add ½ hour. For each week after the 15th subtract ½ hour. The planet positions are updated each Wednesday on this blog. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th, check the Wednesday planet posts on this blog.
February Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for February 2018 mornings based on 6 a.m. February 15th. Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
Star chart annotations
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- Leaky Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus.
- The Summer Triangle is in red.
Twilight
Evening nautical twilight ends at 6:58 p.m. EST on the 1st, increasing to 7:31 p.m. EST on the 28th.
Evening astronomical twilight ends at 7:30 p.m. EST on the 1st, increasing to 8:04 p.m. EST on the 28th.
Morning astronomical twilight starts at 6:22 a.m. EST on the 1st, and decreasing to 5:45 a.m. EST on the 28th.
Morning nautical twilight starts at 6:56 a.m. EST on the 1st, and decreasing to 6:19 a.m. EST on the 28th.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
Feb 01 Th Venus: 5.7° E
01 Th 1:24 pm Moon-Regulus: 0.9° S
07 We 10:54 am Last Quarter
07 We 2:47 pm Moon-Jupiter: 4.7° S
09 Fr 12:12 am Moon-Mars: 4.8° S
11 Su 9:16 am Moon Apogee: 405700 km
11 Su 9:46 am Moon-Saturn: 2.7° S
11 Su 11:40 am Mars-Antares: 5.1° N
11 Su 6:21 pm Moon South Dec.: 20° S
14 We 4:11 pm Moon Descending Node
15 Th 3:52 pm Partial Solar Eclipse - S. America, Antarctica
15 Th 4:05 pm New Moon
17 Sa 7:08 am Mercury Superior Conj.
23 Fr 3:09 am First Quarter
23 Fr 12:07 pm Moon-Aldebaran: 0.7° S
25 Su 3:07 pm Moon North Dec.: 20.1° N
27 Tu 9:48 pm Moon Perigee: 363900 km
27 Tu 12:28 pm Moon-Beehive: 2.3° N
28 We 12:03 am Moon Ascending Node
Mar 01 Th Venus: 12.4° E
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
February, 2018 Local time zone: EST
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM |
| | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Thu 1| 08:01a 05:51p 09:49 | 06:57p 06:55a | Rise 07:30p 97%|
|Fri 2| 08:00a 05:52p 09:52 | 06:58p 06:54a | Rise 08:43p 92%|
|Sat 3| 07:59a 05:54p 09:54 | 07:00p 06:53a | Rise 09:53p 85%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 4| 07:58a 05:55p 09:57 | 07:01p 06:52a | Rise 11:01p 76%|
|Mon 5| 07:57a 05:57p 10:00 | 07:02p 06:51a | Rise 12:06a 66%|
|Tue 6| 07:55a 05:58p 10:02 | 07:04p 06:50a | Rise 01:09a 57%|
|Wed 7| 07:54a 06:00p 10:05 | 07:05p 06:49a |L Qtr Rise 02:10a 47%|
|Thu 8| 07:53a 06:01p 10:08 | 07:06p 06:48a | Rise 03:09a 37%|
|Fri 9| 07:51a 06:02p 10:11 | 07:07p 06:46a | Rise 04:05a 28%|
|Sat 10| 07:50a 06:04p 10:13 | 07:09p 06:45a | Rise 04:57a 20%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 11| 07:48a 06:05p 10:16 | 07:10p 06:44a | Rise 05:45a 13%|
|Mon 12| 07:47a 06:07p 10:19 | 07:11p 06:42a | Rise 06:29a 8%|
|Tue 13| 07:46a 06:08p 10:22 | 07:13p 06:41a | Rise 07:07a 3%|
|Wed 14| 07:44a 06:09p 10:25 | 07:14p 06:40a | Rise 07:42a 1%|
|Thu 15| 07:43a 06:11p 10:28 | 07:15p 06:38a |New Set 06:07p 0%|
|Fri 16| 07:41a 06:12p 10:31 | 07:16p 06:37a | Set 07:09p 1%|
|Sat 17| 07:40a 06:14p 10:34 | 07:18p 06:36a | Set 08:13p 5%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 18| 07:38a 06:15p 10:37 | 07:19p 06:34a | Set 09:17p 10%|
|Mon 19| 07:36a 06:16p 10:40 | 07:20p 06:33a | Set 10:23p 17%|
|Tue 20| 07:35a 06:18p 10:43 | 07:22p 06:31a | Set 11:29p 25%|
|Wed 21| 07:33a 06:19p 10:46 | 07:23p 06:30a | Set 12:38a 35%|
|Thu 22| 07:32a 06:21p 10:49 | 07:24p 06:28a | Set 01:46a 46%|
|Fri 23| 07:30a 06:22p 10:52 | 07:25p 06:27a |F Qtr Set 02:54a 57%|
|Sat 24| 07:28a 06:23p 10:55 | 07:27p 06:25a | Set 04:00a 69%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 25| 07:27a 06:25p 10:58 | 07:28p 06:23a | Set 04:59a 79%|
|Mon 26| 07:25a 06:26p 11:01 | 07:29p 06:22a | Set 05:52a 88%|
|Tue 27| 07:23a 06:27p 11:04 | 07:31p 06:20a | Set 06:38a 94%|
|Wed 28| 07:22a 06:29p 11:07 | 07:32p 06:18a | Set 07:17a 99%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunset and sunrise
12/31/2017 – Ephemeris Extra – January 2018 preview
This isn’t going to be recorded as an actual program. I’m not sure how much information one could retain at 6 or 7 New Years Day morning.
Year end is a busy time astronomically with Earth’s perihelion and the Quadrantid meteor shower following rapidly on New Years day
Let’s look ahead at January 2018. Tuesday the 2nd is the date of the latest sunrise. The Sun is already beginning to head north, as can be seen in the sunset time on the 1st, 11 minutes later than at its earliest three weeks ago. Both sunrise and sunset will be moving in January with sunrise time at 8:20 a.m. and sunset time at 5:12 p.m. on the 1st moving to 8:02 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. at month’s end. The sun’s altitude at noon will increase from 22 degrees on the 1st to nearly 28 degrees by the 31st. The Earth will reach its closest to the Sun in its orbit, called perihelion, on the 2nd at 91.4 million miles (147.1 million km).
We’ll have a full moon on the 1st and the 31st, the so-called blue moon. Both those moons will be super moons, occurring at or near perigee. On top of all that the full moon on the 31st will be totally eclipsed. We in Michigan will see nearly the first half of the eclipse before the Moon sets at 8:04 in the grand Traverse area. Folks farther west will see more, if not all of the eclipse. February will have no full moons, so March again will have two full moons.
The Quadrantid meteor shower will reach peak on the 3rd, in the afternoon. The radiant is circumpolar here, being off the handle of the Big Dipper. Mercury will reach its greatest western elongation on the 1st and be visible shortly before sunrise for the next week rising after 6:30, but brightening a bit each day. It’s not a particularly favorable elongation, now that winter is here. The next evening elongation in March will be a lot better. Venus will be in superior conjunction with the Sun on the 9th and will enter the evening sky, but don’t look for it this month. Mars and Jupiter will have a close conjunction on the 6th. It will look about equally OK on the morning of the 6th or 7th around here because it occurs on the evening of the 6th, when they are not up.
Addenda
January Evening Sky Chart
Star Chart for January 2018 (9 p.m. January 15, 2018). Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 9 p.m. EST 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. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian. during EDT and 45 minutes behind our daylight standard time meridian. during EST). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 1 hour 45 minutes (Daylight Time) or 45 minutes (Standard Time) earlier than the current time if you are near your time meridian.
Note the chart times of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th add ½ hour. For each week after the 15th subtract ½ hour. The planet positions are updated each Wednesday on this blog. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th, check the Wednesday planet posts on this blog.
January Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for January 2018 mornings based on 6 a.m. January 15th. Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
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 Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus.
- The Summer Triangle is in red
- QuadR is the Quadrantid meteor shower radiant. Peaks on January 2nd, but the almost full moon will interfere this year.
Twilight
Evening nautical twilight ends at 6:22 p.m. EST on the 1st, increasing to 6:55 p.m. EST on the 31st.
Evening astronomical twilight ends at 6:57 p.m. EST on the 1st, increasing to 7:29 p.m. EST on the 31st.
Morning astronomical twilight starts at 6:35 a.m. EST on the 1st, and decreasing to 6:23 a.m. EST on the 31st.
Morning nautical twilight starts at 7:10 a.m. EST on the 1st, and decreasing to 6:57 a.m. EST on the 31st.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
Jan 01 Mo Venus: 1.9° W
01 Mo 2:59 pm Mercury Elongation: 22.7° W
01 Mo 4:54 pm Moon Perigee: 356600 km
01 Mo 7:01 pm Moon North Dec.: 20.1° N
01 Mo 9:24 pm Full Moon
02 Tu 9:59 pm Perihelion: 0.9833 AU
03 We 2:50 pm Moon-Beehive: 2.3° N
03 We 3:19 pm Quadrantid Meteor Shower: ZHR = 120
04 Th 2:48 am Moon Ascending Node
05 Fr 2:24 am Moon-Regulus: 0.9° S
06 Sa 7:39 pm Mars-Jupiter: 0.2° N
08 Mo 5:25 pm Last Quarter
09 Tu 1:16 am Venus Superior Conjunction w/Sun
11 Th 12:59 am Moon-Jupiter: 4.7° S
13 Sa 2:58 am Mercury-Saturn: 0.7° N
14 Su 9:09 pm Moon Apogee: 406500 km
14 Su 9:13 pm Moon-Saturn: 2.9° S
15 Mo 11:28 am Moon South Dec.: 20° S
16 Tu 9:17 pm New Moon
18 Th 9:28 am Moon Descending Node
24 We 5:20 pm First Quarter
27 Sa 5:09 am Moon-Aldebaran: 0.7° S
29 Mo 6:32 am Moon North Dec.: 20° N
30 Tu 4:54 am Moon Perigee: 359000 km
31 We 2:19 am Moon-Beehive: 2.3° N
31 We 8:27 am Full Moon
31 We 8:30 am Total Lunar Eclipse (See Below)
31 We 1:46 pm Moon Ascending Node
Feb 01 Th Venus: 5.7° E
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
January, 2018 Local time zone: EST
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM |
| | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Mon 1| 08:20a 05:13p 08:52 | 06:23p 07:09a |Full Rise 05:11p 100%|
|Tue 2| 08:20a 05:13p 08:53 | 06:24p 07:09a | Rise 06:18p 99%|
|Wed 3| 08:20a 05:14p 08:54 | 06:25p 07:10a | Rise 07:30p 95%|
|Thu 4| 08:20a 05:15p 08:55 | 06:25p 07:10a | Rise 08:44p 88%|
|Fri 5| 08:19a 05:16p 08:56 | 06:26p 07:10a | Rise 09:56p 80%|
|Sat 6| 08:19a 05:17p 08:58 | 06:27p 07:09a | Rise 11:05p 70%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 7| 08:19a 05:19p 08:59 | 06:28p 07:09a | Rise 12:12a 60%|
|Mon 8| 08:19a 05:20p 09:00 | 06:29p 07:09a |L Qtr Rise 01:17a 49%|
|Tue 9| 08:19a 05:21p 09:02 | 06:30p 07:09a | Rise 02:19a 39%|
|Wed 10| 08:18a 05:22p 09:03 | 06:31p 07:09a | Rise 03:20a 30%|
|Thu 11| 08:18a 05:23p 09:05 | 06:32p 07:09a | Rise 04:19a 22%|
|Fri 12| 08:18a 05:24p 09:06 | 06:33p 07:08a | Rise 05:16a 14%|
|Sat 13| 08:17a 05:25p 09:08 | 06:34p 07:08a | Rise 06:11a 8%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 14| 08:17a 05:27p 09:10 | 06:36p 07:08a | Rise 07:02a 4%|
|Mon 15| 08:16a 05:28p 09:11 | 06:37p 07:07a | Rise 07:49a 1%|
|Tue 16| 08:15a 05:29p 09:13 | 06:38p 07:07a |New Set 05:21p 0%|
|Wed 17| 08:15a 05:31p 09:15 | 06:39p 07:06a | Set 06:17p 1%|
|Thu 18| 08:14a 05:32p 09:17 | 06:40p 07:06a | Set 07:15p 3%|
|Fri 19| 08:14a 05:33p 09:19 | 06:41p 07:05a | Set 08:15p 8%|
|Sat 20| 08:13a 05:34p 09:21 | 06:42p 07:05a | Set 09:17p 14%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 21| 08:12a 05:36p 09:23 | 06:44p 07:04a | Set 10:20p 21%|
|Mon 22| 08:11a 05:37p 09:25 | 06:45p 07:04a | Set 11:24p 30%|
|Tue 23| 08:10a 05:38p 09:28 | 06:46p 07:03a | Set 12:30a 40%|
|Wed 24| 08:10a 05:40p 09:30 | 06:47p 07:02a |F Qtr Set 01:38a 51%|
|Thu 25| 08:09a 05:41p 09:32 | 06:48p 07:01a | Set 02:48a 62%|
|Fri 26| 08:08a 05:43p 09:34 | 06:50p 07:01a | Set 03:59a 72%|
|Sat 27| 08:07a 05:44p 09:37 | 06:51p 07:00a | Set 05:09a 82%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 28| 08:06a 05:45p 09:39 | 06:52p 06:59a | Set 06:14a 90%|
|Mon 29| 08:05a 05:47p 09:42 | 06:53p 06:58a | Set 07:13a 96%|
|Tue 30| 08:04a 05:48p 09:44 | 06:55p 06:57a | Set 08:04a 100%|
|Wed 31| 08:02a 05:50p 09:47 | 06:56p 06:56a |Full Rise 06:15p 100%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset
Total Lunar Eclipse January 31, 2018
I’ll have more on this toward the end of the month. Credit NASA.
The original page for this graphic is: https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2018Jan31T.pdf
Total Lunar Eclipse January 31
Event Time EST Time UT
GT Area
Enter penumbra 5:51 a.m. 10:51 Unseen
Begin partial phase 6:48 a.m. 11:48
Totality begins 7:51 a.m. 12:51
Moon sets 8:04 a.m.
Mid eclipse 13:28
Totality ends 14:07
End partial phase 15:11
Leave penumbra 16:08 Unseen
The shading of the penumbra is generally seen within 1/2
hour before and after the partial begins and ends.
Update
Our bird feeder at about 2 p.m. It was cleaned off and filled 6 hours before. Dining are a downy woodpecker, behind the suet block; a flicker with a seed in its beak and three chickadees. Can you spot the third?
While I was writing this post on the afternoon of the 30th, we were getting a rather intense lake effect snow storm, at about an inch an hour. By nightfall the snow on top of the feeder just about reached the hook. We also get cardinals, blue jays, sparrows. Poor juncos. They seem to feed on the ground, and the snow came too fast and covered the seed that had dropped, so they were looking in vain.
I really love the chickadees, they’re fearless. When I’m filling the bird feeder the other birds scatter, but the chickadees sit in the tree, a couple of feet over my head and wait patiently until I hang it back up.
