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10/01/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing October skies

October 1, 2018 Comments off

Ephemeris for Monday, October 1st. The Sun will rise at 7:40. It’ll be up for 11 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 7:23. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 11:55 this evening.

Let’s look at the skies for the month of October. The Sun will still be moving south rapidly. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will drop from 11 hours and 42 minutes today to 10 hours, 13 minutes at months end. The altitude of the sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be 42 degrees today in the Interlochen area and will descend to 31 degrees on Halloween. Venus will pass the Sun, moving from the evening sky to the morning sky on the 26th. Venus has not been too noticeable in the evening for the last month, but in early November it will seem to suddenly appear in the morning sky. It can be mistaken as a UFO, especially with its tiny Cheshire Cat crescent smile in binoculars or a small telescope.

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

Addendum

October Evening Star Chart

October evening star chart

Star Chart for October 2018 (10 p.m. EDT October 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). 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 9 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). 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.

October Morning Star Chart

October Morning Star Chart

Star Chart for October 2018 mornings based on 6 a.m. October 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.
  • Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus
  • The Summer Triangle is in red.
  • DracR on the evening star chart is the radiant for the Draconid meteor shwer which peaks on the 10th.
  • OriR on the morning star chart is the radiant of the Orionid meteor shower which peaks on the 21st.

Twilight

      Time zone=EDT      
  Morning twilight Evening twilight Dark night Moon
Date Astronomical Nautical Nautical Astronomical Start End Illum.
2018-10-01 6h08m 6h42m 20h29m 21h03m 21h03m 23h56m 0.61
2018-10-02 6h09m 6h44m 20h27m 21h01m 21h01m – 0.49
2018-10-03 6h11m 6h45m 20h25m 20h59m 20h59m 0h55m 0.37
2018-10-04 6h12m 6h46m 20h23m 20h57m 20h57m 2h02m 0.26
2018-10-05 6h13m 6h47m 20h22m 20h56m 20h56m 3h14m 0.16
2018-10-06 6h15m 6h49m 20h20m 20h54m 20h54m 4h28m 0.08
2018-10-07 6h16m 6h50m 20h18m 20h52m 20h52m 5h43m 0.03
2018-10-08 6h17m 6h51m 20h16m 20h50m 20h50m 6h17m 0
2018-10-09 6h18m 6h52m 20h14m 20h48m 20h48m 6h18m 0
2018-10-10 6h20m 6h53m 20h13m 20h46m 20h46m 6h20m 0.03
2018-10-11 6h21m 6h55m 20h11m 20h45m 20h56m 6h21m 0.08
2018-10-12 6h22m 6h56m 20h09m 20h43m 21h31m 6h22m 0.15
2018-10-13 6h23m 6h57m 20h07m 20h41m 22h11m 6h23m 0.24
2018-10-14 6h25m 6h58m 20h06m 20h39m 22h55m 6h25m 0.33
2018-10-15 6h26m 7h00m 20h04m 20h38m 23h44m 6h26m 0.43
2018-10-16 6h27m 7h01m 20h02m 20h36m – 6h27m 0.52
2018-10-17 6h28m 7h02m 20h01m 20h35m 0h37m 6h28m 0.62
2018-10-18 6h30m 7h03m 19h59m 20h33m 1h33m 6h30m 0.71
2018-10-19 6h31m 7h04m 19h58m 20h31m 2h32m 6h31m 0.8
2018-10-20 6h32m 7h06m 19h56m 20h30m 3h32m 6h32m 0.87
2018-10-21 6h33m 7h07m 19h55m 20h28m 4h34m 6h33m 0.93
2018-10-22 6h34m 7h08m 19h53m 20h27m 5h37m 6h34m 0.93
2018-10-23 6h36m 7h09m 19h52m 20h25m – – 0.97
2018-10-24 6h37m 7h10m 19h50m 20h24m – – 1
2018-10-25 6h38m 7h12m 19h49m 20h22m – – 1
2018-10-26 6h39m 7h13m 19h47m 20h21m – – 0.97
2018-10-27 6h40m 7h14m 19h46m 20h19m 20h19m 21h01m 0.92
2018-10-28 6h42m 7h15m 19h44m 20h18m 20h18m 21h51m 0.85
2018-10-29 6h43m 7h17m 19h43m 20h17m 20h17m 22h48m 0.75
2018-10-30 6h44m 7h18m 19h42m 20h15m 20h15m 23h53m 0.64
2018-10-31 6h45m 7h19m 19h40m 20h14m 20h14m – 0.53

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

Oct 01  Mo          Venus: 32.9° E
    02  Tu  5:45 am Last Quarter
    02  Tu  9:03 am Moon North Dec.: 21° N
    03  We 11:10 pm Moon Ascending Node
    04  Th  5:51 am Moon-Beehive: 1.3° N
    05  Fr  5:58 pm Moon-Regulus: 1.9° S
    05  Fr  6:29 pm Moon Perigee: 366400 km
    08  Mo 11:47 pm New Moon
    10  We  8:10 pm Draconid Shower: ZHR = 10
    11  Th  5:21 pm Moon-Jupiter: 4.3° S
    14  Su 11:01 pm Moon-Saturn: 2° S
    15  Mo  1:26 pm Moon South Dec.: 21.2° S
    15  Mo 10:32 pm Mercury-Venus: 6.2° N
    16  Tu  2:02 pm First Quarter
    17  We  8:03 am Moon Descending Node
    17  We  3:16 pm Moon Apogee: 404200 km
    18  Th  9:01 am Moon-Mars: 2.2° S
    21  Su  1:03 pm Orionid Shower: ZHR = 20
    23  Tu  8:43 pm Uranus Opposition
    24  We 12:45 pm Full Moon
    26  Fr 10:13 am Venus Inferior Conjunction with the Sun
    27  Sa  9:04 am Moon-Aldebaran: 1.6° S
    29  Mo  1:28 am Mercury-Jupiter: 3.1° N
    29  Mo  1:34 am Moon North Dec.: 21.3° N
    30  Tu 10:46 pm Moon Ascending Node
    31  We 10:24 am Moon-Beehive: 1° N
    31  We 11:40 am Last Quarter
    31  We  3:05 pm Moon Perigee: 370200 km
Nov 01  Th          Venus: 10.6° W

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

Ephemeris of Sky Events for NMC Observatory
October, 2018 – Local time zone: EDT
Date Sun Twilight* Moon Illum
    Rise Set Hours End Start Phase R/S** Time Fractn
Mon 1 07:40a 07:22p 11:42 08:25p 06:37a   Rise 11:55p 55%
Tue 2 07:41a 07:21p 11:39 08:23p 06:38a L Qtr Rise 12:55a 43%
Wed 3 07:42a 07:19p 11:36 08:22p 06:39a   Rise 02:02a 32%
Thu 4 07:44a 07:17p 11:33 08:20p 06:41a   Rise 03:14a 22%
Fri 5 07:45a 07:15p 11:30 08:18p 06:42a   Rise 04:28a 13%
Sat 6 07:46a 07:13p 11:27 08:16p 06:43a   Rise 05:42a 6%
 
Sun 7 07:47a 07:12p 11:24 08:14p 06:44a   Rise 06:56a 2%
Mon 8 07:48a 07:10p 11:21 08:13p 06:46a New Set 07:24p 0%
Tue 9 07:50a 07:08p 11:18 08:11p 06:47a   Set 07:53p 1%
Wed 10 07:51a 07:06p 11:15 08:09p 06:48a   Set 08:23p 4%
Thu 11 07:52a 07:04p 11:12 08:07p 06:49a   Set 08:56p 10%
Fri 12 07:54a 07:03p 11:09 08:06p 06:50a   Set 09:31p 17%
Sat 13 07:55a 07:01p 11:06 08:04p 06:52a   Set 10:11p 25%
 
Sun 14 07:56a 06:59p 11:03 08:02p 06:53a   Set 10:55p 34%
Mon 15 07:57a 06:57p 11:00 08:01p 06:54a   Set 11:43p 43%
Tue 16 07:59a 06:56p 10:57 07:59p 06:55a F Qtr Set 12:36a 52%
Wed 17 08:00a 06:54p 10:54 07:57p 06:57a   Set 01:33a 62%
Thu 18 08:01a 06:52p 10:51 07:56p 06:58a   Set 02:31a 71%
Fri 19 08:02a 06:51p 10:48 07:54p 06:59a   Set 03:32a 79%
Sat 20 08:04a 06:49p 10:45 07:53p 07:00a   Set 04:34a 86%
 
Sun 21 08:05a 06:47p 10:42 07:51p 07:01a   Set 05:37a 92%
Mon 22 08:06a 06:46p 10:39 07:49p 07:03a   Set 06:41a 97%
Tue 23 08:08a 06:44p 10:36 07:48p 07:04a   Set 07:48a 99%
Wed 24 08:09a 06:43p 10:33 07:46p 07:05a Full Rise 07:13p 100%
Thu 25 08:10a 06:41p 10:30 07:45p 07:06a   Rise 07:44p 98%
Fri 26 08:12a 06:40p 10:27 07:44p 07:08a   Rise 08:19p 94%
Sat 27 08:13a 06:38p 10:25 07:42p 07:09a   Rise 09:01p 87%
 
Sun 28 08:14a 06:37p 10:22 07:41p 07:10a   Rise 09:51p 79%
Mon 29 08:16a 06:35p 10:19 07:40p 07:11a   Rise 10:48p 69%
Tue 30 08:17a 06:34p 10:16 07:38p 07:12a   Rise 11:53p 58%
Wed 31 08:18a 06:32p 10:13 07:37p 07:14a L Qtr Rise 01:02a 47%
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunset and sunrise
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Categories: Ephemeris Link, Ephemeris Program, Month preview

07/31/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing August skies

July 31, 2018 Comments off

Ephemeris for Tuesday, July 31st. The Sun rises at 6:27. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 41 minutes, setting at 9:09. The Moon, half way from full to last quarter, will rise at 11:17 this evening.

Let’s look ahead at the month of August in the skies. Daylight hours will decrease from 14 hours and 39 minutes tomorrow to 13 hours 17 minutes on the 31st. The altitude of the sun at local noon, that is degrees of angle above the horizon will decrease from 63 degrees tomorrow to just over 53 degrees on the 31st. Straits area listeners can subtract one more degree from those angles. Local noon, when the Sun is due south, is about 1:43 p.m. The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak all night on the 12th. It will be a dark night with the one day old moon setting at 10 p.m. The radiant point, where the meteors will seem to come from, will be rising higher in the northeastern sky all night. On the 17th Venus will reach ts greatest separation from the Sun in the evening sky.

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

Addendum

August Evening Star Chart

August evening star chart

Star Chart for August 2018 (10 p.m. EDT August 15, 2018). Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.

The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 10 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 10 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.

August Morning Star Chart

August Morning Star Chart

Star Chart for August 2018 mornings based on 4:30 a.m. August 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 and
  • Continue with a spike to Spica.
  • The Summer Triangle is in red.
  • PerR – Perseid meteor shower radiant

Twilight

Morning Twilight Evening Twilight Dark Night Moon
Date Astronomical Nautical Nautical Astronomical Start End Illum.
2018-07-31 4h28m 5h17m 22h28m 23h17m 23h17m 23h17m 0.89
2018-08-01 4h30m 5h18m 22h27m 23h15m 23h15m 23h43m 0.82
2018-08-02 4h32m 5h20m 22h25m 23h13m 23h13m – 0.74
2018-08-03 4h34m 5h21m 22h24m 23h11m 23h11m 0h09m 0.64
2018-08-04 4h36m 5h23m 22h22m 23h09m 23h09m 0h37m 0.53
2018-08-05 4h38m 5h24m 22h20m 23h07m 23h07m 1h08m 0.42
2018-08-06 4h40m 5h26m 22h18m 23h05m 23h05m 1h44m 0.31
2018-08-07 4h42m 5h27m 22h17m 23h03m 23h03m 2h26m 0.20
2018-08-08 4h43m 5h29m 22h15m 23h00m 23h00m 3h18m 0.11
2018-08-09 4h45m 5h30m 22h13m 22h58m 22h58m 4h19m 0.05
2018-08-10 4h47m 5h32m 22h11m 22h56m 22h56m 4h47m 0.01
2018-08-11 4h49m 5h33m 22h10m 22h54m 22h54m 4h49m 0.00
2018-08-12 4h51m 5h35m 22h08m 22h52m 22h52m 4h51m 0.03
2018-08-13 4h53m 5h36m 22h06m 22h49m 22h49m 4h53m 0.08
2018-08-14 4h55m 5h38m 22h04m 22h47m 23h01m 4h55m 0.16
2018-08-15 4h56m 5h39m 22h02m 22h45m 23h29m 4h56m 0.26
2018-08-16 4h58m 5h41m 22h00m 22h43m 23h59m 4h58m 0.36
2018-08-17 5h00m 5h42m 21h58m 22h41m – 5h00m 0.47
2018-08-18 5h02m 5h44m 21h56m 22h38m 0h30m 5h02m 0.57
2018-08-19 5h04m 5h45m 21h54m 22h36m 1h03m 5h04m 0.67
2018-08-20 5h05m 5h47m 21h53m 22h34m 1h40m 5h05m 0.76
2018-08-21 5h07m 5h48m 21h51m 22h32m 2h22m 5h07m 0.84
2018-08-22 5h09m 5h50m 21h49m 22h29m 3h09m 5h09m 0.90
2018-08-23 5h11m 5h51m 21h47m 22h27m 4h00m 5h11m 0.90
2018-08-24 5h12m 5h53m 21h45m 22h25m 4h56m 5h12m 0.95
2018-08-25 5h14m 5h54m 21h43m 22h23m – – 0.99
2018-08-26 5h16m 5h55m 21h41m 22h20m – – 1.00
2018-08-27 5h17m 5h57m 21h39m 22h18m – – 0.99
2018-08-28 5h19m 5h58m 21h37m 22h16m – – 0.97
2018-08-29 5h21m 6h00m 21h35m 22h14m – – 0.92
2018-08-30 5h22m 6h01m 21h33m 22h11m 22h11m 22h40m 0.86
2018-08-31 5h24m 6h02m 21h31m 22h09m 22h09m 23h09m 0.78

Twilight calendar was generated in Cartes du Ciel.

NASA Calendar of Planetary Events

Date        Time    Event
Aug 01  We          Venus: 45.1° E
    04  Sa  2:18 pm Last Quarter
    06  Mo  2:35 pm Moon-Aldebaran: 1.1° S
    08  We  6:33 pm Moon North Dec.: 20.8° N
    08  We  9:59 pm Mercury Inferior Conj.
    10  Fr  9:40 am Moon Ascending Node
    10  Fr  2:05 pm Moon Perigee: 358100 km
    11  Sa  5:47 am Partial Solar Eclipse (NE Canada to Asia)
    11  Sa  5:58 am New Moon
    12  Su  8:44 pm Perseid Meteor Shower: ZHR = 90
    14  Tu  9:35 am Moon-Venus: 6.4° S
    17  Fr  6:38 am Moon-Jupiter: 4.8° S
    17  Fr 11:59 am Venus Greatest Elongation: 45.9° E
    18  Sa  3:49 am First Quarter
    20  Mo 10:07 pm Mercury-Beehive: 5.9° S
    21  Tu  5:55 am Moon-Saturn: 2.4° S
    21  Tu 10:58 pm Moon South Dec.: 20.8° S
    23  Th  7:23 am Moon Apogee: 405700 km
    24  Fr 12:51 am Moon Descending Node
    26  Su  7:56 am Full Moon
    26  Su  3:59 pm Mercury Greatest Elongation: 18.3° W
Sep 01  Sa          Venus: 45° 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
     August, 2018    Local time zone: EDT
     +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
     | DATE |  SUN     SUN  DAYLIGHT|   TWILIGHT*    |MOON  RISE OR    ILLUM |
     |      |  RISE    SET    HOURS |  END    START  |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
     +=======================================================================+
     |Wed  1| 06:29a  09:08p  14:39 | 10:23p  05:13a |      Rise 11:43p   77%|
     |Thu  2| 06:30a  09:07p  14:37 | 10:22p  05:14a |      Rise 12:09a   68%|
     |Fri  3| 06:31a  09:05p  14:34 | 10:20p  05:16a |      Rise 12:37a   58%|
     |Sat  4| 06:32a  09:04p  14:32 | 10:18p  05:17a |L Qtr Rise 01:08a   47%|
     +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
     |Sun  5| 06:33a  09:03p  14:29 | 10:17p  05:19a |      Rise 01:44a   37%|
     |Mon  6| 06:34a  09:01p  14:27 | 10:15p  05:20a |      Rise 02:27a   26%|
     |Tue  7| 06:35a  09:00p  14:24 | 10:13p  05:22a |      Rise 03:18a   17%|
     |Wed  8| 06:37a  08:59p  14:22 | 10:11p  05:23a |      Rise 04:20a    9%|
     |Thu  9| 06:38a  08:57p  14:19 | 10:10p  05:25a |      Rise 05:30a    3%|
     |Fri 10| 06:39a  08:56p  14:16 | 10:08p  05:26a |      Rise 06:45a    0%|
     |Sat 11| 06:40a  08:54p  14:14 | 10:06p  05:28a |New   Set  09:21p    1%|
     +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
     |Sun 12| 06:41a  08:53p  14:11 | 10:04p  05:29a |      Set  09:58p    4%|
     |Mon 13| 06:42a  08:51p  14:08 | 10:02p  05:31a |      Set  10:30p   10%|
     |Tue 14| 06:44a  08:50p  14:06 | 10:00p  05:32a |      Set  11:00p   17%|
     |Wed 15| 06:45a  08:48p  14:03 | 09:59p  05:34a |      Set  11:29p   27%|
     |Thu 16| 06:46a  08:46p  14:00 | 09:57p  05:35a |      Set  11:59p   36%|
     |Fri 17| 06:47a  08:45p  13:57 | 09:55p  05:37a |      Set  12:29a   47%|
     |Sat 18| 06:48a  08:43p  13:54 | 09:53p  05:38a |F Qtr Set  01:03a   57%|
     +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
     |Sun 19| 06:49a  08:42p  13:52 | 09:51p  05:40a |      Set  01:40a   66%|
     |Mon 20| 06:51a  08:40p  13:49 | 09:49p  05:41a |      Set  02:22a   75%|
     |Tue 21| 06:52a  08:38p  13:46 | 09:47p  05:43a |      Set  03:09a   83%|
     |Wed 22| 06:53a  08:37p  13:43 | 09:45p  05:44a |      Set  04:00a   89%|
     |Thu 23| 06:54a  08:35p  13:40 | 09:43p  05:46a |      Set  04:56a   94%|
     |Fri 24| 06:55a  08:33p  13:37 | 09:41p  05:47a |      Set  05:54a   98%|
     |Sat 25| 06:56a  08:31p  13:34 | 09:39p  05:48a |      Set  06:54a  100%|
     +------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
     |Sun 26| 06:58a  08:30p  13:31 | 09:37p  05:50a |Full  Rise 08:54p  100%|
     |Mon 27| 06:59a  08:28p  13:29 | 09:35p  05:51a |      Rise 09:21p   98%|
     |Tue 28| 07:00a  08:26p  13:26 | 09:33p  05:53a |      Rise 09:47p   94%|
     |Wed 29| 07:01a  08:24p  13:23 | 09:31p  05:54a |      Rise 10:13p   88%|
     |Thu 30| 07:02a  08:23p  13:20 | 09:29p  05:56a |      Rise 10:40p   81%|
     |Fri 31| 07:04a  08:21p  13:17 | 09:27p  05:57a |      Rise 11:09p   72%|
     +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
     * Nautical Twilight
     ** Moon rise or moon set, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset

Ephemeris of Sky Events is created with my DOS version LookingUp program.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Meteor Shower, Month preview Tags: ,

06/29/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing July skies

June 29, 2018 Comments off

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

June 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

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.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Month preview

05/31/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing June skies

May 31, 2018 Comments off

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

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

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

 

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Month preview

05/01/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing May Skies

May 1, 2018 Comments off

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

May evening star 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

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

 

Categories: Calendar, Ephemeris Program, Month preview

03/30/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing April skies

March 30, 2018 Comments off

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

April evening star 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

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.

Categories: Calendar, Ephemeris Program, Month preview

03/01/2018 – Ephemeris – Previewing March skies

March 1, 2018 Comments off

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

March evening star 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

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

 

Categories: Calendar, Ephemeris Program, Month preview