Ephemeris: 03/07/2024 – There’s a unicorn in there somewhere
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, March 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 6:39, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:06. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 6:35 tomorrow morning.
The constellation of Monoceros the unicorn is located in an area of sky to the left of Orion so it’s in the south at 8 pm, inside the Winter Triangle of stars, Betelgeuse in Orion; Sirius in the Great Dog, Canis Major; and Procyon in Canis Minor. If you don’t see anything there, it’s OK. Nobody sees real unicorns any more anyway. Are there any real unicorns? Anyway, there’s a great number of nebulae here in the Milky Way that runs through it, which unfortunately are too faint to be seen with amateur telescopes. However, it is a gold mine for amateur astronomers who are also astrophotographers using time exposures to record the faint nebulae here, including the famous Rosette Nebula!
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 02/04/2024 – The rabbit at the feet of Orion
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, February 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 1 minute, setting at 5:57, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:55. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 6:44 tomorrow morning.
The constellation of Orion the hunter is in the south in the evening, and he seems to be preoccupied with the charge of Taurus the bull to his upper right. Unnoticed by him and below him is a small constellation called Lepus the hare, made of very dim stars. Good luck trying to make a rabbit out of those stars. In the constellation art that comes with the free application Stellarium. It displays the sky like a planetarium. The artistic constellation of the figure of Canis Major, Orion’s large hunting dog seems to be taking notice of Lepus and is beginning to chase it Lepus the hare is a nice addition to the tableau presented in the winter sky. Stellarium-web.org is a web based version of Stellarium that doesn’t have to be installed on your device.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 02/05/2024 – Looking at the star Procyon
This is Ephemeris for Monday, February 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 5:56, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:56. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 5:44 tomorrow morning.
The star Procyon is in Orion’s little hunting dog Canis Minor, which contains only one other star. It can be found by using the shoulder stars of Orion, Bellatrix and Betelgeuse, pointing to the left and down a bit to Procyon in the evening. The word Procyon appears to mean “Before the Dog” meaning that rises before the Dog Star, Sirius, even though it is east of it. Procyon is also north of Sirius, which for observers above 30° north latitude does indeed rise before the Dog Star. It is a star like Sirius, though it’s not as bright, or white. Procyon is 11.5 light years away while Sirius is 8.4 light years away. Both have tiny white dwarf companion stars.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 01/29/2024 – Canis Major, Orion’s larger hunting dog
This is Ephemeris for Monday, January 29th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 41 minutes, setting at 5:46, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:04. The Moon, halfway from full to last quarter, will rise at 9:50 this evening.
The great winter constellation or star group, Orion the hunter, is located in the south-southeastern sky at 9 p.m. His elongated rectangle of a torso is nearly vertical. In the center of the rectangle are three stars in a line that make his belt. As a hunter, especially one of old, he has two hunting dogs. The larger, Canis Major, can be found by following the three belt stars of Orion down and to the left. They point to Sirius, the brightest nighttime star, also known as the Dog Star. It’s in the heart of a stick figure dog low in the southeast facing Orion that appears to be begging. There’s a fine star cluster, called Messier 41, or M41, the Little Beehive Cluster, at the 5 o’clock position from Sirius. It’s easily visible in binoculars or a small telescope.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
02/10/2023 – Ephemeris – Finding Orion’s greater hunting dog, Canis Major
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, February 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 13 minutes, setting at 6:04, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:49. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 11:14 this evening.
The great winter constellation or star group, Orion the hunter, is located in the southern sky at 9 p.m. His elongated rectangle of a torso is vertical. In the center of the rectangle are three stars in a line that make his belt. As a hunter, especially one of old, he has two hunting dogs. The larger, Canis Major, can be found by following the three belt stars of Orion down and to the left. They point to Sirius, the brightest nighttime star, also known as the Dog Star. It’s in the heart of a stick figure dog low in the southeast facing Orion that appears to be begging. There’s a fine star cluster, called Messier, or M 41, at the 5 o’clock position from Sirius. It’s easily visible in binoculars or a small telescope.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
01/05/2023 – Ephemeris – I’m Sirius about this being the brightest nighttime star!
Jan 5. This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, January 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 56 minutes, setting at 5:16, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:19. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 8:33 tomorrow morning.
The brightest nighttime star, Sirius, rises before 8 pm tonight. It can be found by following the constellation Orion’s three belt stars downward to near the east-southeastern horizon. As far as star-like objects go, Jupiter and Venus can always outshine Sirius. Mars can too, but only when it is near the Earth and this early evening when Mars is high in the sky and Sirius is low in the sky. When the Moon clears out of the evening sky, and Sirius rises higher, the other stars of its constellation will become visible. That constellation is Canis Major, Orion’s great hunting dog, from which it gets its nickname: Dog Star. The name Sirius means Dazzling One, an allusion to its great brightness and, being low in the sky, it twinkles mightily.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
02/22/2022 – Ephemeris – The Winter Triangle
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, February 22nd. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 49 minutes, setting at 6:21, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:30. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 1:26 tomorrow morning.
I’ve talked about the Winter Circle of bright stars already this winter, but some other astronomers talk about the Winter Triangle. The stars involved are Betelgeuse in the hunter Orion, Sirius in Canis Major, Orion’s large hunting dog, and Procyon in Canis Minor, his other small hunting dog. These three stars enclose a rather blank piece of sky with the faint Milky Way running through it and the almost invisible constellation of Monoceros the unicorn. The Summer Triangle has three bright stars with no other close competition. The Winter Triangle has four other bright stars near it. Any three of these would make a nice triangle. One of these constellations, Canis Minor, is tiny with Procyon and one other star. It makes me think of a dachshund, or maybe, if I’m hungry, a hot dog.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT -5 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
02/18/2022 – Ephemeris – Sirius, the brightest nighttime star
This is Ephemeris for Friday, February 18th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 37 minutes, setting at 6:15, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:36. The Moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 8:32 this evening.
In the evening, the great constellation of Orion the hunter can be seen in the south. Its large rectangle of bright stars is easily visible, even with a full moon. The three stars in a straight line, his belt, tilt downward to the left to a very bright star merrily twinkling lower in the sky. This star is called Sirius, also known as the Dog Star because it’s in the heart of Orion’s larger hunting dog, Canis Major. It is an arc light white star as seen in binoculars or telescope. It is the brightest star in the night sky, and a neighboring star, just twice the distance of the closest star to the Sun at 8.6 light years. It’s name, Sirius, has nothing to do with a dog, but is from the Greek meaning scorching for its brightness or sparkling, due to its intense twinkling.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). They may be different for your location.