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01/06/2023 – Ephemeris – Telescope Clinic tonight at the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society Meeting tonight
This is Ephemeris for Friday, January 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 5:17, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:19. The Moon, at full today, will rise at 4:47 this evening.
The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will hold their monthly meeting tonight with their annual Telescope Clinic, at 8 pm at Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory. This is a chance to bring in that new Christmas telescope or even that old telescope gathering dust in the attic to learn how to use it. The society telescope experts will help in instruction and, if need be, adjustments to make the telescope work properly. In the past few years, the society has donated telescopes to public libraries in the region for patrons to check out and use. This is another way in which to learn to use a telescope and enjoy the sky at night. The observatory is located south of Traverse City on Birmley Road, south of Hammond, and between Garfield and Keystone roads. There will, if it’s clear after the meeting, be a star party or observing period using the observatory telescopes.
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
This is the type of telescope that the GTAS is donating to local libraries to lend out. The telescope can be set up on a table. The device on top is a red-dot finder. Looking through it will place a red dot on the object it’s pointed to. It has no magnification of its own. The telescope has a 4.5 inch diameter mirror, which produces a brighter image than the skinny refractor telescopes sold in most stores. The telescope eyepiece is a zoom type, so there is no need to remove it or change eyepieces to change magnification. The magnification range is from approximately 20 to 60 times (power). This is plenty for most objects in the sky, including the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. Mars is a challenge for even the largest of amateur astronomer’s telescopes. Even then it’s best seen for a few months every 26 months.
The GTAS has a library telescope program where they donate small telescopes to local libraries to lend out. These are small tabletop telescopes with a 4.5 inch aperture. The telescope type is that invented by Sir Isaac Newton. In a telescope, magnification is secondary and usually variable. The real power of a telescope is light gathering power, the ability to gather in light to see objects too dim to be seen with the naked eye. Also, a telescope’s ability to see fine detail is tied to the telescope’s aperture or diameter of its primary mirror or lens. That’s not magnification, but the ability to use higher power to produce crisp images, rather than fuzzy ones.
01/03/2020 – Ephemeris – Astronomical events this weekend
Ephemeris for Friday, January 3rd. The Sun will rise at 8:20. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 54 minutes, setting at 5:14. The Moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 1:49 tomorrow morning.
Tonight at 8 p.m. there will be a telescope clinic by the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society at the Rogers Observatory south of Traverse City on Birmley Road for those who have either received a telescope for Christmas or have one hidden away in an attic, to learn how to use it. Bring ‘em if you’ve got ‘em.
Tomorrow morning we’ll see the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower after the Moon sets. The radiant for this shower is near the handle of the Big Dipper, though they will be seen all over the sky. The peak should be around 3:20 a.m. with the possibility of over a hundred meteors visible per hour.
On Sunday at 5 a.m. the Earth will be its closest to the Sun for the year of 91,394,000 miles (147,085,000 km).
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The location of the Quadrantid radiant at 3:20 a.m. January 4, 2020 for the peak of the meteor shower. Created using Stellarium.
The Earth’s orbit, somewhat exaggerated, showing perihelion and the seasons. Credit “Starts with a Bang” blog by Ethan Siegel.
01/06/2017 – Ephemeris – Telescope Clinic tonight at the NMC Observatory
Ephemeris for Friday, January 6th. The Sun will rise at 8:19. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 5:18. The Moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 2:34 tomorrow morning.
If you’ve received a telescope for Christmas and are having trouble setting it up, or have an unused one in a closet, basement or attic, bring them to Northwestern Michigan College’s Rogers Observatory tonight at 8 p.m. The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will be holding their annual telescope clinic to help you understand and use your telescope. The clinic will extend through the period that will be set aside for a star party if it’s clear, to test the telescopes and show the owners how to use them. Like anything telescopes take some time to learn how to use them and find celestial objects. It took me 15 minutes to find Saturn with a telescope the first time I tried, and I knew where it was in the sky. The observatory is south of Traverse City on Birmley Road.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
In Memorium
Emmett Holmes passed away last night (January 5th, 2017) after a long ordeal in attempting to have stem cells from his sister infused into his blood to rebuild his bone marrow. We at the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society knew him for a few short years, but in the time we benefited greatly from his expertise with telescopes and, helping out with star parties.. In the picture is his 13″ telescope with its distinctive tube that he built. Just recently he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Society.
We at the GTAS express our condolences to his wife Karen and the rest of his family. Emmett, rest in peace.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 