Tonight's sky over Nashville

The Norse sky over Nashville tonight

It is mánadagr ᛘᛅᚾᛅᛏᛅᚴᚱ, the Moon's day. In the old Icelandic calendar it is day 3 of Gormánuður ᚴᚢᚱᛘᛅᚾᚢᚦᚱ, in week 1 of winter (how the old calendar works).

• ᛋᚢᛚSólthe Sun · Medieval source

  Sól drives her horses down at 17:57 with the wolf Sköll at her heels; Night's horse Hrímfaxi has the sky to himself from 19:23, when twilight ends. She is back at 07:05.

• ᛘᛅᚾᛁMánithe Moon · Medieval source

  Máni, who in Snorri's words decides the Moon's waxing and waning, has made it waning gibbous, 98% lit. It rises at 18:02; it sets at 08:53. The wolf Hati runs ahead of it.

• ᚦᛁᛅᛋᛅ ᛅᚢᚴᚢÞjazi's eyesCastor and Pollux? · Modern guess

  Óðinn, says Snorri, threw the giant Þjazi's eyes into the sky as two stars; no source says which. Since Jacob Grimm (1835) writers have suggested Castor and Pollux, the bright twins of Gemini. Castor and Pollux are clear of the east-northeast horizon from about 23:30, highest around 06:00 (84° S).

• ᛚᚢᚴᛅᛒᚱᛁᚾᛅLokabrennaSirius · Later folk tradition

  Lokabrenna, 'Loki's burning', is an Icelandic name for Sirius, the brightest star of the night, written down by scholars around 1800; no medieval text uses it. Sirius is clear of the east-southeast horizon from about 01:00, highest around 05:15 (37° S).

• ᚠᛁᚢᛋᛅᚴᚢᚾᚢᚱFjósakonurOrion's belt · Later folk tradition

  Icelanders called the three stars of Orion's belt Fjósakonur, 'the cowshed women'; in Sweden they were Friggerock, 'Frigg's distaff'. The belt is clear of the east horizon from about 23:00, highest around 04:00 (53° S).

• ᚴᛅᚱᛚᛋᚢᛅᚴᚾKarlsvagnthe Big Dipper · Later folk tradition

  Medieval Icelandic texts call the Big Dipper simply vagn, the wain; Karlsvagn, 'the carl's wain', is its later Scandinavian name. The Wain is already up in the north-northwest when it gets dark, low in the north-northwest by 19:45; and again clear of the north-northeast horizon from about 02:00, 39° up in the northeast as dawn comes.

• ᛚᛁᚦᛅᚱᛋᛏᛁᛅᚱᚾᛅLeiðarstjarnaPolaris · Medieval source

  Leiðarstjarna, 'the way-star', is the Old Norse name for the pole star that sailors steered by. From Nashville it stays 36° above the northern horizon all night, while every other star wheels round it.

• ᛋᛁᛅᚢᛋᛏᛁᚱᚾᛁSjaustirnithe Pleiades · Medieval source

  Sjaustirni, 'the seven-star', is the Old Norse name for the Pleiades; medieval Icelanders told the time on winter nights by where 'the Star' stood. The Pleiades are clear of the east-northeast horizon from about 20:00, highest around 02:15 (78° S).

• ᛅᚢᚱᚢᛅᚾᛏᛁᛚᛋᛏᛅAurvandilstáRigel? · Modern guess

  Þórr threw Aurvandil's frozen toe into the sky as a star; which star is unknown. Rigel, at Orion's foot, was the guess of Cleasby and Vigfusson's dictionary (1874); others say the morning star. Rigel is clear of the east-southeast horizon from about 23:00, highest around 03:45 (46° S).

• Not up tonight

  The Milky Way, Vetrarbraut, is washed out by the Moon.

Grades: Medieval source the story or name is in a medieval Old Norse text; Later folk tradition recorded in later Icelandic or Scandinavian tradition; Modern guess a modern guess. Times are for Nashville; "up" means at least 10° above the horizon in a sky dark enough to see it. On the chart above, the Norse names are drawn in bronze. All Norse sky lore.