The Milky Way extends straight up from the southwest horizon between Sagittarius and the tail of Scorpius, passes overhead, and runs straight down to the northeast through Cassiopeia and Perseus. ■ This is the time of year when the rich Cygnus Milky Way crosses the zenith soon after nightfall is complete (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes). Seen from north of there, it will be lower. Seen from south of that latitude, Fomalhaut will appear higher than Capella and Arcturus are. There will be 1st-magnitude Fomalhaut at about the same height too - exactly so if you're at latitude 43° north (Boston, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Boise, Eugene). When it happens, turn and look low in the south-southeast. Again, the time of this will depend on your latitude and longitude. Later in the evening, it's the turn of Arcturus and Capella to shine at the same height. When that happens, barely rising in the north-northeast is Capella (depending on your latitude the farther north you are the higher Capella will be.) How well can you time their exact balance? Pretty soon after nightfall is complete, brighter Jupiter shines in the east at the same height as Arcturus. ■ Arcturus shines in the west these evenings after twilight fades out. My favorite here is the Blinking Planetary.įor a deeper, darker-sky challenge, work through the big North America and Pelican nebulae near Deneb in Cygnus using Alan's Whitman's Going Deep guide on page 58. ■ With moonlight not yet back in the evening sky, explore the telescopic sights of the West Wing of Cygnus overhead using Ken Hewitt-White's Suburban Stargazer article and chart in the September Sky & Telescope, page 54. The Big Dipper dumps it back in the evenings of spring. To the right of Bootes, the Big Dipper is turning more level.Īnd this is the time of year when, during the evening, the dim Little Dipper high above "dumps water" into the bowl of the Big Dipper. Arcturus is where the kite's downward-hanging tail is tied on. The narrow kite shape of its constellation, Bootes, extends two fists at arm's length to Arcturus's upper right. ■ Arcturus shines ever lower in the west-northwest after dark. There's "Sagittifolia," the Arrowhead Flower M71 next to Sagitta "Queen Anne's Lace," M15 sneezed from the nose of Pegasus "Watercress by the Stream," M2 in Aquarius a little farther south and "Seaflower of the Deep," M30 deep in southern Capricornus. In this last week of September, with moonlight not yet washing the evening sky, set up your telescope to look in on four of them that Josh Urban calls The Last Wildflowers: Globular Clusters Greet Autumn. ■ Globular clusters are most abundant on summer evenings. Meanwhile, Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian around 11:15 p.m. They depart Jupiter's western limb around 12:10 a.m. EDT, followed very closely by Io itself five minutes later. ■ Action at Jupiter: With a telescope, watch for Io's tiny black shadow to edge onto Jupiter's eastern limb at 9:54 p.m. At this time of year, the waning crescent Moon drops nearly straight down from morning to morning and appears relatively high above the horizon for its phase. And that means we see the Moon as high above the horizon as possible when it's near the Sun and therefore thin.Īt the opposite time of the year, around March and April, the same thing happens in the evening sky with the cupped waxing crescent. Why does that make a difference? Because it means the line from the Moon to the Sun is nearly vertical before sunrise. Why? Because at this time of year, the thin waning crescent is nearly an upright cup (for mid-northern latitudes). Look about 30 or 45 minutes before sunrise, and you'll have an easier time than usual with such a thin Moon. ■ During Saturday's dawn, can you spot the very old waning crescent Moon low in the east? The Moon is 37 hours from new if you're on the East Coast 34 hours from new when seen from the West Coast. ■ Marking the summer-to-fall transition as it always does, Vega gives way to Deneb as the bright star nearest the zenith after nightfall (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes).
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