September Skies

A brief overview of what to see in the sky with the unaided eye:

Stars and Constellations

● Cygnus and the nearby constellations of Cepheus and Pegasus are convenient to view during September evenings
● Cygnus is overhead after dusk and its brightest star, Deneb, is part of the summer triangle and easy to see from urban skies
● Cepheus lies to the north of Cygnus and Pegasus lies to the east of Cygnus
● Look for the other bright stars of the summer triangle, Vega (west of the zenith) and Altair (south of Cygnus)
● The summer Milky Way flows through the Cepheus and Cygnus constellations, and is a fine sight in dark skies overhead during early autumn evenings

Planets

● Mercury is not practically visible and remains too low in the western evening sky to be practically visible from the northern hemisphere

● Venus shines brilliantly very low in the southwestern sky after sunset

● Mars is visible in the eastern pre-dawn sky, moving from the Gemini to the Cancer constellations

● Jupiter rises during early morning and is prominent in the eastern pre-dawn sky as a bright white light in the Cancer constellation

● Saturn rises during the evening and is visible in the southeastern sky in the Pisces constellation

Moon Phases

● Last Quarter September 4, 03:51 EDT
● New Moon September 10, 23:27 EDT
● First Quarter September 18, 16:44 EDT

● Full Moon September 26, 12:49 EDT

Noteworthy Sky Events

§  September 1: Venus close to the bright star Spica in the Virgo constellation
§  September 13/14: thin crescent moon close to Venus low in the southwestern sky after sunset
§  September 26/27: full moon near Saturn

 

Sky Resources Online
Some website resources for sky charts, weekly sky events, and more information:
● astrogeo.ca/skylights
● www.heavens-above.com
● In-the-sky.org
● www.skyandtelescope.org
● www.skymaps.com

Monthly Sky Chart for mid-September, mid-evening (courtesy of www.heavens-above.com):

 August Skies

A brief overview of what to see in the sky with the unaided eye:

Stars and Constellations
● Aquila and nearby smaller constellations of Delphinus and Scutum are convenient to see during August evenings
● Aquila is high in the southern sky and its brightest star, Altair, is part of the summer triangle and easy to see from urban skies
● Look for the smaller constellation of Delphinus above and east of Aquila, and look for Scutum below (south of) Aquila
● The summer Milky Way flows southward through these constellations, and is a fine sight in dark skies
● Sagittarius is low in the southern sky but prominent and easy to see from moderately dark skies away from urban areas

Planets
● Mercury is at greatest western elongation from the Sun August 2 and is visible very low in the east-northeastern pre-dawn sky during the first week of August, and then becomes not practically visible. It reaches conjunction with the Sun August 27 and afterward will move into the evening sky
● Venus is brightly visible in the western sky after sunset and reaches greatest eastern elongation from the Sun August 15
● Mars is visible in the pre-dawn eastern sky moving from the Taurus to the Gemini constellations
● Jupiter becomes visible very low in the east-northeastern pre-dawn sky in the Cancer constellation during the last week of August

● Saturn rises before midnight during early August and rises during mid-evening during late August in the Pisces constellation

Moon Phases

● Last Quarter Moon August 5, 22:21 EDT

● New Moon August 12, 13:36 EDT
● First Quarter Moon August 19, 22:46 EDT

● Full Moon August 28, 00:18 EDT

Noteworthy Sky Events

§  August 12/13: peak night of Perseid meteor shower

§  August 27/28: partial eclipse of the moon during the evening of August 27 with maximum eclipse after midnight (EDT 00:12 August 28)

 Sky Resources Online

Some website resources for sky charts, weekly sky events, and more information:

● astrogeo.ca/skylights
● www.heavens-above.com
● In-the-sky.org
● www.skyandtelescope.org
● www.skymaps.com

Monthly Sky Chart for mid-August, mid-evening (courtesy of www.heavens-above.com):