The tight grouping of Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Spica ends its spectacular run this month. All four are low in the western sky at nightfall as September begins, but Saturn drops from sight early in the month. Mars and Venus are still in the sky by month's end, but they shine for only a little while before dropping below the horizon. By that time, however, the night sky's next-brightest object, the planet Jupiter, is climbing skyward in the east, and will shine brilliantly throughout the night.
Stargazing Information
This Week's Stargazing Tips
September 2, 2010
The star Spica splits the gap between the planets Venus and Mars this evening. They are low in the west shortly after sunset. Venus is the bright “evening star.” Spica is just to its upper right, with Mars a little farther along the same line.
September 3, 2010
The constellation Cetus, the whale or the sea monster, is just swinging into view in the evening sky right now. It stands low on the eastern horizon around 10 p.m. and swings into the southwest by daybreak.
September 4, 2010
Vega, the brightest star of Lyra, the harp, crosses high across the sky tonight. It stands almost directly overhead around 9 or 9:30 p.m. The pure white star is about 25 light-years away, making it one of our closest neighbors.
September 5, 2010
If you have nice, dark skies, look for the Milky Way crossing high across the sky tonight. The subtle glow of its myriad stars arcs high across the east as darkness falls, and directly overhead later on.
September 6, 2010
The western evening sky offers a figure that seems just right for Labor Day: Hercules, the strongman. In mythology, he had to labor not once, but 12 times. If you have a dark sky, look for Hercules shining faintly in the west after sunset.
September 7, 2010
The Moon is new at 5:30 a.m. CDT tomorrow. It crosses the line between Earth and Sun, so it’s lost in the Sun’s glare. It will return to view as a thin crescent, quite low in the western sky, on Thursday or Friday evening.
September 8, 2010
Venus and Jupiter, the brightest points of light in the night sky, are briefly visible at the same time over the next few evenings. About an hour after sunset, Venus is quite low in the south-southwest, while slightly brighter Jupiter is in the east.
Check last week's tips if you missed a day.
More about
Last quarter
New
First quarter
Full
