Autumn
Fall arrives in the northern hemisphere this weekend. It’s the autumnal equinox, which is the point at which the Sun crosses the equator from north to south. It occurs at 8:54 p.m. CDT Saturday.
M15
M15, one of the brightest globular clusters, is high in the southeast this evening. It consists of hundreds of thousands of stars squeezed into a region of space only a few light-years across. It is an easy target for binoculars
Moon and Mars
Mars stands close below the Moon as darkness falls tonight. Although it has faded a good bit since its peak in July, the planet still looks like a bright orange star.
Distant Galaxy
M31, the Andromeda galaxy, is about 2.5 million light-years away, in the constellation Andromeda. Under dark skies, it is just visible as a hazy smudge of light. It is the farthest object that most people can see with their eyes alone.
Andromeda
Andromeda, the princess, is in the east and northeast as the sky gets dark on September nights. It’s not all that bright, but you can find it by looking to the lower left of the more prominent Great Square of Pegasus.
Moon and Saturn
Look for the ringed planet Saturn near the Moon the next couple of nights. It looks like a bright golden star to the left of the Moon tonight, and closer to the lower right of the Moon tomorrow night.
Moon and Antares
Antares, the bright orange heart of the scorpion, is among the biggest and heaviest stars in the galaxy. And it’s the dominant member of a vast complex of young, heavy stars. Antares stands directly below the Moon as darkness falls tonight.
Royal Bonus
Cassiopeia, the queen, glistens in the northeast at nightfall and wheels high across the north later on. The queen’s five brightest stars form the shape of the letter W.
Moon and Jupiter
Jupiter is the biggest planet in the solar system. It’s 11 times the diameter of Earth, and more massive than all the other planets and moons combined. And it is in great view tonight. The planet is quite close to the crescent Moon as night falls.
Moon and Companions
The Moon forms a beautiful triangle with two brilliant planets this evening. Venus, the “evening star,” is close to the lower left of the Moon, with fainter Jupiter farther to the upper left.