In the Sky This Month

The planet Venus stands to the lower right of the thin crescent Moon at nightfall. Venus is the Sun’s second-closest planet, and it shines as the dazzling Evening Star.

Venus, the brilliant Evening Star, is quite low in the southwest as night falls. Tonight, it’s close to the upper right of the crescent Moon. It will be a little farther to the lower right of the Moon tomorrow night.

Star clusters line up in the evening at this time of year like pearls on a necklace. The highlight is the Double Cluster, a close pair of clusters in Perseus. Under dark skies, they’re visible to the unaided eye as a faint cloud of light.

Daylight Saving Time ends tonight at 2 a.m. local time, as most Americans set their clocks back one hour as they revert to Standard Time. Standard Time wasn’t always standard, however; the time zones we use today weren’t formalized until 1918.

To the ancient Celts, November 1 marked the start of a new season and a new year. Summer ended on October 31, when cattle and sheep were brought in from the pastures. Winter and the new year started the next day, roughly half way between a solstice and an equinox.

Some “monstrous” stars decorate the Halloween sky. They are in Perseus, which is low in the northeast at nightfall. Four stars in the constellation are named for the Gorgons. In mythology, a single glimpse of any of these sisters would turn the viewer to stone.

Autumn evenings offer constellations with great names, intriguing stories, and beautiful star patterns. And then there’s Triangulum. It consists of three main stars that form a triangle – an accurate if dull description of one of the smallest constellations.

The two most prominent star clusters in the night sky climb into good view by mid-evening. The V-shaped Hyades cluster outlines the face of Taurus, the bull, while the smaller, dipper-shaped Pleiades cluster represents his shoulder.

Pegasus, the winged horse, crosses high overhead this evening. Four bright stars that form a large square outline his body. If you hold your fists side by side at arm’s length, they will fit nicely into the Great Square.

The Pleiades star cluster is low in the east-northeast a couple of hours after sunset. It looks like a tiny dipper. High above it is the Andromeda Galaxy, which looks like a tiny cloud. Your eyes need time to adapt to the darkness to see both objects.