In the Sky This Month

The Moon huddles quite close to Antares this evening. The bright star represents the heart of the constellation Scorpius, the scorpion. They are low in the southwest at nightfall.

Venus is climbing into better view as the Evening Star. It’s quite low in the southwest as night falls. Tonight, it’s to the right or lower right of the Moon. Antares, the brightest star of Scorpius, is a bit closer to the upper left of the Moon.

The crescent Moon hunkers quite low in the southwest as twilight fades this evening. The brilliant planet Venus, the Evening Star, stands close by. Most of the lunar disk will be faintly visible thanks to earthshine, which is sunlight reflecting off of Earth.

The California Nebula is in Perseus, which is low in the northeast in early evening but climbs high across the sky later on. The nebula is a cloud of gas set aglow by radiation from a hot, bright star. The cloud’s outline resembles the state of California.

The faint constellation Aquarius is in the southeast at nightfall on these early autumn evenings. Its stars represent a man or boy pouring water from a vase. In Greek mythology, he was the water bearer to the gods.

The Moon is new at 1:49 p.m. CDT today as it crosses between Earth and the Sun. The Moon is hidden in the Sun’s glare, but it will return to view, in the early evening sky, in a couple of days.

An annular solar eclipse takes place tomorrow, although it will not be visible from most of the U.S. The Moon will pass in front of the Sun, but it is farthest from Earth for the year so it won’t fully cover the Sun. A bright “ring of fire” will encircle the Moon.

Several eagles soar across the sky tonight. The brightest is Vega, the swooping eagle, which is overhead at nightfall. Altair, the flying eagle, is in the south. The Eagle Nebula, a cloud of gas and dust that outlines a bird of prey, is in the south-southwest.

Royalty creeps across the southern sky on autumn nights: Fomalhaut, the brightest star of Piscis Austrinus, the southern fish. To the people of ancient Persia, it was one of four “royal” stars that ruled the seasons. For Fomalhaut, it was the autumn sky.

The crescent Moon is in the east before dawn tomorrow. It has a bright companion: Regulus, the star that marks the heart of the lion. Regulus stands close to the right or upper right of the Moon. The Moon will be an even thinner crescent on Monday.