In the Sky This Month

Capricornus, the “gateway to heaven,” rolls low across the south this evening. It looks like a large, wide triangle, with the longest side aligned east to west. Mythology says it is the gateway for human souls on their way to heaven.

If you have dark skies, look for the glowing band of the Milky Way arching high overhead as night falls. It outlines the disk of our home galaxy. The galaxy is an amalgam of many smaller galaxies that have merged over billions of years.

Pollux, the brightest star of Gemini, will stand close to the Moon at first light tomorrow. A massive planet orbits Pollux. Astronomers named it Thestias, which is a version of Leda, the mother of Pollux.

Mars perches close to the Moon early tomorrow. They climb into view by 1 or 1:30 a.m. and stand high in the sky at first light. Mars looks like a bright orange star to the lower right of the Moon.

The planet Jupiter stands to the right of the Moon as they climb into good view tonight, around midnight. It looks like a brilliant star. The star Elnath, which marks the tip of one of the horns of Taurus, the bull, stands closer above the Moon.

Three bright companions surround the Moon at dawn tomorrow. The star Elnath will stand to the left of the Moon, with brilliant Jupiter to the lower left of the Moon and Aldebaran a little farther below the Moon.

Autumn officially arrives tomorrow at 7:44 a.m. CDT, the moment of the fall equinox. The Sun will rise due east and set due west as seen from the entire planet, and the length of day and night will be about equal.

Two “dog stars” chase across autumn’s pre-dawn sky. The brighter one is Sirius, in Canis Major, the big dog. The other is Procyon of Canis Minor, the little dog. Both are high in the sky at first light, with Procyon far to the upper left of Sirius.

Draco is in the north and northwest as night falls, above the Big Dipper. One of the dragon’s highlights is NGC 5907, an unusually flat spiral galaxy that is well above the end of the dipper’s handle.

A hidden giant lurks between the Moon and the bright planet Saturn tonight. Neptune is the fourth-largest planet in the solar system. It’s putting in its best showing of the year this week. But it’s so far away that you need help to see it.