Sky Lights ~ Virgo

Saturn and Mercury lie next to each other, low on the western horizon, just after sunset as Virgo begins. Scan the western horizon with binoculars to to spot the twilight planets. 8/21 just after sunset, the youngest Moon in the west lies below Mercury; Saturn lies to the right of 2.5x brighter Mercury. Moonset: 8:30pm. 8/22 the young Moon, Mercury and Saturn line-up left to right respectively; the view disappears before 9:00pm. 8/24 Mercury reaches greatest elongation (27º) and sets along with Saturn at 8:45pm. 9/4 Saturn's rings close to exactly edge-on, when Earth passes through Saturn's ring plane; unfortunately the planet is out of sight in conjunction with the Sun. 9/17 Saturn exactly conjoins the Sun. 9/20 Mercury is in inferior conjunction. Mercury reappears in the morning sky at the end of September. 9/28 Mercury rises in the east at 6:00am; it's magnitude 0.7 pierces through dawn's early light. You'll have to wait until October to easily see Saturn in the morning sky.

Jupiter is the King, ruling the night sky with its brilliant beacon of light. Look for the planet low in the southeast at sunset, in the south around midnight and in the southwest afterwards, setting in dawn's early light. Jupiter retrograde (6/15-10/11) is located in the dim constellation Capricornus and at magnitude -2.8 far outshines any stars in its vicinity. Telescopic Neptune lies near Jupiter. Map 9/1 Jupiter lies to the left of the waxing Gibbous Moon, 9/2 to the right. 9/1 9pm Sky Chart ~ 9/2 9pm Map The Moon paired with Jupiter is a planetary treat and can be observed until just before sunrise.

Mars leaves Taurus the Bull and journeys into the constellation of the Gemini Twins during the last week of August. 8/29 the planet lies just south of M35 at the foot of Castor. Mars rises in the east at 1:30am in the beginning of Virgo and at 1:00am by its end. Shining at magnitude 0.9 it is a little brighter than Castor and Pollux, the Gemini Twin stars. The Red Planet is almost 1/2 way to the zenith at twilight. Mars is approaching Earth; watch it grow in size and brightness over the upcoming months. Much better views of our Red Planet occur at the end of the year. The movement of Mars shifts the shape of the Red Triad formed by the Red Planet, red Aldebaran the eye of Taurus the Bull, and red Betelgeuse the shoulder star of Orion the Hunter. By 9/5 Mars lies to the left (north) of Betelgeuse. 9/5 5am Sky Chart  The waning Crescent Moon lies above Mars the morning of 9/13 and below (east of) the planet 9/14. 9/13 4am Map ~ 9/14 5am Sky Chart Eye-catching Venus lies below Mars.

Venus rises in the northeast around 3:45am in the beginning of Virgo and at 4:30am by its end. The later sunrises are keeping Venus in a darker sky longer and a higher morning ecliptic is keeping the sinking planet at about the same altitude it was at during Leo, 20º - 13º about 1 hour before sunrise. 8/25 the dazzling planet lines-up with Castor and Pollux as it enters the constellation of Cancer. 9/1-3 Venus transits the Beehive Cluster (M44) at the heart of Cancer; get out those binoculars to see the bees! Map By mid-September Venus is in the den of Leo the Lion. The morning of 9/16 the waning Crescent Moon lies just above glorious planet and 9/17 and just below. 9/16 5:30am Map ~ 9/17 5:45am Star Chart 9/20 Venus lies next to Regulus, the heart star of Leo the Lion. Venus at magnitude -3.9 is about 100x brighter than this star.

Scorpius the cosmic scorpion, a sprawling j-shaped constellation, is seen in the southwest at sunset. Antares is the red heart star of Scorpius. With binoculars on a moonless night can you find the Scorpion's missing claws (now the constellation Libra), its two stinger stars sometimes called cat's eyes or how about the star clusters M6 and M7 above the Scorpion's stinger? Maps/Text Throughout the year you can Track Bunny's Footprints in Scorpius!

The Summer Triangle a stellar right triangle is high in the northeast at sunset. Vega is the brightest star and western point; Deneb the dimmest star and eastern point, Altair is the southern point. Hercules the Strong Man lies about a third of the way from bright white Vega to golden Arcturus in the northwest. Look for his four star wedge-shaped torso. Star Chart

The Milky Way appears like a faint cloud extending from Scorpius on the southwestern horizon, to the Summer Triangle high overhead, and onward toward Cassiopeia (M or W shaped) on the northeastern horizon. Star Map.

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