This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2019 October 12 – 19 ~by Curt Nason
Aquarius the Water Bearer is the source of all the water associated with our southern autumn constellations. It is situated among Pisces to the east and Capricornus to the west, with Pegasus north and Pisics Austrinus south. Its western end stretches over top of the Capricornus. Most of the stars of Aquarius are relatively dim but one asterism stands out, the tight group of four stars that forms the Water Jar. Resembling a circle with three spokes, this asterism is also called the Steering Wheel.
One tale from mythology has Aquarius representing Ganymede, the handsome son of a Trojan king. Zeus was attracted to the lad and sent his pet eagle to kidnap him. Ganymede was given the important position of cup bearer (wine pourer) at Olympian feasts. There may have been another motive of the kidnapping, for the moons of the planet Jupiter are named for Zeus’s lovers and Ganymede is the largest of those moons.
A few Messier objects lie within Aquarius, the best being the globular cluster M2. I usually star hop to this one by going from a star in the neck of Pegasus to its ear, and extending that line an equal distance. A fainter globular cluster, M73, is above the back of Capricornus, and just to its east is enigmatic M73. Stargazers wonder how this four-star asterism made it to the Messier list. Nearby to the northeast a moderate-size telescope might reveal the Saturn Nebula, the glowing gaseous remnant of a dead star that somewhat resembles the ringed planet.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:31 am and sunset will occur at 6:38 pm, giving 11 hours, 7 minutes of daylight (7:35 am and 6:44 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:41 am and set at 6:26 pm, giving 10 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (7:45 am and 6:32 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is full on Sunday, the Hunter’s Moon, which is the same effect as the Harvest Moon where the shallow angle of the ecliptic results in the Moon rising 22-25 minutes later for several evenings rather than the average 50 minutes. By midweek Jupiter sets around 9:20 pm, about two hours after Mercury and Venus set and nearly two hours before Saturn. Venus can be seen with binoculars shortly after sunset, and Mercury might be visible through the fading twilight to its left before they set.
The provincial astronomy club, RASC NB, is giving astronomy presentations at Moncton High School on the afternoon of October 19. For details, see their website.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason.