This Week’s Sky at a Glance, September 23 – 30 ~by Curt Nason
Autumn has arrived, and dedicated stargazers are happy to have the longer observing time afforded by earlier sunsets. The summer constellations appear reluctant to move on, however; emerging from twilight in nearly the same place each night because the earlier darkness masks that they rise four minutes sooner each day. But move on they do, and by mid-evening the two groups of autumn constellations lord over us.
Perseus sits below W-shaped Cassiopeia in the northeast these evenings. Cepheus, the king of ancient Ethiopia, is a house-shaped constellation fenced within his wife Cassiopeia, Cygnus and the North Star. The feet of Princess Andromeda are below the W of Cassiopeia, and her head is at the tail end of Pegasus the winged horse. The asterism called the Great Square of Pegasus rises as a large diamond, a harbinger of the baseball post season. Rounding out the mythological tale is Cetus, playing the role of a ferocious sea monster that is stoned, in a manner of speaking, by Perseus in his rescue of Andromeda. Cetus is actually a whale, and segues to the second group – the water constellations.
To the left of the Sagittarius Teapot we see the large chevron of Capricornus the sea goat, representing the goat-boy flautist Pan who didn’t completely morph into a fish when he tried to escape monstrous Typhon. Above and left is the source of all this water – Aquarius, the water bearing servant of the Olympians. Below him is the southern fish, Piscis Austrinus, and further east we have Aphrodite and Eros as Pisces the fishes. Cetus swims below them, and well above Capricornus we see Delphinus the dolphin trying to leap back into summer.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:07 am and sunset will occur at 7:14 pm, giving 12 hours, 7 minutes of daylight (7:12 am and 7:19 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:16 am and set at 7:00 pm, giving 11 hours, 44 minutes of daylight (7:21 am and 7:06 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter on Wednesday, making the week a great time for lunar observing. Jupiter now sets less than an hour after sunset, but Saturn hangs around until 11 pm and hangs out with the Moon on Tuesday. Venus makes a move on Mars in the morning sky, while Mercury slowly drops sunward.
RASC NB members will offer views of the night sky and the Sun at the Kouchibouguac National Park Fall Festival on September 22 and 23. Visit rascnb.ca/events for details. RASC NB members in Saint John will be celebrating Fall Astronomy Day with public observing at the Rockwood Park Bark Park (First Arch) on Friday, September 29, with a cloud date of September 30.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.