2018 Week 36: (September 2-September 8)

We are now fully immersed in September and Fall is quickly approaching.  This means cooler weather and darker skies.  There are several things happening in the sky this week which are highlighted below.

Date	Event
September 2	Last Quarter
September 5	Zodical Light Visible
September 5	Mercury 1°N of Regulus
September 6	Saturn Stationary
September 6	Moon 1.4°S of Beehive Cluster (M44)
September 7	Neptune at Opposition

The Moon will be at its last quarter phase on Sunday and well out of the way of early evening deep sky observers.  The zodiacal light may be visible at dark sites in the East before morning twilight.  For more information about this phenomenon check out the link below.

http://simonjastronomy.blogspot.com/2017/02/what-is-zodiacal-light.html

Zodiacal Light

Saturn will once again begin its prograde motion through the stars on September 6.  If you track its position in the sky it will now appear to be moving eastward compared to the background stars.  It will slowly track towards Capricornus reaching the constellation in a few years.

You will be able to catch the Moon being attacked by bees of the Beehive Cluster this Friday in the early morning sky before the Sun rises.  Unfortunately the close encounter occurs when they are below the horizon.  However, you can still catch the pairing 6° apart when they rise early Friday morning.

Our furthest planet, Neptune, will be at opposition on Friday.  This will be the brightest and biggest it will be all year.  It is a perfect chance to get out your telescope and hunt for this elusive planet.  A guide to find it is provided below.

In the later evening (11pm) find the constellation Aquarius and see if you can naked eye Lambda and Phi Aquarii.  I usually find them southeast of the 'scissors' asterism located in the northern reaches of the constellation.  High resolution images can be found at the links at the end of the blog.

Neptune Wide Field

Neptune is placed approximately halfway between these two naked eye stars.  Now we can zoom in with our telescope or binoculars.

Neptune Narrow Field

The line from Lambda to Phi Aquarii will go through two bright stars located about halfway between the two naked eye stars.  There will then be a star sitting below the line just after this pairing.  This star is 83 Aquarii.  Neptune will be in the same telescope field of view (within 1°) of this star.  If you have this star at the bottom of your field you will have Neptune in your sights.  Look around the field for a blue/grey object that does not appear to be pinprick.  This will be Neptune located approximately 4.3 billion kilometers away from us.  It takes light about 4 hours to travel to us from Neptune.

To view or download high resolution images please use the links below.

Neptune Wide Field
Neptune Narrow Field

If you feel sad that Summer is on its way out then take some time to enjoy the starry night earlier in the evening!  Good luck as you look up!