Sept. 14
Corona Australis, the southern crown, is much fainter than its
northern cousin. But with dark skies it is relatively easy to find
because of its distinctive shape. Around 9 p.m., it appears between
the constellation Sagittarius and the southern horizon.
Sept. 14
Corona Australis, the southern crown, is much fainter than its northern cousin. But with dark skies it is relatively easy to find because of its distinctive shape. Around 9 p.m., it appears between the constellation Sagittarius and the southern horizon.
Sept. 15
The North Star, Polaris, is often used as an icon of steadiness and dependability. But Polaris actually changes brightness because it pulses like a beating heart. And there is evidence that its overall brightness has increased considerably over the last 2,000 years.
Sept. 16
M15, one of the brightest globular clusters, is visible in the eastern evening sky. It consists of hundreds of thousands of stars squeezed into a region of space only a few light-years across. M15 appears below the forelegs of Pegasus. It is 35,000 light-years away.
Sept. 17
Vesta, one of the largest asteroids, is putting in its best showing of the year this week. It is visible all night, and it’s closest and brightest for the year. Vesta is of special interest because pieces of it have fallen to Earth as meteorites.
Sept. 18
Two planets are exiting the evening sky and heading for the dawn. Mars actually crossed behind the Sun as seen from Earth on Wednesday, and is slowly pulling away from the Sun into the morning sky. Jupiter will follow it on Tuesday.
Sept. 19
The Moon and the bright star Antares, the “heart” of Scorpius, the scorpion, huddle close together this evening. They are fairly low in the southwest as darkness falls and set in late evening. Antares is the bright orange star to the left of the Moon.
University of Texas
McDonald Observatory
