SkyNews – September 2019

SEPT. 2 Mars in conjunction

with the Sun

SEPT. 5 First-quarter Moon;

Moon 3° west of Jupiter in

evening sky

SEPT. 6Neptune near Phi Aquarii

(see page 22)

SEPT. 10 Neptune at opposition

SEPT. 13Harvest Moon rises

at sunset

SEPT. 14 Full Moon, 12:33 a.m., EDT;

smallest full Moon in 2019

SEPT. 20Waning gibbous Moon

approaches Hyades in predawn sky

SEPT. 21 Last-quarter Moon

SEPT. 23Equinox (3:50 a.m., EDT);

autumn officially begins in northern

hemisphere

SEPT. 27 Zodiacal light visible in

eastern predawn sky for next two

weeks

SEPT. 28 New Moon, 2:26 p.m., EDT;

Moon at close perigee (357,802 km)

16 hours earlier, creating large tides

OCT. 3Waxing crescent Moon

2½° east of Jupiter at dusk

OCT. 5Moon 3° east of Saturn in

evening sky; first-quarter Moon

OCT. 13 Full Moon, 5:08 p.m., EDT

OCT. 20Mercury at greatest elonga-

tion (25°) east of Sun

OCT. 21 Last-quarter Moon

OCT. 21/22Orionid meteor shower

peaks (see page 23); Moon near

Beehive cluster, M44 (see page 24)

OCT. 26Zodiacal light visible in

eastern predawn sky for next two

weeks

OCT. 27 New Moon, 11:38 p.m., EDT

OCT. 28Uranus at opposition

(see page 24)

OCT. 29Thin waxing crescent Moon

4° above Venus very low at dusk

Impressive or relatively rare

astronomical event

Our chart shows the major stars, planets and constella-

tions visible from Canada and the northern United

States within one hour of these times:

EARLY SEPTEMBER: 11:30 P.M.

LATE SEPTEMBER: 10:30 P.M.

EARLY OCTOBER: 9:30 P.M.

LATE OCTOBER: 8:30 P.M.

USING THE

STAR CHART

The edge of the chart

represents the horizon;

the overhead point is at

centre. The faintest stars

depicted shine at mag-

nitude 5.0—a little

brighter than what

you can see under

ideal conditions.

On a moonless

night inthe coun-

try, you will see

more stars than

are shown here;

deep in the city,

you will see fewer.

(The planets,

when visible, are

plotted for the

mid dle of the date

range covered by

the chart.)

The chart is

most effective when

you use about one-

quarter of it at a time,

which roughly equals

a comfortable field of

view in a given direction.

Outdoors, match the hori-

zon compass direction on

the chart with the actual

direction you are facing. Don’t

be confused by the east and west

points on the chart lying opposite

their location on a map of Earth.

When the chart is held up to match the

sky, with the direction you are facing at

the bottom, the chart directions match the

com pass points. For best results when reading

the chart outdoors, use a small flashlight heavily

dimmedwith red plastic or layers of brown paper.

Unfiltered lights greatly reduce night-vision sensitivity.

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CELESTIAL CALENDAR

For additional details or late-breaking information, visit our website (skynews.ca). Also consult the

Observer’s Handbook, published by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (www.rasc.ca or 888-924-7272).

STAR CHART FOR EARLY AUTUMN

20 SKYNEWS•SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

PLANETS AT A GLANCE

DATE MAGNITUDE DIAMETER (") CONSTELLATION VISIBILITY

MERCURY Sept. 1 –1.8 5.0 Leo —

Oct. 1 –0.2 5.3 Virgo Dusk

VENUS Sept. 1 –3.9 9.7 Leo Dusk

Oct. 1 –3.9 10.0 Virgo Dusk

MARS Sept. 1 1.7 3.5 Leo —

Oct. 1 1.8 3.5 Virgo Dawn

JUPITER Sept. 1 –2.2 39.0 Ophiuchus Evening

Oct. 1 –2.0 35.8 Ophiuchus Evening

SATURN Sept. 1 0.3 17.7 Sagittarius Evening

Oct. 1 0.5 16.8 Sagittarius Evening

URANUS Sept. 1 5.7 3.6 Aries Morning

Oct. 1 5.7 3.7 Aries Morning

NEPTUNE Sept. 1 7.8 2.3 Aquarius Morning

Oct. 1 7.8 2.3 Aquarius Evening