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Sept. 16
Neptune is at
opposition
Sept. 26
Jupiter is at
opposition
Oct. 8
Mercury is
at greatest
western
elongation
Oct. 21
Orionid
meteor
shower peaks
Oct. 25
Partial solar
eclipse
Nov. 8
Total lunar
eclipse
Nov. 9
Uranus is at
opposition
Nov. 17
Leonid
meteor
shower peaks
Dec. 8
Mars is at
opposition
Dec. 14
Geminid
meteor
shower peaks
Dec. 21
Mercury is
at greatest
eastern
elongation
SUMMER
The sky
High in the sky, the three bright stars known
as the Summer Triangle are easy to spot.
These luminaries — Vega in Lyra, Deneb in
Cygnus, and Altair in Aquila — lie near the
starry path of the Milky Way. Following the
Milky Way south from Aquila, you’ll find the
center of our galaxy in the constellation
Sagittarius the Archer. Here lie countless star
clusters and glowing gas clouds. Just west of
Sagittarius is Scorpius the Scorpion, which
contains the red supergiant star Antares as
well as M6 and M7, two brilliant clusters that
look marvelous at low power.
Deep-sky highlights
The Hercules Cluster (M13) contains nearly
a million stars and is the finest globular
cluster in the northern sky.
The Ring Nebula (M57) looks like a puff of
smoke through a medium-sized telescope.
The Omega Nebula (M17) looks like the
Greek letter of its name (Ω) through a
telescope at low power. This object also is
called the Swan Nebula.
The Wild Duck Cluster (M11) is a glorious
open star cluster. On a moonless night, a
small scope will show you some 50 stars.
AUTUMN
The sky
The Big Dipper swings low this season, and
from parts of the southern United States,
it even sets. With the coming of cooler
nights, Pegasus the Winged Horse rides
high in the sky as the rich summer Milky
Way descends in the west. Fomalhaut, a
solitary bright star, lies low in the south. The
magnificent Andromeda Galaxy reaches its
peak nearly overhead on autumn evenings,
as does the famous Double Cluster. Both
of these objects appear as fuzzy patches to
the naked eye under a dark sky.
Deep-sky highlights
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the bright est
naked-eye object outside our galaxy visible in
the northern sky.
The Double Cluster (NGC 869 and NGC 884)
in Perseus consists of twin open star clusters.
It’s a great sight through binoculars.
M 15 in Pegasus is a globular cluster
con taining hundreds of thousands of stars,
many of which can be glimpsed through a
medium-sized telescope.
Albireo (Beta [β] Cygni), the most beautiful
double star in the sky, is made up of suns
colored sapphire and gold.
Open cluster
Globular cluster
Diffuse nebula
Planetary nebula
Galaxy