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September 2008 Eye on the Sky
Contributed by: Mike Hotka on 8/25/2008

September continues grouping of celestial objects that we have been experiencing for the past two months.

On the night of September 1st, look to the west-southwest about 30 minutes after sunset to find the very slender crescent Moon just above the horizon. Above the Moon and a bit to the right will be the planet Mercury, shining at a magnitude of 0.0. Above Mercury and a bit to the right will be the planet Venus, shining brilliantly at a magnitude of -3.8. These three planets will be aligned such that if you could draw a line between the Moon and Venus, Mercury would also be on this line.

On September 16th, again looking low in the west-southwestern sky, will be Mercury, very low to the horizon, with Venus above it. To the right of Mercury and about 4 degrees above it, will be the dim, reddish colored Mars. Shining at a magnitude of 1.7, you might need binoculars to spot this planet. To the upper left of Mercury will be the first magnitude star Spica, which will be much brighter than Mars and easier to spot. This second celestial close up for September forms a diamond pattern in the sky.

These twilight groupings will be difficult to see without the aid of binoculars. Even an inexpensive pair can give the stargazer a better view of these celestial lineups.

As evening twilight darkens, find the planet Jupiter shining brightly high in the southern sky. Glaring at a magnitude of -2.5, Jupiter will be the brightest object in this part of the sky.

On Friday September 5th, on the CU Boulder campus, the Fiske Planetarium is having a wonderful show called "Searching For Distant Worlds". On Friday, September 12th, the show will be "Many Faces of Hubble" and this night is free admission. On Friday, September 19th, the show will be "Mars Revealed". On Friday, September 26th, the show will be "Aboriginal Skies" with Paul Taylor and Bill Harney. Each planetarium show starts at 7:30 PM and is followed by telescope viewing at the Sommers-Bausch Observatory, weather permitting. For more information, visit the web site http://lyra.colorado.edu/sbo/public/openhouse.html or call 303-492-5002.

The Little Thompson Observatory, in Berthoud, is holding their monthly Open House on the September 19th. An exciting talk about astronomy starts the evening off at 7 PM, followed by telescope observing, weather permitting. The observatory is at the northeast edge of Berthoud High School. More information can be found at http://www.starkids.org or by calling 970-613-7793.


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Mike Hotka

Broomfield , CO

Mike Hotka has posted 49 stories and 0 comments since joining on 11/30/2005. Mike Hotka 's average story rating is 4.95.
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