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Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Jupiter (magnitude -2.5) is the first object other than the moon that becomes visible in the southeast twilight. Saturn (0.4) becomes visible east of Jupiter and slightly lower to the horizon as the sky darkens. Jupiter now sets about 1:00am, with Saturn following about 45 minutes later. By mid-October, Jupiter sets just before 11:00pm and Saturn about 30 minutes later. The moon passes less than 2° south of Jupiter the evening of September 24 and about 2° south of Saturn the following night. Mars (-2.2) now rises in the east about 9:00pm, and just over two hours earlier by mid-October, and remains visible until fading into the morning light. On the evening of October 2, the moon passes 0.7° south of Mars. Mars reaches opposition on October 13. That evening the red planet shines at magnitude -2.6, just slightly brighter than Jupiter. While Mars won’t be as close to Earth as it was for its 2018 opposition, it will be higher in the sky. Mercury (-0.1) is visible about 30 minutes after sunset low in the western sky from late September through early October. Although Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation on October 1, it lies south of the ecliptic and only rises about 3° above the horizon. Morning Sky Venus (-4.1) currently rises in the east-northeast about 3:00am, and about an hour later by mid-October. Venus appears about 0.1° south of the magnitude 1.36 star Regulus in the early morning hours of October 2. Orionids Meteor Shower The Orionids meteor shower is active from October 2 to November 7, peaking in the early morning hours of October 21 with a predicted rate of 20 meteors per hour. The moon will not be a factor this year at the peak or for about 10 days before. The meteors are from the debris trail left by Halley’s Comet. Moon Phases New (9/17), first (9/23), full (10/1), last (10/9), new (10/16), first (10/23), full (10/31) 
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Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Jupiter (magnitude -2.7) and Saturn (0.2) both rise in the southeast before sunset. Other than the moon, Jupiter will be the first object visible in the evening twilight. Saturn then becomes visible east of Jupiter and slightly lower to the horizon as the sky darkens. Jupiter now sets about 3:00am, with Saturn following about 45 minutes later. On the evening of August 28, and continuing into the early morning hours of August 29, the moon sits just below Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter appears west of the moon, and Saturn appears just east of it. Mars (-1.5) rises in the east about 10:30pm, and almost two hours earlier by mid-September. The red planet remains visible until fading into the morning light. On September 5, Mars rises about 9:30pm. That evening, and continuing into the early morning hours of September 6, the moon appears just 0.03° north of Mars. Morning Sky Venus (-4.3) currently rises in the east-northeast about 2:30am, and about 30 minutes later by mid-September. In the early morning hours of September 14, Venus appears 4° south of the crescent moon, and 2.5° south of the Beehive Cluster (M44). Perseids Meteor Shower The Perseids meteor shower remains active until August 24. The shower peaked the night of August 11 into the pre-dawn hours of August 12. Moon Phases First (8/25), full (9/2), last (9/10), new (9/17), first (9/23). Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Jupiter (magnitude -2.7) and Saturn (0.3) have returned to the late evening sky. Jupiter rises in the southeast a little before 11:00pm, and Saturn a bit past 11:00pm. By mid-July, Jupiter and Saturn rise about two hours earlier. On the evening of July 5, and continuing into the early morning hours of July 6, the full moon, Jupiter, and Saturn form a small triangle when the moon passes about 2° south of the two planets. Morning Sky Mars (magnitude -0.3), Jupiter, and Saturn are visible in the morning sky, with Jupiter and Saturn now rising in the late evening. Mars rises in the eastern sky about 1:30am, and all three planets remain visible until fading into the morning sunlight. By mid-July, Jupiter and Saturn set in the southwest about the same time the sun rises opposite them in the northeast, while Mars rises just after midnight and remains visible until it fades away as dawn breaks. Venus (magnitude -4.2) has returned to the morning sky, rising in the east-northeast about 4:30am and about 90 minutes sooner by mid-July. On the morning of June 19, Venus and the moon appear less than 1° apart. The Pleiades star cluster, also known as M45, appears about 10° above Venus. And by the end of June, Venus will be near the red giant star Aldebaran (magnitude 0.87), the brightest star in the constellation Taurus. Venus moves nearer to Aldebaran each morning until their closest approach on July 12, when the bright planet and the reddish star appear just 1° apart. Mercury returns to the morning sky in early July, rising around 4:30am by mid-month. On the morning of July 19, Mercury will be at magnitude 0.8 and appears just to the right of a crescent moon in the east-northeast sky, which should help you locate the innermost planet. Moon Phases New (6/21), first (6/28), full (7/5), last (7/12), new (7/20), first (7/27). Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky May offers the last chance to see Venus in the evening sky this year. Venus (magnitude -4.2) sets sooner each evening, about 11:00pm in mid-May and about 90 minutes sooner by the end of the month. Mercury (magnitude -0.6) and Venus appear just 1° apart in the west-northwest sky the evening of May 21. Venus will appear first in the evening twilight, with Mercury becoming visible as the western sky darkens. Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation on June 4, when the planet sets about two hours after sunset. Jupiter and Saturn return to the late evening sky in mid-June. On June 15, Jupiter rises in the southeast a little before 11:00pm, with Saturn following a bit past 11:00pm. The two planets rise a few minutes earlier each night over the summer. Morning Sky Mars (magnitude 0.1), Jupiter (-2.5), and Saturn (0.5) are in the southeast morning sky. Jupiter rises first, just past 1:00am in mid-May. Saturn follows about 15 minutes later, and Mars just before 3:00am. By mid-June, Jupiter and Saturn rise around 11:00pm, and Mars about 1:30am. All three planets remain visible until fading into morning sunlight. The moon passes just south of Mars the morning of June 12. Mars passes less than 2° south of Neptune that same morning. Venus returns to the morning sky in mid-June, rising in the east-northeast about 4:30am on June 15. The moon and Venus appear less than 1° apart the morning of June 19. Moon Phases New (5/22), first (5/29), full (6/5), last (6/13), new (6/21), first (6/28). Messier of the Month – M10 M10 is a magnitude 6.4 globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus. The cluster contains about 100,000 stars, with about 14% of the stars in the core are binary stars. M10 is about 83 light years in diameter, about 14,300 light years distant, and has an estimated age of 11.4 billion years. Through binoculars, M10 appears as a fuzzy ball of light. A 6” scope will resolve the core and stars in the outer regions, while larger scopes will resolve more core detail and more stars.
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