On a clear night, find a dark spot far away from city lights, give your eyes time to adjust to the dark, and look for even more celestial sights. From Dark Skiesīright outdoor lighting can make it hard to see all but the brightest stars.
Look for the Moon near Saturn on the 8th and near Jupiter on the 11th and 12th. Saturn’s rings are easily visible with a small telescope. It’s still bright but will gradually fade as its distance to Earth increases. Whatever you use to get that close-up view, watch the moons over several nights as they orbit around their parent planet. If you have trouble pointing your binoculars at Jupiter, try leaning them up against the side of a building or another steady surface. You may be even able to see those four Galilean moons of Jupiter with just a good pair of binoculars. A small telescope not only reveals the four largest moons of Jupiter, but also the planet’s cloud bands. Whenever it’s visible it’s always a great target for backyard telescopes. Jupiter will be especially bright for many weeks. The exact date of opposition is September 26, but there is no need to wait or be disappointed if it’s cloudy that night. At opposition, a planet rises about the same time the Sun sets. This means the giant planet will be roughly opposite the Sun in our sky, and the closest it will be to Earth this year. Jupiter is approaching opposition this month. To ancient civilizations it may have looked like a mythical centaur holding a bow and arrow, but to modern stargazers it looks a lot more like a teapot. Just to the east of Scorpius is Sagittarius the Archer. This star’s name means ‘rival of Mars’, as its red color nearly matches that of the ‘red planet.’ The red star Antares marks the heart of the scorpion. Low in the southwest is the hook-shaped constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. Cygnus the Swan, Aquila the Eagle, and Lyra the Harp are more easily seen under dark skies. Each of these stars is part of its own constellation. These may be the first stars you see as the sky begins to darken. Next, turn your gaze high overhead for the three bright stars that make up the Summer Triangle. This group of stars is also officially known as Ursa Minor the Little Bear. Polaris is at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. When you face the North Star, you’re facing due north. Polaris is not a particularly bright star, but it does remain fixed in the sky throughout the night and throughout the year. Use the two stars at the end of the Dipper’s bowl to lead you to Polaris, also known as the North Star. Ursa Major the Great Bear is the official constellation here, but you’ll need dark skies to see its fainter stars. It’s a familiar name for this pattern of stars, especially used by observers in the United States, but it’s not one of the 88 constellations recognized by astronomers worldwide.
The Big Dipper is not officially a constellation it’s what astronomers sometimes call an asterism. As we approach autumn, it gradually appears lower to the northern horizon. In the spring and summer, the Dipper is easy to find shortly after sunset. As famous as the Dipper is, it’s not always easily visible from our latitude in Tennessee. Look low in the northwest for the Big Dipper.
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