September 20 – September 27
Small constellations tend to get overlooked unless, like Delphinus the Dolphin, they have fairly bright stars or an eye-catching pattern. Aries the Ram and cleverly named Triangulum aren’t quite as pretty as Delphinus but they do get noticed. Okay, Triangulum isn’t pretty but it is acute, situated below Andromeda in mid-evening. Below it is brighter Aries, which resembles a somewhat squashed triangle.
In mythology, the god Hermes sent a flying, golden ram to rescue a prince who was being sacrificed to end a famine. The prince showed his gratitude by slaughtering the ram and giving its fleece to a man in exchange for his daughter’s hand in marriage. The Golden Fleece later became the quest of Jason and the Argonauts. Over 2000 years ago the Sun was in Aries on the first day of spring, and the vernal equinox is still called the First Point of Aries despite having moved into the constellation Pisces long ago.
Triangulum is not associated with an exciting tale from mythology but at times it had been regarded as a tribute to both the Nile Delta and the island of Sicily. I use the tip of the triangle as a reference for locating the Triangulum Galaxy, also called M33. It is almost halfway and a tad to the right of a line from the tip to orange Mirach in Andromeda. Smaller and slightly more distant than the nearby Andromeda Galaxy (M31), this face-on spiral galaxy is dim but attainable with binoculars in a reasonably dark sky.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:04 and sunset will occur at 7:20, giving 12 hours, 16 minutes of daylight (7:09 and 7:25 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:12 and set at 7:06, giving 11 hours, 54 minutes of daylight (7:17 and 7:11 in Saint John). The Sun crosses the equator at 3:19 pm Tuesday to begin the autumn season.
The Moon is new this Sunday and to the lower left of Mars on Wednesday. Saturn is at opposition on Sunday, rising around sunset, and above it Neptune reaches opposition on Tuesday. By late in the week Jupiter will be rising around 1 am, followed by Venus four hours later. Mercury is too close to the Sun for evening observing.
Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at [email protected].
September 13- September 20
Autumn arrives next weekend and dedicated stargazers are happy to have the longer observing time afforded by earlier sunsets. The summer constellations appear reluctant to move on, however; emerging from twilight in nearly the same place each night because the earlier darkness masks that they rise four minutes sooner each day. But move on they do, and by mid-evening the two groups of autumn constellations lord over us.
Perseus sits below W-shaped Cassiopeia in the northeast these evenings. Cepheus is a house-shaped constellation north of Cassiopeia, and Andromeda lies with her feet below Cassiopeia and her head sharing a star with Pegasus. The asterism called the Great Square of Pegasus rises as a large diamond, a harbinger of the baseball post season. These constellations relate to a classic tale in Greek mythology, as does Cetus, playing the role of a ferocious sea monster. Cetus is actually a whale, and this segues to the second group – the water constellations.
To the southeast in evening twilight is the chevron-shaped Capricornus the sea goat. Above and left is the source of all this water; Aquarius, the water bearing servant of the Olympian gods. Below is the southern fish, Piscis Austrinus with its bright star Fomalhaut. Further east we have Pisces the fishes, the current home of Saturn, with Cetus swimming below them, and well above Capricornus we see Delphinus the dolphin leaping out of the sea.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:55 and sunset will occur at 7:33, giving 12 hours, 38 minutes of daylight (7:00 and 7:38 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:04 and set at 7:20, giving 12 hours, 16 minutes of daylight (7:09 and 7:25 in Saint John).
The Moon is at third quarter this Sunday, near Jupiter among the stars of Gemini on Tuesday, and it teams up with Venus and Regulus Friday. Mars is within a binocular view above Spica this weekend, a challenging observation, setting an hour after sunset. On Friday morning Venus sits just above Regulus and just below the slim crescent Moon, with all three fitting within the view of most binoculars. Saturn rises soon after sunset as it approaches opposition next weekend. Mercury is at superior conjunction this Saturday.The fall star party at Kouchibouguac National Park takes place this Friday and Saturday, See the RASC NB website for details. Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at [email protected].