First, an update on the Moon and planets, and then a few passes of the International Space Station this week.
The Moon is “new” on Sept. 14 – meaning it is close to
the Sun. Starting about Monday, look for
a very thin crescent Moon low in the southwest, just after the Sun sets. Each day the crescent will grow larger and
the Moon will be visible later. The
quarter Moon – half lit – will be on Friday, Sept 22, and the Moon will be
“full” on Friday, Sept. 28.
Saturn is nicely visible all evening. It can be seen by about 8:30 p.m., only about
the width of your fist held at arm’s length above the southeast horizon. It reaches its highest around midnight, when
it can found about a third of the way up from the horizon in the south. On the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 26, the
bright Moon will be just below Saturn.
Jupiter is the brightest planet visible in the
evenings, although it only rises around 9 o’clock. It is at its highest around 4:30 in the
morning, when it shines brightly in the south.
On Sunday, Oct. 1, the Moon will be just to the left of Jupiter.
Venus is now a morning planet, rising around 4 a.m.
ahead of the Sun. It is shining very
brightly and can be found even in the morning glow in the east southeast. It will continue to get brighter over the
coming weeks. For a nice challenge, look
for Venus and a thin crescent Moon close together low in the morning southerly
sky on Tuesday, October 10, even with the sky getting bright.
The International Space Station (ISS)
ISS is currently crewed by three Russians, two
Americans, a Dane and a Japanese. There will be some nice passes over the next
week visible from Vancouver Island and the southern BC mainland.
On Friday, Sept. 15, the ISS will rise in the
southwest about 9:04 p.m. It will climb
about half way up the sky in the south southwest, passing very close to Altair,
the bright star at the bottom of the Summer Triangle. It will then fade from sight at 9:09 as it
enters Earth’s shadow and is no longer lit by the sun.
Saturday, Sept. 16, gives us
two chances to see the ISS. It orbits the Earth in about 90 minutes, so
tonight we get a chance to see it twice. ISS first rises in the southwest
about 8:18 p.m., climbs about a third of the way up the sky in south southeast
before disappearing low in the east about 8:24.
The second pass is quite short, as the Sun is lower in
the west so the ISS isn’t lighted as long.
You can catch it rising in the west at 9:54, and it will only climb
about half way up the sky before it fades from sight about three minutes
later. The bright star it passes after a
minute or so is Arcturus, which is the second brightest star visible from
Canada. The brightest star, Sirius, is
now only rising about 1 a.m.
On Sunday, Sept. 17, we will see the ISS pass high
overhead. It will rise in the west
southwest at 9:06 p.m., will pass close to both Vega and Deneb, the top two
stars of the Summer Triangle, and will then fade from sight in the east
northeast at 9:11 p.m.
We get another good pass on Monday, Sept. 18, when ISS
rises in the WSW at 8:19 p.m. It will
pass through the Summer Triangle three minutes later, and then drop to the
horizon in the ENE and disappear at 8:25.
Tuesday, Sept. 19, ISS will rise in the west at 9:08
p.m., climb 2/3 of the way up the sky in the north by 9:11, and then it will
disappear at 9:12, just after passing through Cassiopeia, the “W”.
On Wednesday, Sept. 20, ISS rises in the west at 8:20
p.m., and as it climbs in that part of the sky, it will again pass close to
Arturus (see the second pass on Sept. 16 for a reminder). ISS disappears in the
ENE at 8:26.
Thursday, Sept. 21, will see a shorter pass in the
north. ISS rises in the WNW at 9:08 p.m,
climbs very close to the North Star, Polaris, at 9:12, then disappears just as
it approaches Cassiopeia.
Finally, on Friday, Sept. 21, ISS will rise in the
west at 8:21 p.m., will pass by the handle of the Big Dipper about 8:23, before
disappearing low in the ENE at 8:26.
Clear skies.
David.
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