Paul Derrick's Stargazer

HOME * STARGAZER  COLUMNS * PROGRAMS
STARGAZING  INFORMATION * CLASSES * LINKS
ABOUT PAUL DERRICK * PAUL'S BOOKS

Monthly Night Sky Calendar

Events

• Note: August and September are the best times to see the zodiacal light in the morning.
• 1 Wed.: The Moon is at 3rd quarter.
• 3 Fri.: Mercury is at inferior conjunction with the Sun (between Earth and Sun) and moving into the morning sky.
• 5 Sun. evening: Mars passes 2º above slightly brighter Spica low in the WSW with brilliant Venus 4º to their left.
• 8 Wed.: The Moon is new.
• ** 10 Fri. evening: The crescent Moon is below Venus (left), Mars (higher above), and Spica (just above) low in the west southwest at dusk; the next evening the crescent Moon is 7º to Venus' upper left.
• 15 Wed.: The Moon is at 1st quarter.
• ** 18 Sat. all night: Jupiter passes 48' from Uranus; they are within 1º of each other from Sep. 11-24; this should be interesting in a telescopic at low power or in binoculars - especially as both are within 3 days of opposition.
• 19 Sun. morning: Mercury is at greatest elongation 18º west of the rising Sun, and 17º above the eastern horizon at sunrise.
• 21 Tue.: Jupiter is at opposition while also near perihelion, and reaching mag -2.9 and 50" diam.
• 21 Tue.: Uranus is at opposition, reaching mag. 5.7 and 3.7" diam.
• 22 Wed.: Autumn equinox ("equal nights")- the beginning of fall in the northern hemisphere when night and day are of equal (almost) length.
• 22 Wed. all night: Just as they did last month, the bright gibbous Moon is within 6º of Jupiter as they rise at sunset and travel across the sky together.
• 23 Thu.: The full Moon is called the Harvest Moon, Fruit Moon, and Corn Moon.
• 27 Mon. evening: Venus at magnitude -4.6 is at its brightest for this "evening star" appearance.
• 30 Thu.: The Moon is at 3rd quarter.
• 30 Thu.: Saturn is at conjunction with (behind) the Sun and moving into the morning sky.

September Planets

• Mercury starts the month in the Sun but soon begins to emerge in the morning sky, reaching greatest elongation west of the Sun Sep. 19, and then rapidly begins sinking back toward the morning sunlight by month's end.
  
• Venus, the "evening star," remains prominent in the WSW in the evening but is edging toward the setting Sun, preparing to exit the evening sky in October.
  
• Mars, remaining low in the WSW in the early evening, moves from Virgo to Libra late in the month; it is still near Venus and Spica.
  
• Jupiter, in Pisces, comes to opposition Sep. 21 and is visible all night -- low in the E in the evening and well up in the W by morning.
  
• Saturn, in Virgo, begins the month near the W horizon at dusk but shortly becomes lost in the glare of the setting Sun and reaches conjunction behind the Sun by month's end.
  
• Uranus, in Pisces, spends the month <2º from Jupiter, and like Jupiter, comes to opposition Sep. 21.
  
• Neptune, in Capricorn, rises before dark, is up most of the night, and sets a little before dawn.
  

The Planets on September 1

September Moon

• Wed. Sep. 01 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
  
• Wed. Sep. 08 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)
  
• Wed. Sep. 15 -- 1st quarter (good morning stargazing, poor evening)
  
• Thu. Sep. 24 -- Full Moon (poor stargazing all night)
  
• Thu. Sep. 30 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
  

Events

• Note: August and September are the best times to see the zodiacal light in the morning.
• 2 Mon.: The Moon is at 3rd quarter.
• 4 Wed. morning: The crescent Moon is 3+º above the Pleiades star cluster in the east.
• 6 Fri. evening: Mercury is at greatest elongation 27º east of the setting Sun, and 15º above the western horizon at sunset.
• ** 8 Sun. evening: Brilliant Venus, reddish Mars (upper left), and creamy-colored Saturn (right) are within 5º of each other low in the west at dusk.
• 9 Mon.: The Moon in new.
• 11 Wed. evening: The crescent Moon is 3º to the lower left of Mercury in the west at dusk.
• 12 Thu. evening: The crescent Moon is 7º below Venus with Saturn 5º to Venus' right and Mars 3º to Venus' upper left - all low in the west; the next night the Moon is 11º to their left.
• ** 12 Thu. all night: The Perseid meteor shower peaks with virtually no Moon interference all night. (The night before might also be worth a look.)
• 16 Mon.: The Moon is at 1st quarter.
• 17 Tue. evening: The gibbous Moon is less than 2º to the upper left of Antares.
• 17-20 Tue.-Fri. evening: Venus passes within 2º below Mars low in the west after dark.
• 19 Thu. evening: Venus is at greatest elongation 46º east of the setting Sun, and 23º above the west southwestern horizon at sunset.
• 20 Fri.: Neptune is at opposition.
• 24 Tue.: The full Moon is called the Grain Moon and Green Corn Moon.
• 26 Thu. all night: The bright gibbous Moon is within 6º of Jupiter as they rise an hour after dark and travel across the sky together.
• ** 31 Tue. evening: Venus is 1º below the star Spica with Mars 4º to their right low in the west at dusk.

August Planets

• Mercury spends the first part of the month in the early evening sky low in the W and begins sinking into the glow of the setting Sun in latter August.
  
• Venus, the "evening star," is still prominent in the W in the evening, now setting 2 hours after sunset; at month's end it is very near Spica and Mars.
  
• Mars, in Virgo, begins the month near Saturn low in the WSW in the early evening and by month's end is just to the right of Venus and Spica.
  
• Jupiter, in Pisces, now rises an hour before midnight and is high in the SSW by morning.
  
• Saturn, in Virgo, begins the month near Mars low in the WSW in the early evening and by month's end sets around dark.
  
• Uranus, in Pisces, spends the month 2-3º to Jupiter's upper right in the evening (lower right by morning).
  
• Neptune, at the Aquarius-Capricorn border, rises at dark and is very low in the SW before dawn.
  

The Planets on August 1

August Moon

• Tue., Aug. 03 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
  
• Mon., Aug. 09 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)
  
• Mon., Aug. 16 -- 1st quarter (good morning stargazing, poor evening)
  
• Tue., Aug. 24 -- Full Moon (poor stargazing all night)
  

Events

• 2 Fri. noon: Midpoint of the year 2010, local standard time.
• 3 Sat. morning: The gibbous Moon is 7º above Jupiter.
• 4 Sun.: The Moon is at 3rd quarter.
• 6 Tue.: Earth is at aphelion (farthest from the Sun in its elliptical orbit) at 94.5 million miles which is 3.4% more distant than we were at perihelion on Jan. 4.
• 8 Thu. morning: The crescent Moon is 2º below the Pleiades low in the east northeast with the orange star Aldebaran (the "red eye" of Taurus the bull) 12º below.
• 9 & 10 Fri. & Sat. early evening: Brilliant Venus passes within two moonwidths of Leo's brightest star Regulus low in the west after dark.
• 11 Sun.: The new Moon passing between Earth and Sun produces a total eclipse of the Sun, but it won't be visible from the northern hemisphere.
• 12 Mon. evening: The thin crescent Moon is 5º to the lower left of Mercury very low in the west northwest at dusk.
• 14 Wed. evening: The crescent Moon is 7º to the lower left of Venus in the west.
• 15 Thu. evening: The crescent Moon is 7º to the lower left of Mars and 11º below Saturn in the west.
• 16 Fri. evening: The crescent Moon (left), Mars (right), and Saturn (top) form a triangle in the west.
• 17 Sat. evening: The crescent Moon is 5º below the star Spica in the southwest.
• 18 Sun.: The Moon is at 1st quarter.
• 23 Fri.: Jupiter begins retrograde (westward) motion as seen against the background stars - an optical illusion created by the relative positions of Earth and Jupiter in their orbits.
• 25 Sun.: The full Moon is called Hay Moon and Thunder Moon.
• 27 Tue. evening: Mercury passes within a moonwidth to the lower left of the star Regulus near the western horizon at dusk, Mercury being the brighter of the two.
• 28 Wed. morning: The Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks…but the Moon is unfavorable.
• 31 Sat. morning: The gibbous Moon is 7º above Jupiter high in the south.
• 31 Sat. evening: Mars passes within 2º to the lower left of Saturn low in the west after dark.
• Last two-thirds of July: There is an evening alignment featuring Venus, Mars, and Saturn in the space between Regulus and Spica; Mercury and the crescent Moon even enter the picture.

July Planets

• Mercury begins the month in the glare of the Sun but quickly emerges to spend the rest of the month low in the west in the early evening.
  
• Venus, the "evening star," is still quite prominent in the west in the evening, setting more than two hours after sunset.
  
• Mars, visible in the west southwest in the evening, sets around midnight; during July it moves from Leo to Virgo and ends the month very near Saturn.
  
• Jupiter,rising soon after midnight, is high in the southeast by morning in Pisces.
  
• Saturn, high in west southwest in the evening, is still in Virgo with its rings still seen nearly edge-on.
  
• Uranus, rising soon after midnight, is still near Jupiter in Pisces.
  
• Neptune, now rising before midnight, is high in the south before dawn in Aquarius.
  

The Planets on July 1

July Moon

• Sun., July 04 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
  
• Sun., July 11 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)
  
• Sun., July 18 -- 1st quarter (good morning stargazing, poor evening)
  
• Sun., July 25 -- Full Moon (poor stargazing all night)
  

Events

• 4 Fri.: The Moon is at 3rd quarter.
• 6 Sun. morning: The crescent Moon is 6º to the upper right of Jupiter low in the east before dawn.
• 6 Sun. evening: Mars is less than 1º to the upper left of Regulus in the west.
• 8 Tue. morning: Jupiter passes less than a moonwidth from Uranus; the two planets are within 1º of each other June 1-16.
• 10 Thu. morning: The crescent Moon is 8º above Mercury low in the east northeast at dawn, and the next morning 7º to Mercury's left.
• 10-12 Thu.-Sat. early evenings: Venus and Gemini's Pollux and Castor are almost perfectly aligned and equally spaced from one another low in the west at dusk.
• 12 Sat.: The Moon is new.
• 14 Mon. evening: The crescent Moon is 5º below Venus low in the west at dusk.
• 16 Wed. evening: The crescent Moon is 9º below Mars, and 10º to Mars' left the next night.
• 18 Fri. evening: The 1st quarter Moon is 8º below Saturn.
• 19 & 20 Sat. & Sun. early evenings: Venus passes within two moonwidths of the Beehive cluster low in the west at dark.
• 20 Sun. evening: The gibbous Moon is 4º below Virgo's brightest star Spica.
• 21 Mon.: Summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.
• 26 Sat.: The full Moon is called the Flower Moon, Rose Moon, Strawberry Moon, and Honey Moon. (A partial lunar eclipse will be barely visible from our part of the world low in the east as dawn is breaking; it might not be worth getting up for, but if you're already up, watch for it.)
• 28 Mon.: Mercury is at superior conjunction with (behind) the Sun and moving into the evening sky.

June Planets

• Mercury begins the month in the morning sky and is behind the Sun by month's end.
  
• Venus, the "evening star," is prominent in the west in the evening, setting more than two hours after sunset.
  
• Mars, high in west in the evening, sets a little after midnight; it spends the month in Leo and is near Regulus early in the month.
  
• Jupiter,rising more than three hours before sunrise, is in Pisces.
  
• Saturn, high in the southwest in the evening, is in Virgo; it's rings are still tilted only slightly.
  
• Uranus, rising more than three hours before sunrise, spends the month within 2º of Jupiter in Pisces.
  
• Neptune, rising after midnight, is well up in the southeast before dawn in Aquarius.
  

The Planets on June 1

June Moon

• Fri., June 04 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
  
• Sat., June 12 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)
  
• Fri., June 18 -- 1st quarter (good morning stargazing, poor evening)
  
• Sat., June 26 -- Full Moon (poor stargazing all night)