Like Nate the pirate in the Overboard comics, some people do not want to let go of summer. But you have to accept the inevitable, so around 8:30 pm this week don your coat and imagination to say goodbye to the summer constellations as they sink below the western horizon.
The first thing you might notice is the Summer Triangle, balanced on Altair and tipping to the right. Aquila the Eagle, with Altair at its head, is flapping furiously and futilely to stay above ground, a battle it will lose over two hours. To its right, Hercules is diving head first, hopefully into a lake. Between them, if you are in the country, you might see the haze of the Milky Way spilling over the ground, perhaps to become frost. Four smaller constellations form a line above Altair, highlighted by Lyra to the right with its brilliant star Vega. Foxy Vulpecula, Sagitta the Arrow and eye-catching Delphinus the Dolphin are balanced across the eagle’s wingspan. While you are at it, try for the triangular head of Equuleus the Little Horse, who leads his big brother Pegasus by a nose.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:18 and sunset will occur at 4:48, 7:21 and 4:55 in Saint John, giving 9 hours, 34 minutes of daylight, and 7:26 and 5:00 in Saint Stephen. Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:28 and set at 4:41 in Moncton, 7:30 and 4:49 in Saint John, giving 9 hours, 19 minutes of daylight, and 7:35 and 4:54 in Saint Stephen.
The Moon is at first quarter on Tuesday and telescope users might catch the Lunar X inside the shadow around sunset Monday. Mars and Jupiter rise before midnight and they are close together high in the south this Saturday morning, within a binocular view of Regulus. Venus is just above Spica in Virgo this weekend, rising before 5 am. Mercury rises well before 6 am, and it reaches greatest elongation from the Sun on Thursday. Saturn is at its best for telescope observing in the mid-evening. The Leonid meteor shower peaks on Tuesday evening, adding a few extra shootings stars that morning and Wednesday.
Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the Facebook page or YouTube site of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
