Saturday, October 4, 2008

After sunset

We've been treated with clear skies as September has yielded to October.

Tonight, just as the sunset's glow faded to purple, Jupiter appeared boldy almost due south. It was at an azimuth of nearly 35 degrees here. Then my eyes scanned toward the last dab of sun. At about 245 degrees I could see Lady Venus a few degrees above the horizon.

If one draws a mental line slanting downward from Jupiter to Venus, the Moon's crescent is nearly halfway between the two and a bit below. Antares, the 16th brightest star in the sky, will appear right of the Moon in a bit. Antares, 600 light years away, is one of the stars making up Scorpio.

Sagittarians don't need to feel left out. Their constellation should be firing up to the Moon's left about ... now.

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