2021, September 26:  Morning Moon, Taurus

September 26, 2021: This morning a bright moon is between the Pleaides and Hyades star clusters.

2021, September 26: The bright moon is between the Pleiades star cluster and Hyades star cluster before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2021, September 26: The bright moon is between the Pleiades star cluster and Hyades star cluster before sunrise.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois:  Sunrise, 6:43 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:40 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times for your location.

Step outside about an hour before sunrise.  The bright moon, 74% illuminated, brightens the morning landscape.  It is between the Pleiades star cluster and the Hyades star cluster.

The Hyades makes the head of Taurus, the Bull.  Aldebaran – “the follower” – makes the eye.  That star is 7.5° to the left of the lunar orb.  The Pleiades is about 6° to the upper right of the moon.

The moon and part of each star cluster fit into a binocular field of view.  The binocular helps you find them.  When the moon is moved outside the field, then each cluster is visible without the moon’s glare.

The planet pack – Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn – continue to gleam in the evening sky.  Venus is in the southwest after sunset.  Jupiter and Saturn are in the southeast.

Detailed Daily Note: One hour before sunrise, the bright moon (19.4d, 74%), high in the southwest, is between the Pleiades star cluster and Aldebaran (α Tau, m = 0.8).  The lunar orb is 6.1° to the lower left of Alcyone and 7.5° to the right of Aldebaran. The moon is at apogee at 4:44 p.m. CDT, 251,408.5 miles away.  Forty-five minutes after sunset, brilliant Venus is over 8° above the southwest horizon, 3.7° to the lower left of Zubenelgenubi and 2.9° to the lower right of Iota Librae (ι Lib, m = 4.5). Venus continues its romp through the Classic Scorpion, 21.7° to the lower right of Aldebaran.  Farther eastward, Jupiter is nearly 22° up in the southeast.  Saturn, nearly 25° above the south-southeast horizon, is 16.0° to the upper right of Jupiter.  Two hours after sunset, the Jovian Giant, one-third of the way up in the south-southeast, is 3.1° to the lower right of μ Cap, 1.6° to the upper right of Deneb Algedi, and 1.6° to the upper left of Nashira.  Jupiter, δ Cap, and γ Cap nearly form an equilateral triangle. Saturn is nearly 29° above the southern horizon, east of the meridian.  It is 1.3° to the lower right of υ Cap.  As the calendar day closes, the moon (20.2d, 67%) is nearly 20° up in the east-northeast among the stars of Taurus.

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