2020, September 25: Mars is nearly between Nu Piscium (ν Psc) and Omicron Piscium (ο Psc) is 0.9° above ν Psc and 2.8° below ο Psc.
Bright Mars and brilliant Venus put on an early morning display.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Just before 5 a.m. CDT, bright Mars was high in the southwest. It is among the dim stars of Pisces. The Red Planet is slowly retrograding – moving westward compared to the starry background. This illusion occurs when our faster moving planet approaches and passes the slower moving outer planets.
This morning, Mars is nearly between the stars Omicron Piscium (ο Psc on the photo) and Nu Piscium (ν Psc). The planet is 0.9° above ν Psc and 2.8° below ο Psc.
Mars is closest to Earth on October 6. As Earth approaches Mars, the Red Planet becomes brighter, but not much larger in appearance to the human eye. While it can double in its apparent size through a telescope, the increase is imperceptible to the human eye (unlike what is shown in the social media memes.)
Earth moves between the sun and Mars on October 13. This is called opposition, because the planets appear on opposite sides of Earth and their place and visible times are opposite of each other.
At opposition, a planet rises at sunset, appears in the south around midnight, and sets in the west
2020, September 25: Moving eastward in Leo, Venus is 4.8° to the upper left of Omicron Leonis (ο Leo).
At this hour, brilliant Venus is low in the east among the stars of Leo. An hour later, about 90 minutes before sunrise, Venus is higher in the sky.
At about 5 a.m. the famous constellation, Orion is in the south-southeast. Orion’s larger hunting dog, Canis Major, with its bright star Sirius is low in the southeast.
Among the stars Venus is moving eastward in Leo. This morning it is 4.8° to the upper left of Omicron Leonis (ο Leo on the photo). Watch Venus move farther away from ο Leo. Early next month, Venus passes Regulus, the constellation’s brightest star.
2020, September 18: Mars, now slowly retrograding in dim Pisces, is 1.9° to the upper left of Nu Piscium (ν Psc) and 2.5° to the lower left of Omicron Piscium (ο Psc).
A clear sky this morning allowed brilliant Morning Star Venus and bright Mars to put on a planetary display before sunrise.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
A north breeze that cleared smoke from the western wildfires revealed bright planets and bright stars.
At about 4 a.m. CDT, bright Mars was high in the south-southwest. It is among the dim stars of Pisces. The Red Planet is slowly retrograding – moving westward compared to the starry background. This illusion occurs when our faster moving planet approaches and passes the slower moving outer planets.
Mars is closest to Earth on October 6. As Earth approaches Mars, the Red Planet becomes brighter, but not much larger in appearance to the human eye. While it can double in its apparent size through a telescope, the increase is imperceptible to the human eye (unlike what is shown in the social media memes.)
Earth moves between the sun and Mars on October 13. This is called opposition, because the planets appear on opposite sides of Earth and their place and visible times are opposite of each other.
At opposition, a planet rises at sunset, appears in the south around midnight, and sets in the west as the sun rises in the east. Mars appears at opposition about every 26 months.
On the photo above, Mars appears 1.9° to the upper left of Nu Piscium (ν Psc on the photo) and 2.5° to the lower left of Omicron Piscium (ο Psc).
2020, September 18: Brilliant Morning Star Venus appears with Sirius, Procyon, Castor, Pollux, Betelgeuse and Rigel.
At this hour, brilliant Venus is low in the east. An hour later, about 90 minutes before sunrise, the planet is higher in the sky.
At this time Venus appears with other bright stars. The night’s brightest star, Sirius, is low in the southeast. About a month ago, the star made its first appearance in the morning sky this year.
The famous constellation Orion – with its bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel – are to the upper right of the Dog Star.
With a binocular the Orion Nebula, a stellar nursery – is visible as a hazy cloud. The Little Dog Star – Procyon – is nearby. The Gemini Twins – Castor and Pollux appear above Venus
2020, September 18: Venus is in the east before sunrise. It is 1.4° to the lower left of Omicron Cancri (ο Cnc).
Among the stars Venus is moving eastward in the very dim starfield of Cancer. This morning it is 1.4° to the lower left of Omicron Cancri (ο Cnc on the photo). Watch Venus move farther away from ο Cnc.
Here is a daily summary about the planets during September.
After the sky cleared today, the International Space Station made a bright pass across the mid-northern latitude states this evening near Jupiter and Saturn in the sky. The ISS was brighter than the planet Jupiter.
2020, September 14: Ninety minutes before sunrise, look for the moon and Venus near the Beehive star cluster. The moon is 5.0° to the lower left of Venus.
The crescent moon and Morning Star Venus pass close to the Beehive star cluster.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Moving among the dim stars of Cancer, brilliant Morning Star Venus passes the Beehive star cluster during mid-September.
2020, September 14: Through a hazy sky, the moon is 5.0° to the lower left of Venus.
Venus has appeared in the morning sky since mid-June, and it is there into the new year. It continues to step eastward compared to the starry background in its morning sojourn.
The planet continues to rise over 3.5 hours before sunrise. By the beginning of morning twilight that starts about 100 minutes before sunrise, Venus sparkles above the skyline in the eastern sky. Like the other easily visible planets, Venus appears as an overly bright star, the brightest “star” in the sky. It even outshines Sirius, nighttime’s brightest star.
2020, September 14: The moon is 5.0° to the lower left of Venus.
All the planets appear to move along the ecliptic, an imaginary line that is the plane of the solar system. The ecliptic makes a great circle around the sky through the familiar zodiacal constellations. Mars, shining in the southern sky during morning twilight, is among the stars of Pisces, while evening planets Jupiter and Saturn are in eastern Sagittarius.
Cancer is a dim constellation between the Gemini Twins and Leo, where Venus moves at month’s end.
The Beehive star cluster is a distant clump of stars that are similar to the famous Pleiades (Seven Sisters), but they are farther away, appearing dimmer to our eyes. The cluster is also known as the Praesepe (Manger).
The Beehive star cluster looks like a fuzzy cloud to the unaided eye. Its best view is through a binocular, as it spills outside a telescope’s eyepiece.
The cluster is a phase of the life of a star where astronomical theory predicts that stars are formed in bunches. This cluster has about 200 stars; about a dozen appear through a binocular.
On the morning of September 14, look about 90 minutes before sunrise for brilliant Venus and the lunar crescent that is 12% illuminated. They are 5.0° apart. The star cluster is 2.7° to the upper left of Venus; that’s about half the Venus – Moon gap. The lunar crescent is 4.6° to the lower left of the cluster. The star Delta Cancri (δ Cnc on the chart above) is 0.9° to the upper left of Venus.
Venus is slightly closer to the Beehive on the morning of September 13 and the moon is above the scene. See the detailed notes below for more specific directions.
Photographers can catch the scene with a camera that has time exposure settings and a tripod mount or another means of holding a steady camera. Exposures from 1 to 5 seconds yield satisfactory results. Exposures that are longer reveal Earthshine on the moon, sunlight reflected from Earth’s clouds, continents, and oceans that gently illuminate the nighttime moonscape.
The detailed notes that follow provide more specifics:
September 13: Venus passes 2.3° to the lower right of the Beehive cluster. The planet is also 1.5° to the upper right of (Delta Cancri (δ Cnc). One hour before sunrise, find the brilliant planet about 28° up in the east. The waning crescent moon (25.3 days past the New Moon phase, 20% illuminated) is over 10° above Venus. The moon is also 6.1° to the lower right of Pollux.
September 14: Venus is 5.0° to the right of the crescent moon (26.3d, 12%) and 0.9° to the lower right of δ Cnc. With a binocular observe that the Beehive cluster is 2.7° to the upper left of Venus and 4.6° to the upper right of the lunar crescent. One hour before sunrise, find Venus about 28° up in the east.
2020, September 15: The crescent moon and Venus in the morning sky.
September 15: One hour before sunrise, Venus is nearly 28° up in the east. It is 1.4° to the lower right of δ Cnc and 3.3° to the lower right of M44. All three of these objects are nearly along a line that starts with the star cluster and ends with Venus. The moon (27.2d, 6%) is about 15° up in the east. It is 5.4° to the upper left of Regulus
2020, September 15: The moon is in the east before sunrise. The thin crescent moon is 6% illuminated.
Here is a daily summary about the planets during September.
2020, September 5: Morning Star Venus appears during twilight with Sirius, Procyon, Orion, and Gemini.
The bright stars of September’s morning shine from the east before sunrise.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Venus and Sirius shine from a spectacularly clear sky this morning during twilight. Venus is making its way through the dim stars of Cancer. It is to the lower right of the Gemini Twins – Castor and Pollux.
Sirius, the brightest nighttime star, is beneath Orion and its bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel.
Three stars – Betelgeuse, Procyon, and Sirius – make the Winter Triangle. These stars are prominent in the evening sky during the winter months in the northern hemisphere.
2020, September 6: Mars and Moon. (Composite image)
Update for Mars and Moon, September 5/6.See more here.
2020, September 5: Mars is 9.6° to the upper left of the lunar orb. Among the stars of Pisces, the Red Planet is 2.2° to the upper left of Nu Piscium (ν Psc) and 2.6° to the lower left of Omicron Piscium (ο Psc).
The bright gibbous moon appears near the Mars this morning as a prelude to tonight’s celestial encounter.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
The bright gibbous moon – overexposed in the image above – that is over 90% illuminated this morning appears near the planet Mars.
This evening the moon appears close to the Red Planet as they rise into the sky around 10:30 p.m.
They appear together throughout the night as the lunar orb slowly moves away from Mars.
2020, September 5: Venus – among Cancer’s dim stars – is 9.9° to the lower right of Pollux.
Farther east, Venus sparkles among the dim stars of Cancer. The Gemini Twins – Castor and Pollux – are to the upper left of Earth’s Twin Planet.
Here is a daily summary about the planets during September.
2020, September 4: Venus, Sirius, Procyon, and Orion shine from the eastern sky during early morning twilight.
Morning Star Venus and Sirius shine from the eastern sky during morning twilight during September.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Brilliant Venus shines from the eastern sky during early morning twilight. The planet gleams in our sky from reflected sunlight. This morning the planet is nearly 82 million miles away.
Sometimes Venus is called the “Earth’s Twin” planet because the two planets are similar in size. Venus is completely veiled in clouds that are highly reflective. They return to space nearly 70% of the sunlight that falls on them. The clouds, oceans, and continents of Earth reflect about 40% of the sunlight that reaches them.
Sirius is visible low in the east-southeast during morning twilight. Sirius, the brightest star in Canis Major (Great Dog), is 8.6 light years away. The star is over 20 times brighter than our sun.
For the next several weeks, the brightest star and the brightest planet shine in the morning sky.
While brighter than our central star, Betelgeuse and Rigel in Orion to the upper right of Sirius, are considerably farther away.
Betelgeuse shines with the energy of over 13,000 suns.
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant – meaning that it is unusually large and intrinsically bright. At a distance of about 500 light years, this enormous red star would cover several planets’ orbits if it were in our solar system.
Rigel, a topaz blaze in the morning sky, is even brighter. It shines with the power of over 40,000 suns.
The spacing of Betelgeuse, Sirius, and Procyon in the sky make the Winter Triangle. This trio is prominently placed in the sky during the evenings of the winter months.
Sirius, a few weeks past its first morning appearance, now shines with other bright stars in the morning. Step outside and look the next clear morning for the brightest planet and the brightest star.
Here is a daily summary about the planets during September.
2020, September 4: Mars is 2.1° to the upper left of Nu Piscium (ν Psc) and 2.6° to the lower left of Omicron Piscium (ο Psc).
Morning Star Venus, bright Mars, and the constellation Orion shine from the skies this morning.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
With the bright moon in the sky, outside the frame of the image, Mars shines brightly from the dim stars of Pisces. The planet is slowly stepping eastward in the constellation, to the left in the photo.
Tomorrow evening (September 5) and the following morning, the bright moon appears near Mars
On September 9, the planet seems to reverse its direction and begins to move westward compared to the stars. This retrograde motion is an illusion as our faster moving planet approaches the Red Planet.
Mars Begins Retrograde: During September, Mars begins its retrograde motion east of Nu Piscium (ν Psc). It reverses its direction and ends the month near Mu Piscium (μ Psc).
The chart above shows the motion of Mars compared to the stars during September.
Earth and Mars are closest on October 6. Earth passes between the sun and Mars on October 13. During the next month the planet continues to grow in brightness and apparent size through a telescope, although unlike what is shown in the social media memes.
2020, September 4: Venus moves into Cancer to the lower right of Castor and Pollux, the Gemini Twins.
Farther east, brilliant Morning Star Venus shines brightly from below Castor and Pollux, the Gemini Twins. This morning it moves into the dimmer stars of Cancer. In 10 days, the crescent moon joins Venus as it moves near the Beehive star cluster.
2020, September 4: Orion, with its bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel, rise into the late-summer morning sky.
Orion rises in the southeast this morning. Its bright stars, Betelgeuse and Rigel, mark opposite corners of the famous star pattern. In the clear skies this morning, the Orion Nebula (M42 on the photo) stands out. (The short time exposure reveals some color that is not visible, even with a binocular.)
Here is a daily summary about the planets during September.
2020, September 6: In the morning sky, the moon is 2.3° to the upper left of Mars.
On the night of September 5/6, the gibbous moon appears to guide the bright planet Mars.
2020, September 5: The moon and Mars, (Composite of two images)
Update: Photo from September 5, 2020.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
On the night of September 5 – September 6, the gibbous moon appears near Mars, a very bright planet in the southern sky before sunrise. Currently, Mars is the fourth brightest “star” in the sky. Only, the moon, Venus, and Jupiter are brighter.
As Earth approaches Mars, the Red Planet brightens – during the next six weeks – although it is not much larger in appearance to the human eye. Even with a closest approach pending, the planet only resembles an overly bright star. While it can double in its apparent size through a telescope, the increase is imperceptible to the human eye (unlike what is shown in the social media memes.)
2020, September 5: Mars is 9.6° to the upper left of the lunar orb. Among the stars of Pisces, the Red Planet is 2.2° to the upper left of Nu Piscium (ν Psc) and 2.6° to the lower left of Omicron Piscium (ο Psc).
On the evening of September 5 and morning of September 6, the bright gibbous moon is near the Red Planet. Here’s what to look for on the night before and after the grouping:
September 5: One hour before sunrise, the bright gibbous moon is over 40° up in the southwest. The moon is over 91% illuminated. Mars is 9.6° to the upper left of the lunar orb. The separation is about the distance across your fist at arm’s length. In the evening, about three hours after sunset (10:15 p.m. CDT, in Chicago), the moon – about 86% illuminated – is to the lower right of Mars, about 0.8° away. That’s about the distance across two fingertips at arm’s length. Find them in the east. On these evenings find bright Jupiter and Saturn – to Jupiter’s upper left – in the south-southwest sky.
2020, September 6: Mars and Moon. (Composite image)
Update: Photo from September 6, 2020.
September 6: One hour before sunrise, the moon is over halfway up in the southwest. Mars is 2.3° to the lower right of the lunar orb. Three hours after sunset in the eastern sky, bright Mars is over 11° to the upper right of the moon that is 79% illuminated. The moon is near the eastern horizon.
September 7: One hour before sunrise, the bright moon – 77% illuminated – is less than 60° in altitude in the south-southwest. Mars is about 15° to the lower right of the moon.
Each night, the moon is farther east of Mars and it begins to approach Venus in the east in the morning sky. Look for the crescent moon and Venus on September 14.
Here is a daily summary about the planets during September.
2020, August 30: Venus and a bright contingent of bright stars – Castor, Pollux, Procyon, Sirius, Rigel and Betelgeuse appear in the morning sky.
During morning twilight, the sky is ablaze with Venus, Mars, Sirius, and bright stars.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
The late August morning sky is on fire with Venus, Mars, and several bright stars. In the image above, Venus appears in the eastern sky with Castor, Pollux, Procyon, Sirius, Betelgeuse, and Castor. Now two weeks after its first appearance in the morning sky, Sirius is easy to locate in the east-southeast.
2020, August 30: Mars continues to march eastward in Pisces. This morning the Red Planet is 1.6° to the upper left of Nu Piscium (ν Psc) and 2.7° below Omicron Piscium (ο Psc).
The Red Planet is high in the southern sky among the dim stars of Pisces. The planet continues to brighten as Earth approaches it. Mars is less than 47 million miles away this morning.
Mars continues its eastward march among the stars. On September 9, Mars seems to end its eastward direction and appears to move westward compared to the stars, in what is known as retrograde motion. This is an illusion from our faster moving world overtaking a slower moving Mars and passing between the Red Planet and the sun, known as opposition (October 13, 2020).
Additionally, Mars orbit is not a perfect circle. A week before opposition, Earth and Mars are closest when they are about 39 million miles apart. Even at this distance, Mars looks like an overly bright star in the sky.
In the photo above, Mars is 1.6° to the upper left of Nu Piscium (ν Psc) and 2.7° below Omicron Piscium (ο Psc). East is to the left in the image, Mars continues to move eastward past ν Psc before it begins to retrograde. When Earth and Mars are closest, the Red Planet appears near μ Psc.
2020, August 30: Venus is is to the lower right of Pollux. The planet is 4.2° below Delta Geminorum (δ Gem) and 5.0° to the lower left of Lambda Geminorum (λ Gem).
Farther east, Venus sparkles from in front of the stars of Gemini. It continues stepping eastward compared to the starry background. This morning it is to the lower right of Pollux. On the photo, the planet is 4.2° below Delta Geminorum (δ Gem) and 5.0° to the lower left of Lambda Geminorum (λ Gem).
Tomorrow morning, Venus makes a wide pass (8.6°) of Pollux. Early next month, the planet moves into Cancer and a nice grouping with the moon and the Beehive star cluster on September 14. It’s another camera-ready morning to see.
Here is a daily summary about the planets during August and September.
The chart above shows the motion of the planet compared to the starry background.
On September 1, Venus rise nearly 3.75 hours before sunrise, and it is high above the skyline as morning twilight brightens the eastern sky. By month’s end it rises nearly 3.5 hours before sunrise. So, it remains “that bright star” in the eastern sky.
During September the planet is in eastern Gemini and it continues to work its way eastward through the zodiacal constellations. During the month, the planet moves into Cancer with its dimmer stars. Near month’s end it moves into Leo.
As Earth revolves around the sun, the stars rise about 4 minutes earlier each morning. During the course of a month, they rise two hours earlier by month’s end. This slow westward march of the constellations helps us mark the seasons in the sky.
As the stars rise earlier, Venus steps eastward each morning. Consequently, it is nicely placed in the sky to be easily noticed.
In the sky, Venus keeps nearly a constant spot and the stars seem to move past it when observed at the same time each morning.
Early in the month, Saturn departs the sky as Venus rises, leaving Venus and Mars in the morning sky.
On the morning of September 14, the crescent moon and Venus appear near the Beehive star cluster. While not as bright as the famous Pleiades star cluster, the Beehive appears as a fuzzy cloud. A binocular provides a good view of the cluster.
The bright planet then continues to glide eastward toward Leo, stepping into the constellation on September 23.
Even with the planet’s brilliance, use a binocular to track it through the starfield.
In the notes that follow the “m” numbers indicate the brightness of Venus and the stars. The smaller the number, the brighter the star or planet. Venus has a negative number to show its brilliance. The stars with magnitude 1 are among the brightest in our sky. As the number increases toward 4 and 5, they are among the dimmer stars visible to the unaided eye. Some of the stars have Greek letters designating their names. When the letter of the star and its genitive name are used, a star like Pollux is also known as Beta Geminorum (β Gem) to indicate that its Beta in the constellation Gemini. Additionally, with the Greek letter, the constellation is abbreviated, Gemini (Gem), Cancer (Cnc).
Numbers are used to name stars when the Greek alphabet is exhausted, like 81 Geminorum or 20 Cancri.
Detailed daily notes for observing planets are found here. In the notes that follow, the observations are for one hour before sunrise, when Venus is about 30° up in the sky; that’s about one-third of the way from the natural horizon to overhead.
2020, September 14: Ninety minutes before sunrise, look for the moon and Venus near the Beehive star cluster. The moon is 5.0° to the lower left of Venus.
September 1: One hour before sunrise brilliant Venus (m = −4.3) is less than 30° up in the east in Gemini. It is 8.6° to the lower right of Pollux (m = 1.2). With a binocular notice that it is below a line that connects Pollux and Kapa Geminorum (κ Gem, m = 3.6) and extends downward to Procyon (α CMi, m = 0.4).
September 2: Venus (V) rises as Saturn sets. The morning sky now has two bright planets – Venus and Mars.
September 3: V is 0.9° to the right of 85 Geminorum (85 Gem, m = 5.4).
September 4: V moves into Cancer, over 9° to the lower right of Pollux and over 11° to the upper right of Delta Cancri (δ Cnc, m = 3.9).
September 7: V is 0.9° to the upper left of Zeta Cancri (ζ Cnc, m = 5.2). Use a binocular.
September 10: V is 0.5° below 20 Cancri (20 Cnc, m = 5.9).
September 11: V is 0.5° to the upper right of Theta Cancri (θ Cnc, m = 5.3). Use a binocular to spot the Beehive cluster to the lower left of Venus. The cluster appears as a patch of stars, like sparkling jewels on the velvet of the sky.
September 12: Through a binocular, V is 2.5° to the right of the Beehive cluster. The moon (24.3 days past the New Moon phase, 30% illuminated), nearly 50° up in the east and over 20° above V. The lunar orb is over 10° to the upper right of Castor (α Gem, m =1.6).
September 13: V passes 2.3° to the lower right of the Beehive cluster. The planet is also 1.5° to the upper right of δ Cnc. The waning crescent moon (25.3d, 20%) is over 10° above V.
September 14: V is 5.0° to the right of the crescent moon (26.3d, 12%) and 0.9° to the lower right of δ Cnc. With a binocular observe that the Beehive cluster is 2.7° to the upper left of V and 4.6° to the upper right of the lunar crescent.
September 15: V is nearly 28° up in the east. It is 1.4° to the lower right of δ Cnc and 3.3° to the lower right of M44. All three of these objects are nearly along a line that starts with the star cluster and ends with V. The moon (27.2d, 6%) is about 15° up in the east.
September 16: V is 4.2° below the Beehive cluster, 2.3° below δ Cnc, and 1.8° to the upper left of Omicron Cancri (ο Cnc, m =5.2).
September 21: V is 0.5° to the upper left of Pi Cancri (π Cnc, m = 5.3).
September 23: V moves into Leo, 11.0° to the upper right of Regulus (α Leo, m = 1.3).
September 25: V passes 3.1° to the upper left of Xi Leonis (ξ Leo, m = 5.0).
September 28: V passes 3.8° to the upper left of Omicron Leonis (ο Leo, m = 3.5).
September 30: V ends the month 0.4° above Nu Leonis (ν Leo, m = 5.2) and 2.9° to the upper right of Regulus.
