Scruton Sky at Night – September 2024

by Graham Dodds

The night sky is getting darker! Darkness is broken down into Civil, Nautical and Astronomical ‘periods’, which vary over the year; go to: www.clearoutside.com to see these variations. The Autumn Equinox occurs on 22 Sept, when we’ll have equal periods of day and night.

Comets/Meteors – August’s Perseid display was disappointing, mainly due to ‘cloud’.  Comet Tsuchinsan – ATLAS will become visible from 26 Sept. low in the east at around 6 am; it will peak in Oct.

Constellations – Andromeda and the “Square of Pegasus’ enter from the E and then SE. On a clear night, follow the bottom RH point of the W of Cassiopeia, lying NE, you may glimpse the faint ‘fuzz’ of the Andromeda galaxy M31!

Planets – Gas giants, Jupiter (NE) and Saturn (S) will appear as autumn comes. Compared to these, Mercury or Uranus are of a lower ‘magnitude’ and best viewed with a small telescope or binoculars. Magnitude is a measure of brightness and is a subject worth covering in future ‘Night Sky’ articles.