Sunrise Sunset

Fri., Sept. 19 6:25 6:44

Sat., Sept. 20 6:26 6:43

Sun., Sept. 21 6:27 6:41

Mon., Sept. 22 6:28 6:39

Tues., Sept. 23 6:29 6:37

Wed., Sept. 24 6:30 6:36

Thurs., Sept. 25 6:31 6:34

Fri., Sept. 26 6:32 6:32

Autumn arrives on Monday at 11:44 a.m. Though the temperatures this past week are more like summer than fall, there is plenty of evidence of a change. The day is split almost equally between daytime and night time.

The night sky is full of stars we normally associate with colder weather. If you want to see the sky of winter, take a trip outside at about midnight and the stars are those we associate with freezing nights and a bitter cold breeze. The constellations in view are Taurus, Orion, Auriga, Andromeda and Pegasus. This is the time of year to gaze at winter constellations, in the comfort of warmer clime.

Tonight’s gibbous moon appears near the zodiacal constellation Taurus, not far from the star cluster Pleiades, also more familiarly known as the Seven Sisters. The Pleiades are a tight group of stars and look like a tiny dipper. The Pleiades are one of the sky’s biggest star clusters, visible without binoculars.

Planets

Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet, is in residence of Sagittarius. Jupiter is easy to spot for anyone with a clear view of the southern sky.

Venus is brighter, though harder to spot because it is visible for a short time, amid the glare of the early evening twilight.

Though Venus is brighter than Jupiter, Jupiter is the easier to follow from night to night this month.

M.A.L.