Astrophiz133-SeptemberSkyGuide

A treat for naked-eye celestial observers, telescopers, and astrophotographers. Four nice bright planets this month. Once again in Eastern evening skies, magnificent Saturn and Jupiter loom large past opposition, and there’s always a planet dance to watch out for as the Moon meets up with some bright planets and has some nice encounters with bright stars. Over in the West, Venus is spectacular and if you have a lowish western horizon you’ll see Mercury at it’s best for this year. The centre of our Milky Way galaxy is directly overhead and Ian points out some fine galaxies to watch out for. For early risers, Saturn and Jupiter are also looking fine over in the West. In Ian’s Tangent, Ian explains the latest understandings of comets and asteroids, how they can be classified and the emerging importance of sodium as they go on their sun-grazing adventures.