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The night sky never takes a break and neither do we. It's the start of another week and we've got another set of gorgeous stargazing targets and skywatching articles to keep you busy.
First up, we highlight two comets returning to the evening sky and lose ourselves in a cascade of stars pouring through the constellation Camelopardalis. Then, we grab our binoculars and watch on as the moon passes close to the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades open star cluster.
To cap things off, early risers will get a chance to see the half-lit moon lead Mars and Jupiter on a spectacular jaunt through the early morning sky mere hours before reaching its third quarter phase on Oct. 3.
Wishing you clear skies,
Anthony Wood
Skywatching Writer, Space.com
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| (Jules-Pierre Malartre/Starry Night) |
Amateur astronomers are keeping a close eye on a pair of comets as they return to the evening sky. Magnitude +12 comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS can currently be found passing through the constellation Aquarius as it brightens ahead of a projected peak of visibility in late October. Meanwhile, Comet 10P/Tempel lurks lower on the horizon in the constellation Piscis Austrinus at magnitude 9.7.
Neither is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, but they could present a tempting target for anyone with an 8- or 10-inch telescope in the coming weeks if their brightness holds!
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| (Jules-Pierre Malartre/Starry Night) |
Grab your binoculars and sweep your gaze across the starfield of the constellation Camelopardalis, which shines roughly 20 degrees above the northern horizon in the hours following sunset for skywatchers in the U.S.
With a little patience, your eyes will find Kemble's Cascade — a beautiful asterism formed from a line of multicolored stars, which stretches for 3 degrees before meeting the sparkling denizens of the open star cluster NGC 1502.
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| (Jules-Pierre Malartre/Starry Night) |
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Turn your gaze east shortly after sunset for a spectacular sight, as the 84%-lit waning gibbous moon shines 5 degrees from the stars of the Pleiades open star cluster in the early autumn sky.
The pair will be close enough to fit inside the field of view of a pair of 10x50 binoculars, which will help reveal the gorgeous blue-white hues of the Pleiades' seven brightest stars: Maia, Merope, Taygete, Asterope, Alcyone, Celaeno and Electra.
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| (NASA Scientific Visualization Studio) |
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Look up in the early morning hours of Oct. 3 to find the half-lit moon shining high in the southeastern sky, just hours away from its third quarter phase. Mars and Jupiter will appear to line up below the moon, setting up a spectacular photo opportunity as they travel along the invisible plane of the ecliptic.
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The moon will next reach its last quarter phase at 9:25 a.m. EDT (1325 GMT) on Oct. 3, when the lunar disk will appear half-lit in our sky, embedded among the stars of the constellation Gemini.
What we see is simply a matter of perspective. Half of the moon's surface is constantly illuminated by direct sunlight, with the exception of a lunar eclipse, when Earth's shadow sweeps across the surface of its natural satellite. During the last, or third quarter phase, we are essentially seeing half of the moon's sunlit and shadowed sides.
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See stunning photos of September's Harvest Moon as it lights up skies around the world, delighting skywatchers from Hong Kong to San Francisco.
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A total solar eclipse on Aug 2, 2027, will be visible across southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Find out more about where to see the 'eclipse of the century' in our guide.
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The dazzling show comes as aurora season gets underway — and the sun's turbulent declining phase could mean we're in for a good one.
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| Astronomy Kit and Accessories |
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From stars and planets to galaxies and nebulas, the best telescopes will get you a great view of whatever you want to look at and with October Prime Day coming on Oct. 6, these models could get cheaper!
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Smart binoculars are a new technology, but are they worth getting in on? We've rounded up the best.
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