Greetings!
We can still see all the visible planets but Mars this week. Jupiter appears to be the sky’s brightest star in the eastern sky and Saturn has entered the southwestern sky. Face due south and measure three fist-widths down from straight up and two fist-widths to the right to find it.
Mercury is three fist-widths to the left of due west and quite close to the horizon. See if you can spot our speedy little neighbor this week as the sky grows dark after sunset. Venus is in the early morning eastern sky and still appears to be the sky’s brightest star.
I’m sure you’ve all noticed that it’s been getting dark quite early this month, but that’s about to slowly end. Sunset has been stuck at 5:51 p.m. for most of the month, but that will end today because sunset tonight will be at 5:52 p.m. and the sun will continue to set later for several months.
And since full moon was Monday, there will be no bright moon in our early evening sky later in the week and it’s a fine time to find all the celestial denizens that tell the story of Perseus the Hero and his rescue of Andromeda the Princess from the sea monster.
To see them all, first face due north and you’ll find Andromeda’s parents. Three fist-widths up you’ll see the upside-down figure of Cepheus the King and to his right is the lopsided M of Cassiopeia the Queen.
Measure three fist-widths to the right of Cassiopeia and a fist-width down and you’ll be in the middle of the hero himself, Perseus the Hero. The stars don’t bear much resemblance to a man, but they’re bright and easy to see.
If you look straight overhead and slightly down, you should find a large square of stars. They are the brightest of Pegasus the Flying Horse, the brave stallion that Perseus rode to rescue Andromeda. His head extends up and to the left of the square’s upper star and his front legs extend to the left of the star below it.
Now look at the bottom star of Pegasus. If the sky is clear, you should see an elongated triangle hanging three fist-widths down from it towards the stars of Perseus. That triangle is Andromeda the Princess. Andromeda is the home of something quite awesome that you can see in your personal sky.
If it’s clear and dark, measure a fist-width and a half down toward the horizon from the top of Andromeda’s head. Look just to the right and if you’re very lucky you’ll see a small fuzzy patch of light. That’s the Great Galaxy in Andromeda and our galaxy’s nearest neighbor. Look at it with binoculars. It’s quite a treat.
Earlier this month, I told you how to find the fifth sky character of this legend Cetus the Sea Monster. Cetus is located in the southeastern sky to the right of Jupiter. His head is the pentagram just to Jupiter’s right and the monster’s body extends five fist-widths to the right and two fist-widths up. Cetus is the ninth largest constellation, but as you can see, Perseus has been able to get the monster quite some distance from the other characters in the myth.
Go outside this week and find a Greek myth in your personal sky. Enjoy!