Downton Sky At Night

This months’ full moon  (Harvest Moon) is on 7 September, just after 7pm. This coincides with a total lunar eclipse visible in parts of the world, but in the UK only a partial eclipse will be seen after moonrise.
Mercury and Mars will be too close to the Sun for observation.  Venus will be seen as a bright morning object, rising at about 4am.  It will be near the Praesepe (The Beehive) star cluster on 1 September, and close to Regulus nearby to a thin crescent Moon on 19 September. Jupiter will also be visible in the morning sky, rising about 3am and near the Moon on 16 and 17 September. Its four largest moons will be visible with binoculars or a telescope. Saturn will be visible all night, due south at 1am.  Uranus and Neptune can be seen with binoculars.
Winter constellations, including Orion and Gemini, begin to appear in the early morning sky. Sirius becomes visible before dawn.

There are no major meteor showers in September but you may still see the odd sporadic meteor or fireball.  Sightings can be reported to Michael on his Facebook Page “Moot Halt Observatory”.

More information from mootastro@yahoo.com.