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The following is a discussion of just a few of the many fascinating astronomical objects to view this week, Oct. 5 to Oct. 11, 2008.

Sun

Sun. Oct.5 sunrise is at 7:03 am and sunset is at 6:39 pm mdt
Sat. Oct. 11 sunrise is at 7:09 am and sunset at 6:29 pm mdt

There are no active regions visible on the solar disk as of Sunday. For more information about the Sun and space weather, see www.swpc.noaa.gov

Moon

Sunday evening the moon is at lunation 6.7
First quarter is Tuesday at 3:04 am mdt.
Saturday the moon is at lunation 12.7

Planets

Venus can be seen naked eye, low in the west. It sets just before 8 pm this week. It very bright at -3.8 magnitude and its disk is 12.6 arc sec across.

Jupiter is straight south around 7:45 pm. It is magnitude -2.1 in brightness and the disk is 38.4 arc sec across. Jupiter sets from 11:44 to 11:23 pm this week. Jupiter's great red spot crosses center of the disk at the following times:

Oct 6 at 8:20 pm
Oct 8 at 9:59 pm
Oct 11 at 7:29 pm

Neptune is in constellation Capricornus; it is magnitude +7.9 in brightness; its disk is 2.3 arc sec across.

Uranus is in constellation Aquarius. It is magnitude +5.8 in brightness and the disk is 3.8 arc sec across as seen from telescopes on earth.

Saturn rises 4:48 to 4:27 am in constellation Leo. It is currently magnitude +1.2 in brightness and the planet's disk is 16.3 arc sec across.

Meteors

Activity from the Orionid meteor hour increases this week. Several minor radiants are active such as the Draconids, Delta Aurigids, and October Camelopardalids. Watch for them early in the morning this week after moonset.

The Orionids radiant is located 6 degrees northwest of Betegeuese. Orionid meteors move very fast. They peak on Oct. 21st but unfortunately the moon will interfere.

International Space Station

There are great passes of the International Space Station visible in the early evening this week:

Sun Oct 5 ISS appears in NNW at 8:13 pm and disappears in the earth shadow in the NNW at 8:16 pm (magnitude -1.6)

Mon Oct 6 ISS appears in the NNW at 7:05 pm and disappears in the East at 19:10 pm (magnitude -1)

Tues Oct 7 ISS appears in the NW at 7:30 pm and disappears in the earth shadow in the ESE at 7:35 pm (magnitude -2.4)

Wed. Oct 8 ISS appears in the WNW at 7:57 pm and disappears in the earth shadow in the South at 8:01 pm (magnitude -0.3)

Thur Oct 9 ISS appears in the NW at 6:47 pm and siapppears in the SE at 6:53 pm (magnitude -2.3)

Summary

This week you can view some bright passes of the International Space Station in the evening; view dazzling Venus low in the west after sunset; and watch the Orionids meteor shower. With a telescope you can watch Jupiters moons and view craters on the moon.

The following is a discussion of just a few of the many fascinating astronomical objects to view this week, Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, 2008.

Sun

On Sunday Sept 28 sunrise is at 6:56 am and sunset is at 6:50 pm mdt

On Saturday Oct 4 sunrise is at 7:02 am and sunset is at 6:40 pm mdt

There are no active regions visible on the solar disk (as of Sat. Sept. 27).

For more information about the sun and space weather, see www.swpc.noaa.gov

Moon

At moonrise on Sunday morning at 6:12 am the moon is at lunation 28.9.

The circumstances for spotting the waning crescent within 20 hours of new are good.

It is new at 2:12 am mdt on Monday morning.

The moon will be at lunation 4.7 Saturday evening.

Planets

Mars is visible very low in the west-southwest about 40 minutes after sunset. It is magnitude 1.6 in brightness and the disk is 3.8 arc sec across. It will be difficult to find in the bright twilight.

Venus is magnitude -3.8 and is easy to spot naked eye low in the west-southwest after sunset. The disk is 12.2 arc sec across. Venus sets around 8 pm.

Jupiter is straight south between 7:30 to 7:08 pm this week. It is magnitude -2.1 in brightness and 39.3 arc sec across.

Jupiter sets around midnight. The great red spot crosses the center of the disk at the following times this week:

Sun. Sept. 28 at 11:40 pm

Mon. Sept. 29 at 7:32 pm

Wed. Oct. 1 at 9:11 pm

Fr. Oct 3 at 10:49 pm

Neptune is in constellation Capricornus it is magnitude +7.9 in brightness, disk is 2.3 arc sec across.

Uranus is in constellation Aquarius. It is magnitude +5.7 in brightness and the disk is 3.7 arc sec across as seen from telescopes on earth.

Saturn rises around 5 am in constellation Leo. It is currently magnitude 1.1 in brightness and the planet's disk is 16.3 arc sec across.

Dark Sky Objects

Messier 2 in the constellation Aquarius is always worth a look. To locate it find the great square of Pegasus high up in the southeast. Note the distance between Alpheratz in the north east corner and Markab in the southwest. Start at the southwest corner star Merkhab and then look to west and a bit south the the same distance and you will see the 2.4 magnitude star Enif. Below it and a bit to the east is 3rd magnitude Sadalmelik or Alpha Aquarius. Further below and to the west is star just slightly brighter Beta Aquarius or Sadalsuud. About 3/4 of the way along a line between Enif and Beta Aquarius is M2.

It is an impressive object in scopes of all sizes. It is a large bright globular cluster with an intense central core (Type II) about 20 arc sec in diameter. In a large scope, look for dark lanes, the most prominent one is in the northeast. Globular clusters such Messier 2 are a spherical collection of stars orbiting a common core and are tightly bound gravitationally. Messier 2 is one of the largest globular clusters known at 175 light years across. It is about 37,500 light years from us here on earth. It is thought to contain 150,000 stars. Messier 2 is one of the oldest globular clusters; its age is estimated to be 13 billion years.

Comets

Comet C/2008 A1 McNaught becomes visible after Thursday. It moves northward in constellation Libra toward Ophiuchus. It is reported to be magnitude 7 in brightness and coma is 10 arc min across.

C/2007 N3 Lulin is in constellation Ophiuchus and is magnitude 10.7

C/2007 W1 Boattini is in constellation Pisces magnitude 10.6

6P d'Arrest is in constellation Grus (below Aquarius). Look straight south around 10:30 pm. magnitude +8.5

C/2006 W3 Christensen is in constellation Cassiopea 11.7

C/2006 OF2 Broughton is in Camelpardus 11.1

C/2008 J1 Boattini 11.5 is in constellation Camelpardalis 17P Holmes is in constellation Cancer It is a large faint diffuse object 1-2 degrees across and about magnitude 6.1, it will be very tough to see, use binoculars.

19P Borrelly is in constellation Leo Minor magnitude 11.3

International Space Station

The best pass this week for the Denver area is on Sat. Oct 4. Look for ISS low in north-northwest at 7:48 pm. It will disappear into the earth's shadow in the northeast at 7:51 pm MDT. It will reach -0.8 in brightness.

There is a bright pass next Sunday, Oct. 11. Look for the ISS low in the northwest at 8:14 pm mdt. It will disappear into the earth's shadow in the north-northwest at 8:16 pm mdt. It will reach magnitude -1.6 on that pass.

The times that the ISS is visible varies quite a bit depending on your location. If you are not in the Denver area, please check www.heavens-above.com for specific times.

Summary

This week you can watch the International Space Station fly over, see a very old crescent moon, and enjoy the beauty of earthshine on the moon. Get our your telescope watch Jupiter's great red spot transit the disk, locate some dim comets, and view one of the oldest and compact globular clusters in our Milky Way galaxy, Messier 2.

The following is a discussion of some astronomical objects to view during the week of Sept. 21 to Sept 27, 2008.

International Space Station

Sun. Sept. 21 at 8:22 ISS appears in the west and disappears into the earth shadow in the NNE at 8:27. Reaches magnitude -0.5
Mon. Sept 22 ISS appears in the SW at 7:13 pm and disappears in the NE at 7:19 pm. Reaches magnitude -2.3
again in the WNW at 8:50 pm and disappears in the NE at 8:52 pm in the north reaches magnitude 0.6
Tues Sept 23 ISS appears in the west at 7:40 pm and disappears in the NNE at 7:46 pm MDT

See www.heavens-above.com for times when the International Space Station is visible over your location.

Sun

On Sun. Sept. 21 sunrise is at 6:50 am and sunset is at 7:01 pm mdt
On Sat. Sept. 27 sunrise is at 6:55 am and sunset is at 6:51 pm mdt

There is currently a new region 11002 at solar coordinates N25 and W27 (Monday evening). For current locations of solar regions see www.raben.com/maps The MacIntosh classification of the region is Dso, it has a Beta magnetic configuration and 8 sunspots are visible. It is new cycle as as the magnetic polarity is opposite the previous cycle. For more information about the sun and space weather see www.swpc.noaa.gov

Moon

On Sunday, the moon is at lunation 22.4.
At moonrise on Saturday morning the moon is at lunation 28.7.

Planets

The planets Mars and Venus are visible low in the west after sunset. On Saturday, Mars sets at 7:30 pm. It is 1.7 magnitude in brightness and its disk is 3.8 arc sec across. You'll need binoculars to see it in the bright twilight sky after sunset. Venus sets at 8:01 pm. It is magntiude -3.8 in brightness and thye planets disk is 12 arc sec across. It should be easy to find naked eye.

Jupiter is straight south at 7:20 pm and sets at midnight. The GRS crosses the meridian at the following times this week:
Sun. Sept. 21 at 10:52 pm
Wed. Sept. 24 at 8:22 pm
Fri. Sept. 26 at 10:01 pm

Neptune is in constellation Capricornus it is magnitude +7.9 in brightness, disk is 2.3 arc sec across.

Uranus is in constellation Aquarius. It is magnitude +5.7 in brightness and the disk is 3.7 arc sec across as seen from telescopes on earth.

Saturn rises at 5:05 am in constellation Leo an hour and 50 minutes before sunrise. It is currently magnitude 1.1 in brightness and the planet's disk is 16.2 arc sec across.

Comets

17P Holmes is in constellation Cancer Large faint diffuse object 1-2 degrees across and about magnitude 6.1, use binoculars.

6P d'Arrest is in constellation Grus (below Aquarius). Look straight south around 10:30 pm. magnitude +8.5

19P Borrelly is in constellation Leo Minor magnitude 11.3

C/2006 OF2 Broughton is in Camelpardalis 11.1

C/2008 J1 Boattini is in constellation Camelpardalis as well and is magnitude 11.5

C/2006 W3 Christensen is in constellation Cassiopea 11.7

C/2007 W1 Boattini is in constellation Pisces magnitude 10.6

C/2007 N3 Lulin is in constellation Ophiuchus and is magnitude 10.7

Dark Sky Objects

The nights are getting longer and a bit chillier. There always some great objects to view especially on a dark sky weekend. Get away from city lights and view Messier 31 in constellation Andromeda. To locate it, find the four bright stars outlining the the great square of Pegasus. Start at the northeast corner of the square (Alpheratz) and note the line of 3 stars pointing toward Perseus. Locate the second star (Mirach). Move nearly perpendicular to the line and locate the 3.9 magnitude star Mu Andromeda. Continue along the line the same distance and you'll see Messier 31. The view through binoculars or a wide field telescope in dark skies is spectacular. The galaxy is almost 3 degrees across so it nearly fills half the field of the view in 10x50 binocular. Messier 31 is our closest large neighboring galaxy. It is 2.5 million light years distant and contains about one trillion stars.

Summary

This week you can view the planets Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn; locate some faint comets; and see our largest neighboring galaxy in space, Messier 31, the great andromeda galaxy.

The following is a discussion of some objects that may be seen up in the sky this week, Sept. 14 to Sept. 20, 2008.

International Space Station

Most passes this week are quite brief and fairly low. There is an excellent pass on Saturday, however. In the Denver area the ISS appears at the following times:
Monday morning Sept 15. at 6:03 am the ISS appears in WSW and disappears in the SSW at 6:06 am. It reaches magntiude -0.2.
Wed. evening Sept 17 at 8:12 pm the ISS appears in the SSE at 8:14 pm. It reaches magntiude -0.3.
Thurs evening Sept 18 at 8:38 pm it appears in the SW and disappears at 8:40 pm in the SSW. It reaches magnitude -1.5.
Fri evening Sept 19 at 7:30 pm the ISS appears in the SW and disappears in the SSW. It reaches magnitude -0.8.
and again Fri. at 9:05 pm. It is rises in the west and disappears in the WNW at 9:07 pm. It reaches magnitude 0.

The brightest and longest pass this week is on Sat. evening at 7:55 pm when it appears in the SW; passes nearly directly overhead; and disappears in the NE at 8:01 pm. It reaches magnitude -2.4 in brightness.

Sun

On Sunday Sept. 14 sunrise is at 6:43 am and sunset is at 7:13 pm mdt
On Saturday Sept. 20 sunrise is at 6:49 am and sunset is at 7:03 pm mdt
There are no active regions currently visible on the solar disk.
For more information about the sun and space weather see www.swpc.noaa.gov

Moon

The moon is full early Sunday morning at 3:13 am mdt. Since this is the full moon that is closest to the autumn equinox it is called the harvest moon. The autumn equinox is next week on Mon. Sept. 22 at 9:44 am.

,p>It will be at third quarter on Saturday at 11:04 pm mdt.

Planets

The planets Mercury, Mars, and Venus are visible low in the west half an hour after sunset. You'll need binoculars or a telescope to locate Mercury and Mars in the bright twilight. Venus is easily seen naked eye as it is very bright at magnitude -3.8. It sets just over an hour after sunset.

Jupiter is straight south around 8 pm in the constellation Sagittarius. It sets from 1:02 am to 12:35 am this week. It is currently magnitude -2.2 in brightness and the disk is 41 arc sec across.

The GRS crosses the center of the disk at the following times this week: Sun. Sept 14 at 10:04 pm
Tue. Sept. 16 at 11:43 pm
Wed. Sept. 17 at 7:35 pm
Fri. Sept. 19 at 9:13 pm

Neptune is in constellation Capricornus it is magnitude +7.9 in brightness, disk is 2.3 arc sec across.
Uranus is in constellation Aquarius. It is magnitude +5.7 in brightness and the disk is 3.7 arc sec across as seen from telescopes on earth.

This week Saturn reappears in the morning sky in the constellation Leo about an hour before sunrise. It is magnitude +1.1 in brightness and its disk is 16 arc sec across.

Comets

The Moon interferes with comet observing this week.

Dark Sky Objects

Not much this week. Only 1.5 hrs on Saturday.

Summary

This week you may view the beautiful harvest moon; see an excellent bright pass of the International Space Station; spot the planet Venus low in the west; watch Jupiter's great red spot cross the disk; and view the planet Saturn in the early morning.

The following is discussion of some astronomical objects that may be seen in the sky this week, Sept. 7 to Sept. 13, 2008.

International Space Station

For the Denver area the passes early in the week are low in the north, brief, and not bright. Later in the week the circumstance improves. On Thursday Sept. 11 the ISS appears in the NW at 5:51 am and disappears in the ESE at 5:56. It will reach magnitude -1. The brightest pass is on Fri morning at 6:17. It appears in the WNW and disappears in the southeast. It will reach magnitude -2.1

On Sat. Sept 13 it appears at 5:10 am in NNW and disappears in the ESE. It will reach magnitude -1.3.

On Sun. morning Sept 14 it appears in the WNW at 5:36 am and disappears in the SSE at 5:41 am MDT

Most ISS passes are easy to see as they are quite bright but they are easy to miss as they only last a few minutes. The times it is visible and direction depends on your location. Check www.heavens-above.com for times that the ISS is visible over your location.

Sun

On Sunday Sept. 7 sunrise is at 6:37 am and sunset is at 7:34 pm MDT

On Saturday Sept. 13 sunrise is at 6:42 am and sunset is at 7:15 pm MDT

There a no active regions visible on the solar disk as of Sunday.

Moon

On Sunday evening the moon is at first quarter at 8:07 am (lunation 8.3)

On Saturday evening the moon is at lunation 14.3 . It will be full next sunday Sept 15 at 3:13 am

Planets

Mercury, Venus, and Mars are low in the west in bright twilight about a half hour after sunset.

Jupiter is straight south about 8:30 pm. It sets at 1:29 am on Sunday and 1:05 am by Saturday.

Jupiter's great red spot crosses the center of the disk at the following times this week:
Sun. Sept 7 at 9:17 pm
Tues Sept 9 at 10:56 pm
Fri Sept 12 at 8:26 pm MDT

Neptune is constellation Capricornus. It is magnitude 7.8 in brightness and its disk is only 2.4 arc sec across. It is 29.1 a.u. or 2.7 billion miles away.

Uranus is in constellation Aquarius. It is at opposition on Friday Sept. 12. It is magnitude 5.7 in brightness and its disk is 3.7 arc sec across. It is 19.1 a.u. or 1.8 billion miles away. Unlike other planets, Uranus rotates almost perpendicular to the orbital orbital plane. One pole points near the star Eta Ophiucui and the other to the top of Orions bow.

Comets

The moon interferes with comet observations this week.

Asteroids

The asteroid 9 Metas crosses in front of the 6th magnitude star HIP 14764 on fri Sept 12 at 12:25 am. You will need to be south of downtown Denver to see it. for more info see the September issue of Sky and Telescope magazine p66 and www.asteroidocullation.com.

Dark Sky

Not this week.

Summary

This week you can view some bright passes of the International Space Station, watch Jupiter's great red spot cross the disk, view craters on the moon, and maybe watch a dim asteroid blank out a fairly bright star.