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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.