The Night Sky This Week

Each Monday I pick out the northern hemisphere’s celestial highlights (mid-northern latitudes) for the week ahead, but be sure to check my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more.

What To Watch For In The Night Sky This Week: August 29-September 4, 2022

This is a great week to watch the crescent Moon climb higher into the western sky during twilight. With each passing night it will get bigger, brighter and shine higher in the sky, but for most of the week you’ll see some of the most delicate light in all of nature—“Earthshine.”

Here’s what’s going on in the night sky this week:

Monday, August 29, 2022: A crescent Moon and Mercury

Look to the western sky just after sunset and you’ll see a 7%-illuminated crescent Moon. A beautiful sight, but if you look a little closer—around 6° from the Moon, to be exact—you may see the tiny planet Mercury. Binoculars will help.

Tuesday, August 30, 2022: A crescent Moon and ‘Earthshine’

Tonight in the west after sunset you’ll see a 14%-lit crescent Moon, but what really adds beauty to the sight is “Earthshine.” Look look slightly to the left at the darker part of the Moon and you’ll see some detail on its surface. That’s sunlight being reflected from Earth and on to the Moon. It’s always happening, but only visible to the human eye when only a slither of the Moon itself is being lit by the Sun.

Saturday, September 3, 2022: A First Quarter Moon and Antares

The brightest star on the constellation of Scorpius is often visited by the Moon. This month our natural satellite will be 50%-lit as it passes about 2º from one of the largest red supergiant stars in the night sky.

Constellation of the week: Draco, ‘The Dragon of The North’

September is ideal for finding the sprawling constellation of Draco. First find The Big Dipper/the Plough in the northern sky. Winding around it is Draco the Dragon, its head inching towards the Summer Triangle.

Object of the week: Northern Cross

Go outside after dusk and look straight above your head and you will see three bright stars—Deneb, Altair, and Vega—that together make up the large and fairly easy to find asterism called the Summer Triangle. An asterism is a recognizable shape, but not an official constellation). Deneb is the brightest star in Cygnus, “The Swan.” However, many stargazers like to look at Cygnus the other way up and refer to it as the Northern Cross. You decide!

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes