~ St. Maarten’s Backyard Astronomy for October 2 - 4 ~
Sun rises at 6:03am
Sun sets at 5:59pm
Lunar phase: 3rd quarter waning gibbous
Moon rises at 12:25am, Saturday
Moon sets at 1:15pm, Saturday
This weekend, we can see a daytime half-moon, but the early evening belongs to the stars and planets. We find Venus and Mercury paired up in the evening sky, low in the west as the dusk begins. Venus will be quite obvious, while Mercury will be a challenge, and both set by 7:15pm.
About that same time, you can locate the ringed planet Saturn rising up in the eastern sky. Saturn is currently at a great position for seeing her rings. Well worth breaking out your backyard telescope or even just a good pair of binoculars. Standard 10 X 50 binoculars work great!
Mars and Jupiter rise in the early morning so you late-nighters, or perhaps extra early birds, can enjoy seeing them rising up from the eastern horizon. Mars leads the way about 2:30am and Jupiter follows about 3:00am.
Those star-gazing around midnight can catch a view of Orion the Hunter and Taurus the Bull, high in the southern sky. Taurus looks like a capital letter “V” and Orion is always known for the three-star belt. You can find one of the most beloved little star clusters but visually hopping from the belt, follow the line to the V of Taurus and keep going about the same distance. There you’ll see a fuzzy little patch of sky that is known as the Pleiades star cluster, sometimes called the Seven Sisters.
It’s also a good weekend for finding the classic constellations of Sagittarius and Scorpius. From sunset to about 8:30pm, you’ll see these two low in the southern sky. Sagittarius is notable for its shape looking like a teapot and Scorpius is recognized by the curled tail, like a backwards question mark on its side.
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles, backyard (or beach) astronomy designed for St. Maarten sky viewing. FYI: If you are out later on in the week, note that each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later. Night Sky is researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett. Earthsky.org is a key resource for information and images. Questions or comments? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
