Thursday, August 18, 2016

Autumn 2016

If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, during the months of September and October, look to the south after sunset to find a triangle of bright "stars."  Two of those "stars" are actually planets:  Saturn and Mars. (The other one is a reddish-orange star called Antares.)  Mars will be on the left, with the slightly orange-pink hue, whereas Saturn will be on the right, with a slightly yellow-cream hue.

By November, Saturn will no longer be visible, but Mars will still be out.


(If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, look north to see the same thing.)

PS: If you have a very flat horizon toward the west, you might be able to see a *very* bright star low on the horizon in the minutes after sunset. That's the planet Venus!