Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

Wednesday, 6 September 2023 17:00

Monday 11th to Sunday 17th September 2023

The coming week will appeal more to the early risers amongst us rather than staying up into the late evening.

Go outside anytime from 4am on Monday 11th and a 12%-lit Waning Crescent Moon will have risen above the horizon towards the east. Below and to the right of it will be Venus who will also appear as a crescent shape if viewed in a telescope.

Aim your telescope to a point just below the Moon, running in a line towards Venus and you should be able to find the Beehive open cluster of stars, also known as M44 in the Messier Catalogue.

The cluster has around 1000 stars and is one of the closest clusters to us, about 610 light years away. It has a magnitude of -3.7 so from a dark location you should even be able to see it with the naked eye, although without a telescope it will resemble a fuzzy blob.

Much easier to spot is the bright star Procyon to the right of the Moon and Venus. Procyon is the 8th brightest star in the night sky with a magnitude of +0.34 and it is actually a binary system, but you will only be able to see the main star. Its companion faint white dwarf star will be invisible.

If you really fancy a challenge, a 1%-lit Crescent Moon rises above the eastern horizon about an hour before sunrise on the morning of Thursday 14th. To the right of it will be a magnitude +1.8 Mercury.

Please remember not to risk using a telescope to obtain a better view as the Sun will be rising shortly afterwards in the same place!

M44 Image courtesy of Wikipedia
Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
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