One of the finest naked-eye stargazing sights of the 12 months is on provide to skywatchers this week — in case you can rise earlier than the solar Friday (Sept. 19). Just earlier than dawn, the crescent moon, the good planet Venus and the intense star Regulus (the brightest star within the constellation Leo) will cluster collectively on the east-northeast horizon.
There can be barely half a level between every of the three objects, which is lower than the width of slightly finger held up towards the sky. This triple conjunction of naked-eye objects is a uncommon sight value attempting to see.
Visible low within the japanese sky about 90 minutes earlier than dawn, the waning crescent moon can be about 6% illuminated. The slender moon itself can be a beautiful sight, due to the bonus “Earthshine” — the solar’s gentle reflecting off Earth again onto the moon to light up its darkish aspect. The dazzling sight can be seen each to the bare eye and in easy stargazing binoculars.
Venus and Regulus will be close by, although their exact locations in the sky will depend on your vantage point. For example, on the east coast of North America, stargazers will see an almost perfect alignment of the crescent moon, Venus and Regulus in a straight line covering barely a degree of sky. On the west coast of North America, it will be more of a close clustering, with a vague triangle formed by the moon, Venus and Regulus.
In terms of brightness, there will be a distinct pecking order. The moon will far outshine everything, followed by dazzling Venus and then Regulus, which will appear faint by comparison. In fact, Venus (magnitude -3.8) will be about 110 times brighter than Regulus (magnitude 1.3). (In astronomy, a low or negative magnitude corresponds to a brighter object.)
Those in northeastern Canada, Greenland, Western Europe and North Africa will see an even closer conjunction, with the moon occulting (moving in front of to block) Venus for a short time. According to In-The-Sky.org, the place of those three objects will differ in response to the observer’s location as a result of the moon can be so near Earth that its place within the sky will differ by as a lot as 2 levels the world over. It additionally signifies that lunar occultations are solely seen from a part of Earth’s floor at any given time.
In the times after the shut conjunction, the crescent moon will shrink and develop into an invisible new moon on Sept. 21, inflicting a partial photo voltaic eclipse that can be seen from New Zealand, Antarctica and the western South Pacific. On Sept. 22, the autumn equinox will carry roughly equal day and night time to all the globe, heralding the arrival of longer nights for stargazing within the Northern Hemisphere. Venus will stay as a shiny “Morning Star” for the remainder of the month.