So what IS up, after all?

Well, what exactly is up? The changing of the seasons is upon us, and so is the changing of the constellations. The spring group is exiting stage right over the western horizon and the summer crew is high overhead with the autumn team rising over the eastern horizon.

If you really want to push it, the winter stars are rising in the early morning.

The Great Square of Pegasus is quite prominent above the eastern horizon about an hour after local sunset. If we were to add the illustration of a flying horse over the stars we would see that it is upside down.

An arch of stars for the neck and head extend from the western-most star of the square--or better seen as a giant diamond shape--and the legs extend from the top star.

The two streams of the stars of Andromeda extend from the eastern side.

Mars and Saturn, who have entertained us all summer are now very low in the west. In fact Saturn will soon be departing the evening sky leaving Mars to carry on. If you have been watching Mars, it has been slowly moving to the east against the background stars.

If you have been watching Mars It is approaching it's rival, Antares, or the rival of Mars and the pair will have a close meeting on Sept. 23. They will be close to each other from Sept. 23 to Oct. 3.

There will be a special conjunction on Monday, Sept. 29, when the six-day old crescent moon joins them.

Autumn is also the season of the celestial ocean. The so-called water constellations of Capricornus, the Sea Goat, Aquarius, the Water Bearer, and Pisces, the Fish, are all visible in the southern to southeastern sky by 10 p.m. MDT.

Look for Capricornus, a sort-of boat shaped group of stars high in the south by 8 p.m. MDT. Another, more modern, description of Capricornus is that of a bikini bottom. Aquarius it to the left and Pisces is a giant "V" shape that can be found directly below the Great Square of Pegasus.

We could even throw in two more water-related constellations. Our old friend Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish, and Cetus, the fabled sea monster in the Perseus/Andromeda story.

Piscis Austrinus features Fomalhaut, the loneliest star in the sky. The constellation is high in the south by 10 p.m. MDT. It is called the loneliest star because it is the only star visible in the part of the sky. Even the rest of the stars of the constellation at fourth and fifth magnitude are barely visible.

If it is any consolation to poor Fomalhaut, it was once considered one of the four "Royal Stars" of ancient Persia. The other three were Aldebaran, Regulus, and Antares.

Cetus is located below Pisces. Look for a circle of stars with an elongated sort-of squashed rectangle of stars to its right.

Looking north we see the two bears, Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) and Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper). They are in good alignment for viewing. The star at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper is Polaris, the North Star.

Use the two outer stars of the Big Dipper as pointers to find Polaris. The rest of the Little Dipper extends up from there.

SKYWATCH: Third quarter moon, Monday, Sept. 15.

NEXT WEEK: The equinox is coming and more astronomical blathering.