The changing of the seasons

Autumn is always a nice time of year.

The heat of summer is changing slowly to the coolness of autumn and there simply seems to be a calm in the air.

However, the leaves on the trees are not the only things changing with the autumn season. We are seeing changes in the celestial realm as well.

For instance, the fearsome beast Scorpius, that we have been watching all summer long, has now moved from his central position of power in the south toward the western horizon.

Sagittarius, the Archer, has now moved into that central location. While Sagittarius has the fame of an archer, modern astronomers think of him more as a teapot with the three stars for a spout on the right, three stars for a handle on the left, and three more stars on top for a lid.

Go to your favorite dark-sky location tonight about an hour after local sunset and look south. Our Teapot/Archer is located just above the southern horizon. If it helps, think of the Milky Way as steam rising from the spout of the hot teapot.

Just an FYI, the center of the Milky Way Galaxy is located just above that spout.

Just to the left of our archer friend is a new constellation for our autumnal enjoyment. Looking for all intents and purposes like a boat--a rather crudely drawn boat--our friend, Capricornus, the Seagoat, is sailing just above the southeastern horizon.

Capricornus also begins the parade of constellations that we call the celestial ocean, which we will discuss in later editions.

One interesting item in Sagittarius is a very nice double star called Algedi. It can be found on the extreme western end of the boat and is visible in binoculars.

Other constellations joining our autumnal party are our winged friend, Pegasus, which at this time of year, looks like a baseball diamond standing on one corner.

Now since we have been talking about all the autumnal changes, we should mention that autumn officially begins on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 8:21 a.m. MDT, that is when the sun crosses the celestial equator heading south.

SKY WATCH: Third-quarter moon on Friday, September 23. If you are one who stays up late, go out about midnight tonight, Wednesday, September 21 and Thursday night, to watch the just passed full moon, make a swing through Taurus, the Bull, passing the bright star, Aldebaran.

If you have been watching our Mars/Saturn mix-up these past weeks, you have seen Mars begin to speed away from the ringed planet.

Well, keep watching until the evening of Monday, September 26, when the red planet begins a cruise by our old friends M8, the Lagoon Nebula and M20, the Trifid Nebula.

If those nights are cloudy, you have until the end of the month to catch the show. Have your binoculars handy. The best time to look will be about an hour after local sunset above Sagittarius towards the southern horizon.

NEXT WEEK: More autumnal constellations, and more astronomical blathering.