October 2008

Updated:   10 October 2008


Welcome to the night skies of Spring, featuring the Great Square of Pegasus

  

Explanatory Notes:  

Times for transient sky phenomena are given using a 24 hour clock, i.e. 20:30 hrs = 8.30 pm. Times are in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST), which equals Universal Time (UT) + 10 hours. Observers in other time zones will need to make their own corrections where appropriate. With conjunctions of the Moon and planets, timings indicate the closest approach. Directions (north or south) are approximate. The Moon’s diameter is given in arcminutes ( ’ ). The Moon is usually about 30’ or half a degree across. The 'limb' of the Moon is its edge as projected against the sky background.

Rise and set times are given for the theoretical horizon, which is a flat horizon all the way round the compass, with no mountains, hills, trees or buildings to obscure the view. Observers will have to make allowance for their own actual horizon. 

Transient phenomena are provided for the current month and the next. In the list of geocentric events, the nearer object is given first.

When a planet is referred to as ‘stationary’, it means that its movement across the stellar background appears to have ceased, not that the planet itself has stopped. With inferior planets (those inside the Earth’s orbit, Mercury and Venus), this is caused by the planet heading either directly towards or directly away from the Earth. With superior planets (Mars out to Pluto), this phenomenon is caused by the planet either beginning or ending its retrograde loop due to the Earth’s overtaking it.

Apogee and perigee:   Maximum and minimum distances of the Moon or artificial satellite from the Earth.

Aphelion and perihelion:  Maximum and minimum distances of a planet, asteroid or comet from the Sun.

A handspan at arm's length covers an angle of approximately 20 degrees.

mv = visual magnitude or brightness. Magnitude 1 stars are very bright, magnitude 2 less so, and magnitude 6 stars are so faint that the unaided eye can only just detect them under good, dark conditions. Binoculars will allow us to see down to magnitude 8, and the Observatory telescope can reach magnitude 15. The world's biggest telescopes have detected stars and galaxies as faint as magnitude 30. The sixteen very brightest stars are assigned magnitudes of 0 or even -1. The brightest star, Sirius, has a magnitude of -1.44. Jupiter can reach -2.4, and Venus can be more than 6 times brighter at magnitude -4.7, bright enough to cast shadows. The Full Moon can reach magnitude -12 and the Sun magnitude -27. Each magnitude step is 2.51 times brighter or fainter than the next one, i.e. a magnitude 3.0 star is 2.51 times brighter than a magnitude 4.0. Magnitude 1.0 stars are exactly 100 times brighter than magnitude 6.0 (5 steps each of 2.51 times, 2.51x2.51x2.51x2.51x2.51 = 2.515 = 100).

 

  

Solar System

 

Sun:  The Sun begins the month in the constellation of Virgo, the Virgin. It travels eastwards through this constellation until it crosses into Libra, the Scales, on October 31.

 

 

Moon Phases:   Lunations this month:  #1062, 1063 

First Quarter:        October 7                    19:04 hrs            diameter = 29.7'
Full Moon:             October 15                    6:03 hrs            diameter = 32.5'
Last Quarter:        October 21                  21:55 hrs            diameter = 32.0'
New Moon:            October 29                    9:14 hrs            diameter = 30.0'

First Quarter:        November 6                14:03 hrs            diameter = 30.1'
Full Moon:             November 13              16:18 hrs            diameter = 33.2'
Last Quarter:        November 20                7:32 hrs            diameter = 31.6'
New Moon:            November 28                2:55 hrs            diameter = 29.5'

 

Lunar Orbital Elements:


October 5:              Moon at apogee (404 728 km) at 20:29 hrs, diameter = 29.5'
October 10:            Moon at ascending node at 10:36 hrs, diameter = 30.5'
October 17:            Moon at perigee (363 818 km) at 16:12 hrs, diameter = 32.8'
October 23:            Moon at descending node at 4:04 hrs, diameter = 31.7'

November 2:          Moon at apogee (405 730 km) at 14:55 hrs, diameter = 29.5'
November 6:          Moon at ascending node at 13:32 hrs, diameter = 30.1'
November 14:        Moon at perigee (358 953 km) at 20:15 hrs, diameter = 33.3'
November 19:        Moon at descending node at 4:35 hrs, diameter = 32.1'
November 30:        Moon at apogee (406 478 km) at 2:54 hrs, diameter = 29.4'

 

Moon at 8 days after New, as on October 8

Moon at 9 days after New, as on October 9

The two photographs above show the Mare Imbrium area in the Moon's northern hemisphere. They were taken a day apart, just after First Quarter. Mare Imbrium (the Sea of Rains) is a large lava flow caused by the Imbrium Event - a cataclysmic collision of an asteroid with the Moon many millions of years ago. A comparison of the two photographs will show how the appearance of lunar features changes with the angle of the Sun. 

In the first photograph, Mare Imbrium (left) is separated from Mare Serenitatis (right) by two ranges of mountains, the Alps to the north and the Apennines to the south. Two large craters at upper right are Aristoteles and Eudoxus. The straight Alpine Valley may be seen cutting through the Alps. Mt Piton (height 2000 metres) is visible as a bright spot with a shadow, due south of the southern end of the Alpine Valley. Archimedes is the large crater at left. It is a walled plain 80 kilometres in diameter with a flat floor. To its right are two bowl-shaped craters, Aristillus and Autolycus.  These craters are all formed by impact with large meteors. Apollo 15 landed close by the Apennines, in a small enclosed area to the right and below Archimedes, on the picture's central vertical axis.

In the second photograph, the sunrise line (called the 'terminator') has moved to the left, revealing a large walled plain in the Alps, known as Plato. South of Plato, an isolated mountain protruding through the lava flow is called Mt Pico. Ripples in the lava, called 'wrinkle ridges', are visible. The crater at lower left is Timocharis, 42 kilometres in diameter.

A detailed map of the Moon's near side is available here. A rotatable view of the Moon, with ability to zoom in close to the surface, and giving detailed information on each feature, may be downloaded here.

Click here for a photographic animation showing the lunar phases. It also shows the Moon's wobble or libration, and how its apparent size changes as it moves from perigee to apogee each month. It takes a little while to load, but once running is very cool !

 

 

Geocentric Events:

October 1:               Moon 4.6º south of Mars at 9:56 hrs
October 2:               Moon 4.2º south of Venus at 8:45 hrs
October 4:               Moon 1.2º north of the star Pi Scorpii (mv = 2.89) at 7:20 hrs
October 4:               Limb of Moon 42 arcminutes south of the star Sigma Scorpii (mv= 2.9) at 17:10 hrs
October 4:               Limb of Moon 41 arcseconds north of the star Antares (Alpha Scorpii, mv = 1.06) at 22:41 hrs (Moonset at Nambour is at 22:24 hrs)
October 5:               Moon 2.1º north of the star Tau Scorpii (mv= 2.9) at 0:20 hrs
October 6:               Venus 47 arcminutes south of the star Zuben Elgenubi (Alpha Librae, mv= 2.75) at 23:30 hrs
October 7:               Jupiter at eastern quadrature at 2:44 hrs (diameter = 39.0")
October 7:               Limb of Moon 13 arcminutes south of the star Kaus Borealis (Lambda Sagittarii, mv= 2.82) at 3:01 hrs
October 7:               Mercury at inferior conjunction at 6:57 hrs (diameter = 10.2")
October 7:               Limb of Moon 24 arcminutes north of the star Nunki (Sigma Sagittarii, mv = 2.0) at 14:57 hrs
October 7:               Moon 2.4º south of Jupiter at 18:15 hrs
October 10:             Limb of Moon 38 arcminutes north of Neptune at 19:39 hrs
October 12:             Moon 3.8º north of Uranus at 22:28 hrs
October 16:             Mercury at western stationary point at 6:04 hrs (diameter = 8.4")
October 17:             Limb of Moon 20 arcminutes north of the Pleiades star cluster at 20:34 hrs
October 18:             Mercury at perihelion at 1:37 hrs (diameter = 7.9")
October 19:             Moon 1.1º south of the star El Nath (Beta Tauri, mv= 1.65) at 9:24 hrs
October 20:             Limb of Moon 37 arcminutes north of the star Mebsuta (Epsilon Geminorum, mv= 3.06) at 14:34 hrs
October 21:             Venus 49 arcminutes north of the star Dschubba (Delta Scorpii, mv = 2.3) at 10:22 hrs
October 22:             Mercury at greatest elongation west (18.13º) at 17:40 hrs (diameter = 6.9")
October 24:             Moon 1º south of the star Regulus (Alpha Leonis, mv= 1.36) at 5:10 hrs
October 25:             Moon 4.5º south of Saturn at 13:42 hrs
October 26:             Mars 24.5 arcminutes south of the star Zuben Elgenubi (Alpha Librae, mv= 2.75) at 18:30 hrs
October 27:             Moon 6º south of Mercury at 20:43 hrs
October 29:             Jupiter 1.8º south of the star Pi Sagittarii (mv= 2.9)  at 4:05 hrs
October 30:             Moon 4.5º south of Mars at 8:15 hrs
October 31:             Limb of Moon 31 arcminutes north of the star Pi Scorpii (mv = 2.89) at 14:46 hrs

November 1:           Moon occults the star Sigma Scorpii (mv= 2.9) between 0:41 and 1:16 hrs  (not visible at Nambour)
November 1:           Limb of Moon 30 arcseconds north of the star Antares (Alpha Scorpii, mv = 1.06) at 4:27 hrs
November 1:           Moon 2.3º north of the star Tau Scorpii (mv= 2.9) at 7:44 hrs
November 1:           Venus at aphelion at 14:44 hrs (diameter = 13.8")
November 1:           Moon 2.2º south of Venus at 18:01 hrs
November 2:           Neptune at eastern stationary point at 13:24 hrs (diameter = 2.2")
November 3:           Limb of Moon 20 arcminutes south of the star Kaus Borealis (Lambda Sagittarii, mv= 2.82) at 10:29 hrs
November 7:           Moon 1.4º north of the star Nunki (Sigma Sagittarii, mv = 2.0) at 22:30 hrs
November 4:           Moon 1.4º south of Jupiter at 8:47 hrs
November 7:           Moon 1.7º north of Neptune at 4:13 hrs
November 9:           Moon 4.1º north of Uranus at 7:15 hrs  
November 13:         Neptune at eastern quadrature at 22:27 hrs (diameter = 2.2")
November 14:         Limb of Moon 27 arcminutes north of the Pleiades star cluster at 6:20 hrs
November 16:         Moon 1.1º north of the star Mebsuta (Epsilon Geminorum, mv= 3.06) at 22:11 hrs
November 18:         Venus 5.4 arcminutes south of the star  Kaus Borealis (Lambda Sagittarii, mv= 2.82) at 10:36 hrs
November 20:         Mars 1.7º north of the star Dschubba    at 13:16 hrs
November 21:         Mars 1.3º south  of the star Graffias   at 8:34 hrs
November 21:         Moon 4.4º south of Saturn at 23:20 hrs
November 23:         Venus 1.1º north of the star Nunki (Sigma Sagittarii, mv = 2.0) at 13:16 hrs
November 26:         Mercury in superior conjunction at 2:43 hrs (diameter = 4.6")
November 27:         Moon 1.4º north of the star Pi Scorpii (mv = 2.89) at 21:12 hrs
November 27:         Uranus at eastern stationary point 23:47 hrs (diameter = 3.5")
November 28:         Moon 3.1º south of Mercury at 5:57 hrs
November 28:         Moon occults the star Sigma Scorpii (mv= 2.9) between 5:11 and 6:09 hrs  (within 4.6º of Sun)
November 28:         Moon 3.9º south of Mars at 8:22 hrs
November 28:         Moon occults the star Antares (Alpha Scorpii, mv = 1.06) between 10:08 and 11:14 hrs  (within 5.9º of Sun)
November 28:         Moon 2.3º north of the star Tau Scorpii (mv= 2.9) at 14:20 hrs
November 29:         Mercury 33 arcminutes south of Mars at 12:00 hrs
 November 30:         Limb of Moon 20 arcminutes south of the star Kaus Borealis (Lambda Sagittarii, mv= 2.82) at 16:56 hrs



 

The Planets for this month:

 

Mercury:   Mercury is not well-placed for viewing this month. It leaves the evening sky on October 7, and later in the month will reappear in the morning sky. On October 22 it will be at its maximum angular distance from the Sun (a little over 18 degrees), and at sunrise it will be about half a handspan above the eastern horizon. Before sunrise on the morning of October 27, Mercury will be halfway between the waning crescent Moon and the horizon.

 

Venus: The brightest planet passed through superior conjunction on June 9, and has now returned to the evening sky, where it is the brightest object by far, except for the Moon. This month, it sets west-south-west. Through a telescope, its appearance is like a tiny Full Moon, as in the first picture below.  During October, the angular distance of Venus from the Sun will increase from 30 degrees to 37 degrees. Venus will continue to increase its angular distance from the Sun until January 15, 2009, when it will reach a maximum of 47.1 degrees.

On the evening of October 2, the thin crescent Moon will be just above and to the left of Venus, with faint Mars between Venus and the horizon.

 (The coloured fringes to the first and third images below are due to refractive effects in our own atmosphere, and are not intrinsic to Venus. The planet was closer to the horizon when these images were taken than it was for the second photograph, which was taken when Venus was at its greatest elongation from the Sun).

     October, 2008                       January, 2009                        March, 2009      

Click here for a photographic animation showing the Venusian phases. Venus is always far brighter than anything else in the sky except for the Sun and Moon. Up until last month, Venus appeared as a 'Morning Star', but this month it becomes an 'Evening Star' once again. Each of these appearances lasts about eight to nine months.

Because Venus was visible as the 'Evening Star' and as the 'Morning Star', astronomers of ancient times believed that it was two different objects. They called it Hesperus when it appeared in the evening sky and Phosphorus when it was seen before dawn. They also realised that these objects moved with respect to the so-called 'fixed stars' and so were not really stars themselves, but planets (from the Greek word for 'wanderers'). When it was finally realised that the two objects were one and the same, the two names were dropped and the Greeks applied a new name Aphrodite (Goddess of Love)  to the planet, to counter Ares (God of War). We use the Roman versions of these names, Venus and Mars, for these two planets.

 

Mars:   The Earth overtook the red planet last December 25, and Mars is now being left far behind, each month appearing a little smaller and fainter. It is in the constellation Virgo, heading eastwards through the background stars. Mars will cross into Libra on October 16.  It appears low in the west at twilight, between Venus and the horizon, but it is very close to the glare of the Sun and difficult to observe.

This month Mars has a magnitude of 1.7 which is about half as bright as the nearby star Spica. This is about as faint as Mars can get.  Its angular diameter is about 4 arcseconds.

  

In this image, the south polar cap of Mars is easily seen. Above it is a dark triangular area known as Syrtis Major. Dark Sinus Sabaeus runs off to the left, just south of the equator. Between the south polar cap and the equator is a large desert called Hellas. The desert to upper left is known as Aeria, and that to the north-east of Syrtis Major is called Isidis Regio.  Photograph taken in 1971.

 

Jupiter:  The largest planet is presently in the constellation Sagittarius and can be seen almost directly overhead at sundown. Jupiter will reach eastern quadrature (90 degrees to the Sun) on October 7. At mid-month its angular diameter will be 38 arcseconds and its magnitude -2.3. The First Quarter Moon will be 2.5 degrees to the south of Jupiter on October 7.

 

Saturn:  The ringed planet was in conjunction with the Sun on September 4.  It is now in the pre-dawn sky, rising before the Sun. The waning crescent Moon will be about half a handspan to the right of Saturn on October 26.

 

Uranus:  This planet reached opposition on September 13, so this month it is observable for most of the night. As darkness falls it is about a handspan above the eastern horizon. It is located in the constellation Aquarius, near the border with Pisces. Its magnitude is 5.7 and its angular diameter is 4 arcseconds. The nearly Full Moon will be about 5 degrees to the left of Uranus on the night of October 12.

 

Neptune:  This icy blue planet reached opposition on August 15, and this month is visible for most of the night. Its magnitude is 7.8 and its angular diameter is 2 arcseconds. Neptune is presently in the constellation of Capricornus. The gibbous Moon will be about 5 degrees to the left of Neptune on the night of October 10.

 

Pluto:  The erstwhile ninth and most distant planet is a faint 13.9 magnitude object in the constellation Sagittarius, near the boundary with Serpens Cauda (The Snake's Tail). It is about 7.5 degrees north of M8, the Lagoon Nebula, and is about 2 degrees north of M23, a small open cluster. A powerful telescope is needed to detect Pluto, which even under excellent seeing conditions appears as a very faint star-like object. Its angular diameter is 0.14 arcseconds, less than one-fifteenth of the size of Neptune. In mid-October Pluto is about 50 degrees above the western horizon as darkness falls. It passed through opposition on June 21. .

  

The movement of Pluto in two days, between 13 and 15 September, 2008. Pluto is the one object that has moved.
Width of field:   200 arcseconds

 

 

 

Planetary alignments

Venus entered the constellation Libra on September 30. It will pass into Scorpius on October 18, then Ophiuchus on October 25, and then Sagittarius on November 9. Venus will arrive close to Jupiter (as seen from Earth) on December 1, with the crescent Moon between them, making a smiley face in the western sky.

 ☺

 

Meteor Showers:  

Orionids                     October 22                                    Last Quarter Moon, 46% sunlit                   ZHR = 20
                                   Radiant: Near the bright star Betelgeuse.  Associated with Comet Halley.    


ZHR = zenithal hourly rate (number of meteors expected to be observed at the zenith in one hour). The maximum phase of meteor showers usually occurs between 3 am and sunrise. The reason most meteors are observed in the pre-dawn hours is because at that time we are on the front of the Earth as it rushes through space at 107 000 km per hour (30 km per second). We are meeting the meteors head-on, and the speed at which they enter our atmosphere is the sum of their own speed plus ours. In the evenings, we are on the rear side of the Earth, and many meteors we see at that time are actually having to catch us up. This means that the speed at which they enter our atmosphere is less than in the morning hours, and they burn up less brilliantly.

Although most meteors are found in swarms associated with debris from comets, there are numerous 'loners', meteors travelling on solitary paths through space. When these enter our atmosphere, unannounced and at any time, they are known as 'sporadics'. Oan average clear and dark evening, an observer can expect to see about ten meteors per hour. They burn up to ash in their passage through our atmosphere. The ash slowly settles to the ground as meteoric dust. The Earth gains about 80 tonnes of such dust every day, so a percentage of the soil we walk on is actually interplanetary in origin. If a meteor survives its passage through the air and reaches the ground, it is called a 'meteorite'. One landed on a house in New Zealand recently, to the great alarm of the occupants. In the past, large meteorites (possibly comet nuclei or small asteroids) collided with the Earth and produced huge craters which still exist today. These craters are called 'astroblemes'. Two famous ones in Australia are Wolfe Creek Crater and Gosse's Bluff. The Moon and Mercury are covered with such astroblemes, and craters are also found on Venus, Mars, planetary satellites, minor planets, asteroids and even comets.

 

 

Comets

The LINEAR robotic telescope operated by Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research is used to photograph the night skies, searching for asteroids which may be on a collision course with Earth. It has also proved very successful in discovering comets, all of which are named ‘Comet LINEAR’ after the centre's initials. This name is followed by further identifying letters and numbers. Generally though, comets are named after their discoverer, or joint discoverers. There are a number of other comet and near-Earth asteroid search programs using robotic telescopes and observatory telescopes, such as:
Catalina Sky Survey, a consortium of three co-operating surveys, one of which is the Australian Siding Springs Survey (below),
Siding Spring Survey, using the 0.5 metre Uppsala Schmidt telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, N.S.W., to search the southern skies,
LONEOS, (Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Object Search), concentrating on finding near-Earth objects which could collide with our planet,
Spacewatch, run by the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona,
Ondrejov, run by Ondrejov Observatory of the Academy of Sciences in the Czech Republic, 
Xinglong, run by Beijing Astronomical Observatory 

Nearly all of these programs are based in the northern hemisphere, leaving gaps in the coverage of the southern sky. Needless to say, Comet Machholz was discovered in one of these gaps by an amateur astronomer with a small backyard observatory.

To find out more about current comets, including finder charts showing exact positions and magnitudes, click here. To see pictures of these comets, click here.

 

 

Deep Space

 

Sky Charts and Maps available on-line

There are some useful representations of the sky available here. The sky charts linked below show the sky as it appears to the unaided eye. Stars rise four minutes earlier each night, so at the end of a week the stars have gained about half an hour. After a month they have gained two hours. In other words, the stars that were positioned in the sky at 8 pm at the beginning of a month will have the same positions at 6 pm by the end of that month. After 12 months the stars have gained 12 x 2 hours = 24 hours = 1 day, so after a year the stars have returned to their original positions for the chosen time. This accounts for the slow changing of the starry sky as the seasons progress.

The following interactive sky charts are courtesy of Sky and Telescope magazine. They can simulate a view of the sky from any location on Earth at any time of day or night between the years 1600 and 2400. You can also print an all-sky map. A Java-enabled web browser is required. You will need to specify the location, date and time before the charts are generated. The accuracy of the charts will depend on your computer’s clock being set to the correct time and date. 

To produce a real-time sky chart (i.e. a chart showing the sky at the instant the chart is generated), enter the name of your nearest city and the country. You will also need to enter the approximate latitude and longitude of your observing site. For the Sunshine Coast, these are:

latitude: 26.6o South                      longitude: 153o East

Then enter your time, by scrolling down through the list of cities to "Brisbane: UT + 10 hours". Enter this one if you are located near this city, as Nambour is. The code means that Brisbane is ten hours ahead of Universal Time (UT), which is related to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the time observed at longitude 0o, which passes through London, England.

Click here to generate these charts.  

_____________________________________


Similar real-time charts can also be generated from another source, by following this second link:

  Click here for a different real-time sky chart.

The first, circular chart will show the full hemisphere of sky overhead. The zenith is at the centre of the circle, and the cardinal points are shown around the circumference, which marks the horizon. The chart also shows the positions of the Moon and planets at that time. As the chart is rather cluttered, click on a part of it to show that section of the sky in greater detail. Also, click on Update to make the screen concurrent with the ever-moving sky.

The stars and constellations around the horizon to an elevation of about 40o can be examined by clicking on 

View horizon at this observing site.

The view can be panned around the horizon, 45 degrees at a time. Scrolling down the screen will reveal tables showing setup and customising options, and an Ephemeris showing the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets, and whether they are visible at the time or not. These charts and data are from YourSky, produced by John Walker.

The charts above and the descriptions below assume that the observer has a good observing site with a low, flat horizon that is not too much obscured by buildings or trees. Detection of fainter sky objects is greatly assisted if the observer can avoid bright lights, or, ideally, travel to a dark sky site. On the Sunshine Coast, one merely has to travel a few kilometres west of the coastal strip to enjoy magnificent sky views. On the Blackall Range, simply avoid streetlights. Allow your eyes about 15 minutes to become dark-adapted, a little longer if you have been watching television. Small binoculars can provide some amazing views, and with a small telescope, the sky’s the limit.

 

The central part of the Eta Carinae nebula, showing dark lanes, molecular clouds, and glowing clouds of fluorescing hydrogen

 

 

The Stars and Constellations for this Month:

 

This description of the night sky is for 9 pm on October 1 and 7 pm on October 31. Broadly speaking, the following description starts low in the north-west and follows the horizon to the right, heading round to the east, then south, then west, then overhead and back to the north-west.


Setting towards the north-west is the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. Cygnus is also known as the Northern Cross, but to us in the southern hemisphere it appears this month lying on its right-hand side. The star at the bottom of the Cross, or on its upper left as we see it tonight, is a beautiful double star or binary, called Albireo. 

Whereas most binaries are a pair of similar stars, there are many in which the two stars are very different, such as brilliant Sirius the Dog Star with its tiny white dwarf companion known as 'The Pup'. Albireo's two components have a marked colour contrast, the brighter star being a golden yellow, and the fainter companion being a vivid electric blue. It is a wonderful object to view with a small telescope. 

At the top of the Northern Cross is the brightest star in the constellation. It appears close to the north-north-western horizon tonight. This star is the first magnitude star Deneb, or Alpha Cygni. Deneb is a white star, and is the nineteenth brightest in the sky. It will be due north at about 7.00 pm at mid-month. 

High in the sky and approaching culmination is the Great Square of Pegasus. It will be standing directly above the northern horizon at 9.30 pm at mid-month. It is very large, each side being around 15 degrees long. It is about as large as a fist held at arm's length, and is a similar distance above the horizon. The Great Square is remarkable for having few naked-eye stars within it. 

The names of the four stars marking the corners of the Square (starting at the top-left one and moving in a clockwise direction around the Square) are Markab, Algenib, Alpheratz and Scheat. Although these four stars are known as the Great Square of Pegasus, only three are actually in the constellation of Pegasus, the Winged Horse. In point of fact, Alpheratz is the brightest star of the constellation Andromeda, the Chained Maiden.

Andromeda trails down from Alpheratz below the north-eastern horizon. To its right is the zodiacal constellation of Aries, now risen in the north-east. The brightest star in Aries is a second magnitude orange star called Hamal. Just below the horizon is Taurus, soon to rise.

In the east, a mv 2.2 star is about halfway up the sky. This is Beta Ceti, the brightest ordinary star in the constellation Cetus, the Whale. Its common name is Diphda, and it has a yellowish-orange colour. By rights, the star Menkar being also known as Alpha Ceti should be brighter, but Menkar is actually more than half a magnitude fainter than Diphda. Menkar may be seen rising above the east-north-eastern horizon. 

Cetus is a large constellation, running around the eastern horizon tonight, and to the unaided eye it appears unremarkable. But it does contain a most interesting star, which even ancient peoples noticed, naming it Mira, the Wonderful (see below). Between Cetus and Pegasus is the zodiacal constellation of Pisces, the Fishes. Pisces is found just above Aries.

Above Diphda is Fomalhaut, a bright, white first magnitude star in the faint constellation Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish. Above Fomalhaut and to the right is a large, flattened triangle of stars, Grus, the Crane. Fomalhaut and Grus are both almost directly overhead at this time.

Very high in the south-east is Achernar, which is the ninth brightest star. This is the main star in the constellation Eridanus the River, which winds its way from Achernar towards the eastern horizon below Cetus. It then continues below the horizon all the way to Orion, which this month will not rise above the eastern horizon until a little after 10.00 pm.

Between Achernar and the south-eastern horizon can be seen the brilliant supergiant Canopus rising in the south-east. Canopus is the second-brightest star in the night sky, being outshone only by Sirius, which is smaller