Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.
September 23: Around Reiner Gamma
Neptune stands close to a slightly fainter background star this evening, offering a colorful contrast between the two.
Just one day from opposition, Neptune rises around sunset and is 30° high in the southeast by 10 P.M. local daylight time. You can find it in southern Pisces, to the left of the Moon and to the right of bright Saturn, which is easily visible to the naked eye. Neptune itself, however, is invisible without optical aid — using binoculars or a telescope, scan about 9° west-southwest of Saturn to find the distant ice giant, glowing at magnitude 7.7. Its tiny, 2”-wide disk may look like a “flat,” grayish-blue star.
Just 1.5’ from Neptune tonight lies HIP 968, a yellow, magnitude 8.7 background star. When viewed together in the same field of view, their contrasting colors will likely pop out even more.
Sunrise: 6:50 A.M.
Sunset: 6:54 P.M.
Moonrise: 5:55 P.M.
Moonset: 4:32 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (97%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
Alison Klesman is senior editor of Astronomy magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy and has studied a variety of topics, from minor planets to supermassive black holes.
