Whats up in the sky for the week of September 21

Mon, Sep 21

• After sunset: low on the west southwest horizon, Mercury is about half a degree from the bright star Spica.

Tue, Sep 22

• 10 a.m. Join Morehead Planetarium educators via Zoom to learn about International Observe the Moon Night coming Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.
• 11 a.m. NC Museum of Natural Sciences offers a talk via Zoom on how animals use foam to their advantage.
• After sunset: Mercury reaches the highest point in the event sky, low on the west southwest horizon.

Tue, Sep 22

• At 9:31 a.m. the Sun will be directly above the equator, marking the equinox and the astronomical start of fall. Today the Sun rises almost due east and sets almost due west, very close to 12 hours apart.
• 10:00 a.m. The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences reopens to the public. New hours are Tuesday-Sunday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Free timed-entry tickets are required along with face masks.  Full details are available on the museum website.

Fri, Sep 25

• After sunset: The Moon, Saturn and Jupiter form a right triangle separated by less than 3 degrees in the south southwestern sky.
• 7:30 pm: look to the southwestern horizon for a dim line of several dozen Starlink satellites over the next 30 minutes. The will pass nearly overhead before setting on the southeastern horizon about six minutes later.

Sat, Sep 26

• International Observe the Moon Night