SPACE STATION SIGHTINGSAs the space station orbits the Earth, sunlight reflects off of its giant solar arrays. From Earth, it appears as a bright object moving high across the night sky. Visit www.heavens-above.com to get a list of upcoming ISS passes over your community.

THE PLANETS VENUS shines its brightest low in the western sky at dusk and disappears from view as it reaches conjunction with the Sun in late October.

*MARS appears as an orange-red “star” in the southern sky, with its magnitude dimming (-2.1 to -0.6) and size appearing to shrink (from 21” to 12”) as it moves further away from Earth over the next two months.

*JUPITER continues to shine brightly in the southwestern evening sky with a magnitude of -1.8 throughout September and October.

*SATURN and its rings are visible throughout the night in the southern evening sky.

*FREE ASTRONOMY EVENTS AT THEONTARIO SCIENCE CENTRE*

Check our calendar for more details:www.ontariosciencecentre.ca

OBSERVING TIP: Need a night-sky friendly flashlight?Cover a flashlight's lamp with brown

or red paper to dim its light andpreserve your night vision.

S*T*A*RCHART

September/October

* 2018 *

THE CONSTELLATIONS

The star groups linked by lines are theconstellations created by our ancestorsthousands of years ago as a way of mapping the night sky. Modern astronomers still use the traditional names, which give today’s stargazers a permanent link to the sky myths and legends of

the past. This autumn, look for the ‘W’ shaped constellation ofCassiopeia high in the North Eastern sky. According to the ancient Greeks, the five bright stars represented an Ethiopian Queen seated in her chair. Midway between Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper, you can find the North Star, a helpful tool for orientation in the sky.

OBSERVING HIGHLIGHTS SEPT 13 Waxing crescent Moon 3º from Jupiter in the southwestern evening sky

SEPT 21 Venus shines its brightest reaching a magnitude of -4.8 in the western sky

SEPT 22 Autumnal equinox (9:54 p.m.), autumn officially begins in the northern hemisphere

SEPT 24 * Harvest Moon rises in the east at sunset

OCT 14 Waxing crescent Moon within 2 º of Saturn in the southern

evening sky

OCT 21 Orionid meteor shower peaks

* Impressive or rare event

These programs are offered in collaboration with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada: Toronto Centre.

Wednesday September 12th, 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.: Recreational Astronomy Night: Learn what celestial objects can be seen in the sky this month. STUDIO 2

Saturday September 22nd, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.: Solar Observing: Spot sunspots and solar flares through specially filtered telescopes. TELUSCAPE

Wednesday September 26th, 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.: Speaker’s Night: Learn the latest astronomical research from local professional astronomers. STUDIO 2

Saturday September 29th: Nuit Blanche Star Party. TELUSCAPE

Wednesday October 10th, 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Recreational Astronomy Night: Learn what celestial objects can be seen in the sky this month. STUDIO 2

Saturday October 13th: World Space Week Star Party. TELUSCAPE

Wednesday October 24th, 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.: Speaker’s Night: Learn the latest astronomical research from local professional astronomers. STUDIO 2

Saturday October 27th, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Solar Observing: Spot sunspots and solar flares through specially filtered telescopes. TELUSCAPE

MOON PHASES

Full

New SEPT 9 (2:01 p.m.) OCT 8 (11:47 p.m.)

SEPT 24 (10:52 p.m.)OCT 26 (12:45 p.m.)

SE

NE

EA

ST

WE

ST

SOUTH

SW

NW

NORTH

Prepared for the Ontario Science Centre by SkyNews,the Canadian Magazine of Astronomy & Stargazing. SkyNews.ca

SkyNews.ca 1-866-759-0005

Cartography and design by Glenn LeDrew. Base chart data derived from maps drawn by Roy Bishop for the Observer’s Handbook, published by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

ROTATING NIGHT SKY: During the night, the Earth’s rotation on its axis slowlyshifts the entire sky. This is the same motion that swings the Sun on its daily east-to-west trek. The rotational hub is Polaris, the North Star, located almost exactlyabove the Earth’s North Pole. Everything majestically marches counter-clockwisearound it, a motion that becomes evident after about half an hour.

TO USE THIS CHART: Hold the chart in front of you and rotate it so the direction you are facing (N,S,E,W) is at the bottom of the chart. The edge of the chart represents the horizon; the overhead point is at centre. On a moonless night in the country, you will see more stars than are shown here; deep in the city, you will see fewer. The ecliptic line is the celestial pathway of the Moon and planets. The star groups straddling this line are known as the zodiac constellations. The Moon is shown for selected dates.

Download our most recent star chart:www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/tour/default.asp?demoid=75

OUR CHART SHOWS the major stars, planets and constellations visiblefrom Canada and the northern United States within one hour of these times:

EARLY SEPTEMBER: 11:30 P.M.; LATE SEPTEMBER: 10:30 P.M.

EARLY OCTOBER: 9:30 P.M.; LATE OCTOBER: 8:30 P.M.

Download our most recent star chart:http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/exhibitsandshows/