Today:
The planet Mercury reaches the end of its reasonable viewing window, barely visible, and quite low in the east-southeast from 5:35 to 5:45, and likely requires a pair of binoculars to find it. Mercury’s swift orbit of 88 days brings it back into the morning skies, with a better view in late November and early December.
Tuesday:
Venus and Jupiter dazzled early risers in August, and will continue to do so into September, though they continue to move apart, with the Earth’s orbit shifting us for a better view of Jupiter, as it climbs higher, while Venus’s orbit starts steering it back toward the Sun. Even so, Venus remains in the morning skies through early November.
Wednesday:
Although the sky’s daily progression doesn’t change, our sunsets are getting earlier. This effectively slows down the transition of patterns like the Big Dipper in the northwest, or the departure of the Scorpion in the southwest, keeping them in the evening skies a bit longer. With the Sun now setting before 7:30, the skies are dark before 9 o’clock.