Today:
The Milky Way becomes more prominent through the Fall, stretching from northeast to southwest across the top of the sky. It is our view of the Milky Way Galaxy from the inside, looking out. The Sun is embedded in a great disc of stars, and we are looking sideways through the thicker portion of the disc.
Saturday:
The most distant object visible to human eyes without the help of binoculars or telescopes is the Andromeda Galaxy, more than 2.4 million light years away. You’ll find it very high in the east about 10:15 PM EDT, just above the middle star in the constellation Andromeda, the Princess.
Sunday:
At mid-month, Jupiter continues to rise 4 minutes earlier each evening. Why such a specific amount? Jupiter’s orbit of 11.6 years around the Sun means it moves very slowly. Instead, it is the steady motion of the Earth in its orbit that shifts our view of Jupiter, allowing it to rise in the east 4 minutes earlier each night.