The moon begins to dim the evening sky this weekend.
Therefore, weather permitting, Thursday, Sept. 1 is an excellent time to see Aquila the Eagle, which is directly south at 9:30 p.m., and Altair, the brightest star in Aquila, is 65 degrees above the horizon.
Altair is the 13th brightest star in the sky. It is flanked on each side by a bright star making a line of three stars with Altair in the middle. This arrangement of three stars is quite distinctive, and once it is recognized, it becomes an old friend, like the Big Dipper and the Pleiades.
These three stars are the head and neck portion of the “eagle.” The wings and body consist of dimmers stars south of these three. A bright portion of the Milky Way skirts through Aquila, and this region of the sky is not to be missed on a dark night away from city lights. It has a wonderful selection of star clusters and nebulae many of which are favorite s of amateur and professional astronomers.
