Saturn in Virgo, setting for Fall

I snapped this shot of Saturn from my porch at about 1030 last night.  Saturn will be visible on the Western horizon after sunset for a few more weeks, starting lower and lower on the horizon each night.  The Sun will eventually eclipse it, and it will remain hidden in the area of the Sun until it reappears in the mornings of early November, rising in front of the Sun just before sunrise.

click photo to enlarge

In the photo, Saturn is the brightest star, center-right just above the horizon.  Just beside Saturn is Porrima of Virgo.  Two other stars from Virgo are also visible in the picture, however, the star Spica, Virgo's brightest, had already set behind one of the trees by the time I got my camera ready.

Saturn *Almost Eclipses Porrima

Last night was a miss because of weather.  Tonight I'll be heading out a little bit after sunset at 10:15pm, to see Saturn eclipsing Porrima of Virgo in the Southwest sky, forming a super-bright point of light.  West of there, Leo will be chasing the place of the sunset.

Weather permitting, I will then at midnight ride out to a nearby hill with a good view where the Southern skyline is relatively low.  The claw of Scorpius, made up of Antares, a flickering burning orange star and its 3 accompanying stars, reaches up into the Southern sky and is one of the most distinguishable groups of stars in the Summer here.  However, this far North in the world, the lower half of the constellation usually never breaks the horizon.  I hope that the weather will be clear and that my vantage point will be good enough so that I can at least see the Scorpion’s tail, Shaula, which is the 25^th brightest star and which I’ve never seen.  Nearby will be Kaus Australis of Sagittarius, also which I’ve never seen and never rises very high here.  We’ll have to wait and see if weather and the landscape permit a good show!