Moon and Saturn before dawn on September 27
Image Credit: Nick Bramhall
September 26, 2008.
People in the northern hemisphere have a good chance of catching the waning crescent moon and planet Saturn before dawn Saturday morning.
Look for the moon and Saturn above the eastern horizon an hour or more before sunrise. In North America, the moon and Saturn will appear to pair up side by side. Elsewhere in the world, Saturn will be below the crescent moon, shining close to the horizon.
Saturn has only recently returned to visibility in the northern hemisphere’s predawn sky. Meanwhile, at mid-southern latitudes – for example, Australia and New Zealand – Saturn won’t be easily visible in morning sky until around mid-October. It’s the same sky for all of us. But – because Earth tilts on its axis – the path of the sun, moon and planets appears different from one hemisphere to the other.
And that difference keeps Saturn low in the predawn sky now from the southern hemisphere – but higher up as seen from our part of the globe. It’s now just days past the September 22 equinox. At this time of year, predawn objects are easier to see from the northern hemisphere than from the southern.
For all of us, Saturn will be rising earlier- to be at its best in the evening in early 2009.
