looking up

Naked eye

The two brightest planets are brilliant in the early evening sky. Venus is the intense beacon hanging in the west with Jupiter directly above. Having the crescent Moon nearby makes a pretty picture – look on 12–14 September and again on 10–12 October.

Binoculars

Several distinctive but faint star patterns are easily seen by the unaided eye in the country, but only through binoculars in suburban skies. Two such patterns near the great Square of Pegasus are the circle, or ‘circlet’, of Pisces and the ‘water jar’ of Aquarius.

Small telescope

Two of the brightest globular star clusters are high in the south. Near the Small Magellanic Cloud is 47 Tuc, famous for its size and intense core. NGC 6752 in the constellation Pavo appears as if it has an open star cluster overlying the globular.