Eye On The Night Sky For Thursday, September 10

0:00I'm Mark Briehn. Welcome to Night Sky for Thursday, September 10th. Appearing as a steaming tea kettle low above the southern horizon on September evenings, the constellation Sagittarius might claim the Milky Way as the steam rising from the teapot pattern composed of a triangular lid sitting on top of the teapot held by a handle on the left and pouring from a spout on the right. As mentioned yesterday, Sagittarius traditionally appears on star charts as a centaur, wielding a bow and arrow, its name translated simply as the archer. Three stars in the teapot actually form a bow, starting with the top of the lid as Couse Borealis or the Northern Bow, where the lid connects to the spout we find Couse Medius or Middle Bow, continuing down to the lower right corner marked by Couse Australis the southern bow. The arrow follows the line from the top of the handle on the left straight over to the tip of the spout on the far right. The centaur holding this bow is vague, with its hind quarters to the left.

1:04Tomorrow, why is Sagittarius associated with December and what does that mean on Night Sky? Night Sky is a production of Vermont Public and the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium.