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Moon, Mars and Saturn put on spectacular sky show
BY MARK ARMSTRONG
ASTRONOMY NOW

Posted: 31 August 2014


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The Moon, Mars and Saturn come together in the evening sky on 31 August. AN graphic by Greg Smye-Rumsby.

This evening there is a spectacular coming together of the Moon, Mars and Saturn in the south-western sky, visible shortly after sunset.

The beautiful ringed planet Saturn will lie half a degree, one lunar diameter, above a waxing, broad crescent Moon illuminated by 33 percent. Saturn is at magnitude +0.6 and looks like a bright, yellowish star with the naked eye, but with even the smallest telescope, the view is transformed by its beautiful ring system.

The red planet Mars lies 4.5 degrees to the lower left (south-east) of the Moon and is just two-tenths of a magnitude fainter than Saturn at mag. +0.64. Although way past its Spring best, Mars is still a conspicuous sight and spans nearly seven arcseconds in apparent diameter.

The Sun sets from London at 7.48pm BST and by 8.30pm lies six degrees below the horizon. At this time Saturn and the Moon are 12 degrees above the south-western horizon, with Mars just under ten degrees up. Binoculars will capture the scene perfectly and this is a fine opportunity for astro-imagers to get some spectacular shots. Please send any pictures to gallery2014 (at) astronomynow.com.