ZANESVILLE ASTRONOMY CLUB
An Affiliate of the NASA Night Sky Network

The 12 September FREE southeastern Ohio celestial viewing event sponsored by our local astronomy club will begin at 7:45 PM. Meet at the Rogge Pavilion beside the Lewis Observatory on the Ohio University Zanesville campus. On summer nights, a jacket and insect repellent is advised. 

SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS 
Ursa Major (the Great Bear or Big Dipper) now appears to be walking along the northwest to the northern horizon.  
     In the west you can find Bootes (the Herdsman) sinking near the horizon.  Above Arcturus is Corona Borealis (the Northern Crown) with Hercules above where you can find the beautiful globular cluster Messier 13.
     Perseus (the Hero) is rising higher in the northeast.  It contains a fairly bright globular cluster Messier 34, which can be found above Algol. The star Miram points to the popular Double Cluster (NGC 869 and NGC 884). 
     In Andromeda (the princess) is the large but very faint Triangulum Galaxy (Messier 33) which is about 2.7 million light years from Earth.  Cepheus (the King) is approaching our zenith.  You can find the Elephant's Trunk Nebular (IC 1396) along the base and near the middle of its inverted, house-shaped constellation. 
     The Southern Taurids meteor shower lasts for two months and produces some fireballs. The shower is stronger in the Southern Hemisphere, but can produce a few meteors in the north. The peak night is in November. 
     With cooler nights are earlier sunsets with a steadier sky with fewer atmospheric distrubances.  The summer constellations are sinking low in the southwest, but we now get to see Perseum, Cassipeia, and Pegasus in the easts.  In dark-sky locations, the Andromeda Galaxy will be easy to spot with the naked eye. 
     Venus is still shining brightly very low in the west after sunset.  The “evening star” will be t its brightest on 22 September. Saturn is now moving retrogradw west into Cetus, leaving Neptune next door to Pisces.  Both planets rise in the east an hour or so aftr sunset.  Uranus is in Taurus and rises in late evening.  If yu are an earlbird, you can find Mars i Gemini near Pollux.  Finally, Jupiter rises in the east in Cancer a few hours before sunrise.
     The autumnal euinox falls on 22 September where the sunlight is directly over the equator.  
     This month the Moon meets wup with many targets in the night sky.  The The waning gibbou Moon hands out with the Pleiades, and on September 6 and 7, the waning crescent Moon joins Mars in the eastern sky in the early morning hours.  A day later, on Septemgr 8, there is a conjunction of a thin crescent Moon and Jupiter near the Beehive Cluster in the east a few hours before sunrise.  On September 13 and 14, the crescent Moon joins Venus low in the west after sunset.  
     On September 26, there is a conjunction of an almost full Moon and Saturn, with Neptune nearby. 

SEPTEMBER EVENT CALENDAR uses the Moon to locate objects, then use your binocs or scope to zoom in on the event.

01       Spica 14 degrees S of Venus
03       Pleiades cluster 12 degrees S of Moon
04       Last Quarter Moon
06       Mars 3 degrees S of Moon
06       Moon at perigee of 228,851 miles
08       Behive 0,5 degrees S of Moon
08       Jupiter 0,8 degrees S of Moon
11       New Moon
13       Spica 2.6 degrees N of Moon
14       Venus 0.5\6 degrees S of Moon
17       Pollux 5,9 degrees S of Mars
17       Antares 0,6 degrees N of Moon
18       First quarter Moon
19       Moon at apogee of 251,158 miles
23       Autuminal equinox (12-hours of daylight & 12 hours of dark)
26       Neptune at opposition
26       Spica 0.9 degrees N of Mercury
26       Full Moon
30       Pleiades Custer 11 degrees S of Moon

Daily information found in NIGHT SKY GUIDE 2026 by Nicole Mortillaro.

Zanesville Astronomy Club 2026
Southeastern Ohio residents and club members are invited to view our night skies at the Lewis Observatory on the OUZ campus in Zanesville, Ohio. 
Please sign the guest book upon arriving.  Dress for the weather.  
Meetings and events are scheduled March through November. 

If you would like to use the club Dobsonian telescope during our viewing events to enable sharing it with others, please let a coordinator know when you arrive. Thanks to all who bring and  share their personal telescope! You can also check telescopes out of our local John McIntire Public Library as easily as checking out a book. 

If you wish to receive the Zanesville Astronomy Club newsletter, send an email to: irenebaron@irenebaron.com with subject matter the word ASTRONOMY. In the message include your full name, email address, street address, city & state.  

If you need help repairing your scope, contact Coordinator Chuck Bruckelmeyer during the event to arrange a meeting.  He guides owners through repairs.  

If you need help learning how to use your telescope, let one of the Coordinators know during a viewing event. They can show you at that time or arrange a private time. They can also answer your questions and offer help setting up your telescope.

Please share this information and URL link with family and friends who may be interested in learning more about astronomy and our FREE local events. All ages have attended with much praise for learning more about the night sky.

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THE CHRISTMAS STAR HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED

Unraveling the Christmas Star Mystery 
by Irene Baron

Irene used NASA Jet Propulsion Library astronomy programs to identify  the Christmas star. Her nonfiction book discusses the research that took place daily over several years. 

This nonfiction astronomy book was awarded the GOLD MEDAL as the 2013 EXEMPLARY CHRISTIAN EDUCATION BOOK, or the best Christian Education book of the year! Buy on Amazon or where ever books are sold.   Http://cutt.ly/we5mqvt 
Bring the copy of your book to any club event to have it autographed by the author. She usually has a few available for sale.