A harvest moon will brighten the night sky

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There is a full moon coming up this Saturday that typically helped farmers complete the harvest by moon light, hence the name “ harvest moon”, which is always the full moon around the Autumnal Equinox. This large, bright full moon rises at the same time every night for quite a few nights, but don’t let the bright moon overshadow some great sightings in the night sky.  Highlights include: Jupiter and Aldebron, the bright reddish star of the constellation Taurus, in the predawn sky. Jupiter has been in the news, because there was a bright flash on the planet spotted by an amateur astronomer, so what could it be? Based on past experience, probably a small comet or asteroid or maybe a meteor crashing into the upper atmosphere. Also, Aurora is very active this year as we near the peak of the sunspot cycle. The possibility of seeing Aurora this far South is increasing. All this and more on this week’s Sky Talk.

Photo Credit: Flickr user Quinn Cowper