Night Sky Photography -- 08-04-2020 -- The Big Dipper & The Arc To Arcturus

Good evening fell stargazers!

This evening I was able to capture a really good photo late after sunset in the west showing the Big Dipper star constellation with the red giant star, Arcturus. 

The sunset was so low that I was unable to capture the background to give a proper scale in the skydome -- the trees and nearby baseball field are both far too faint to see in the photo, but I was able to just capture all the stars in the Big Dipper and nearby Arcturus so that I could show y'all the "Arc To Arcturus". 

"Follow the arc to Arcturus, and drive a spike to Spica" was one of the first sky tools I learned to use in astronomy. Amateur astronomers use it as a means of finding both stars in the evening sky.  

The red line I added in the photo shows the arc which helps astronomers and fellow stargazers to easily locate Arcturus using the star Alkaid (Eta Ursae Majoris) at the end of the Big Dipper. Follow Alkaid in the line to the bright giant orange star. Arcturus is a giant star with an estimated distance of 37 light-years from our own sun and is the brightest star in the constellation Bootes The Herdsman -- known in astronomical lore as the Bear Guard.

Unfortunately, Spica was far too low on the horizon for me to get a shot showing the "Spike To Spica" but if you know where to look, all you have to do is draw straight line from down and to the left of Arcturus. Spica is only about half as bright as Arcturus, but it is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo The Maiden.  

After getting the photo of the arc, I took a short drive into my nearby hometown of Chester, South Carolina, and was able to take a really good shot of the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn just about the Chester City Hall building in downtown. 

The two planets will continue to shine closely together in the southern sky over the coming months. Jupiter is the largest and brightest compared to smaller Saturn beside it.

Well folks, I hope that y'all enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoy capturing them. Let me know what y'all think in the comments below. Have a wonderful Dixie evening and y'all be sure to keep your eyes to the night skies!