September

Between Sagittarius and Aquarius. Dim stars; look for a laughing mouth.

The Ethiopian king, Cepheus (SEE-fee-us), is a circumpolar constellation that sits atop the Milky Way on a throne near his queen Cassiopeia. The legs and seat of his throne make a rough square on the Ursa Major side of Cassiopeia. Cepheus looks like a house (or throne) sitting on the Milky Way. The back of the seat comes to a point at the top above his head.

Find the bowl of the big dipper and locate the two stars nearest the handle. A line running through these stars, tracing away from it above the open bowl. This line runs to Deneb, the tail of the constellation Cygnus the Swan. With wings abreast, and long neck outstretched, Cygnus flies along the milky river.

Located between Pegasus and Aquila, look for four stars in a diamond.

Adjacent to Pegasus toward Aquila, one of the smallest of the 88 constellations.

Very dim.

One needs a telescopium to see Microscopium, for it contains no star brighter than 4.6. 

Octans the Octant is devoid of bright stars, but three faint stars (not numbered by brightness) make a small triangle.

The south celestial pole actually lies within Octans. No RA (visible anytime).  

The nearest easy-to-spot star to the south pole is Beta-Hydri in Hydrus the Little Snake. No brighter star than Achernar (alpha-Eridani) is closer to the south celestial pole, which lies midway between Achernar (Eridanus) and Crux.

Farther along on the line from the Pointers to Polaris and Cassiopeia is a large, nearly perfect square of four stars. This is the Great Square of Pegasus. Pegasus, the Winged Horse, lies almost directly overhead in autumn. Located east of Andromeda; signals the coming of Fall. Because Pegasus flies so fast, his hind quarters can’t be seen.