Linda Finch wrote from Texas, "I am fortunate to live where I can see the Milky Way on clear evenings. I frequently take my sleeping bag and dog to the front porch and enjoy the stars until I fall asleep. I can find Cygnus, Aquila, Sagittarius and the square of Pegasus. I think I recognize Pisces. I've never quite figured out Capricorn and Aquarius. What patterns should I look for since I know I don't see all of the stars because of light pollution?" Linda, how lovely to be able to watch the sky so comfortably. I'm not surprised you're having trouble finding Capricornus and Aquarius. Both are faint, even when seen in dark skies. In late September, both are up in the southeast in the hour after sunset. I've marked them both on today's chart, indicating their brightest stars. Just be aware that the brightest stars in both constellation are still rather faint. In a dark-enough sky, Capricornus can be seen to have the shape of an arrowhead. As for Aquarius, I've never tried to trace its entire form on the sky's dome. Instead, I always locate it by finding another constellation first . . . Pisces Austrinus, the Southern Fish. The brightest star in Piscis Austrinus is Fomalhaut After sunset now, Fomalhaut is just coming up in the southeast. It's a very noticeable star because it's the only bright star in its region of the sky. Aquarius is generally above Fomalhaut in the sky. If your sky is dark enough, you can see a little "asterism" or noticeable pattern of stars within Aquarius, marked in pink on our chart. See it just to the left of the star Sadal Melik? This asterism is called the Water Jar in Aquarius. Some 30 faint stars, visible in very dark skies, make a zig-zag stream of stars flowing down toward Fomalhaut. I didn't try to reproduce them here . . . but in a dark sky, they are very noticeable. This zig-zag line of stars represents water from the Water Jar of Aquarius, flowing into the open mouth of Piscis Austrinus the Southern Fish. By the way, have you found Sky & Telescope's interactive sky chart? Maybe it'll help, too!

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