As the sun sets on September 1st,
watch for Venus & Jupiter to appear in the western sky. They
are a fascinating pair to observe this month as they make conjunctions
with fixed stars. Mars will rise later in the evening. Mercury
and Saturn are morning planets this month, though Mercury is
only visible until about the 9th. The sun reaches the intersection
of the Ecliptic and Celestial Equator on September 22nd.
The Venus
- Jupiter Dance in the Northern Hemisphere
As the sun sets, look to the western
horizon for two bright ‘stars’ to appear in the twilight. These
will be the planets Venus & Jupiter. Venus is lower to the horizon
and will be brighter than Jupiter above. As the sky darkens
more, the star you see pop into view to the left of the pair
will be Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo.
The pair of planets will set around 9:15 p.m. at the beginning
of September.
Venus, being closer to the sun
than Jupiter will move faster through the zodiac. If you’ve
been watching this dance since last month, you will have already
notice her gain on Jupiter. She will conjunct Jupiter on the
2nd. After which, she will pass by Jupiter & Spica on her direct
eastern trek along the ecliptic as she enters the constellation
Libra.
On the evening of the 5th, Venus
will conjunct Spica and lie above the fixed star. Jupiter will
be to the right. The Moon joins the duo on the evening of the
6th. Jupiter will conjunct Spica on the 24th. However, by this
time, Spica will set around 7:50 p.m. and Jupiter will set around
8:00 p.m. so it will become difficult to watch the jovial giant.
Venus remains in the evening sky until around 8:45 p.m. when
she dips into the western horizon.
The Venus
– Jupiter Dance in the Southern Hemisphere
At the beginning of September,
Venus & Jupiter will pop into view high above the western horizon
as sunset darkens the skies. They will appear side by side on
the evening of the 1st and set around 10:00 p.m. Watch on the
following days as Venus pulls east of Jupiter and appears higher
in the evening sky.
On the evening of the 7th, the
Moon joins Jupiter & Venus in the night sky and will actually
pass in front of Venus blocking her from view in some areas
of the world. If you are in southwest Africa or Antarctica,
you can witness the occultation of Venus.
As the month progresses Venus will
enter the constellation Libra. You can watch her pass by the
fixed star Zubenelgenubi on the evening of the 24th.
By month’s end, Jupiter will set
around 8:30 p.m. near the fixed star Spica of Virgo and Venus
will set around 10:45 p.m. after Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali
of the constellation Libra.
Mars in the
Evening Sky in the Northern Hemisphere
At the beginning of September,
Mars will rise around 11:00 p.m. in the constellation Aries.
Mars is close to Earth in his orbit and brighter than usual.
Mars will appear as a red star that is not blinking. By month’s
end, he will rise around 9:30 p.m. and visually lie between
the stars of Aries & Taurus.
On the evening of the 22nd, the
moon joins Mars in the evening sky. The moon should begin to
rise over the eastern horizon by 9:30 p.m. Watch for Mars to
rise about a half an hour later.
Mars in the
Evening Sky in the Southern Hemisphere
At the onset of September, Mars
will rise around 12:45 a.m. By month’s end he will rise around
11:20 p.m. Mars is traveling between the fixed stars that outline
the constellations Aries and Taurus.
In the wee hours of the morning
on the 22nd, you will notice the Moon above Mars. By the 23rd,
she will dance on by to hang below the red planet.
Mercury in
the Pre-Dawn Sky in the Northern Hemisphere
Mercury rises around 5:45 a.m.
not long before the sun. It will be tricky to locate him along
the horizon unless you have very dark skies. If you see two
objects in the pre-dawn sky as dawn encroaches, you have also
located Regulus, the alpha star of the constellation Leo. Mercury
will be above Regulus.
If you locate Mercury, then you
can watch as he conjuncts the fixed star on the 4th. By the
morning of the 5th, Mercury will be below Regulus in the pre-dawn
sky and will rise around 6:00 a.m. By the 9th Mercury will rise
at about 6:30 a.m. and will no longer be visible.
On the 17th at 11:00 p.m. EDT,
Mercury will reach superior conjunction to the Sun. The inner
planets can not possibly travel far enough away from the sun
to oppose it. Astronomically, there are two types of conjunctions
that occur between an inner planet, Earth & Sun. When the inner
planet is conjunct the Sun and Earth in between the Sun and
Earth, it is called an inferior conjunction. The inner planet
passes directly between Sun & Earth. The superior conjunction
we experience with Mercury this month is the result of Mercury
being in conjunction with Earth & Sun from the opposite side
of the sun. In other words, the Sun is in the middle of the
superior conjunction.
Mercury in
the Pre-Dawn Sky in the Southern Hemisphere
Mercury rises around 7:20 a.m.
and is quickly followed by the Sun. You will be lucky to catch
a glimpse of him this month.
Saturn in
the Morning Sky in the Northern Hemisphere
Saturn is currently traveling among
the fixed stars of the constellation Cancer. He will rise around
4:15 at the beginning of the month and 2:45 by month’s end.
The moon joins Saturn on the 28th.
Saturn is the dimmest of the visible
planets right now and will lie to the right of the moon. Saturn
will be brighter than Pollux & Castor, the heads of the Gemini
Twins, who lie above him, or west, along the ecliptic. However
the fixed star Procyon of Canis Minor is brighter than Saturn.
Canis Minor lies below the ecliptic and the constellations of
Gemini & Cancer. As those constellations rise perpendicular
to the horizon, Procyon and his constellation appear to the
right of the ecliptic.
Saturn in
the Morning Sky in the Southern Hemisphere
Saturn rises around 6:30 a.m. at
the beginning of the month among the dim stars of the constellation
Cancer. By month’s end he will rise around 4:45 a.m. With the
tilt of the ecliptic being different from the northern hemisphere,
Procyon of Canis Minor lies well above Saturn in your pre-dawn
sky, while Castor & Pollux of Gemini lie to the left.
The Moon joins Saturn on the 28th.
That morning, look for a ‘star’ that is not blinking to the
right of the moon. That will be Saturn.
The Autumnal
Equinox
On the 22nd at 6:23 EDT, the sun
ingresses into tropical Libra. This means the day of equal day
& night is upon us and a new season officially begins.
In order to understand just exactly
what causes the equinox, you have to be familiar with two great
circles: the Ecliptic Plane and the Celestial Equator. The Celestial
Equator is the earth’s equator extended into infinite space.
The Ecliptic is of course marked by the band of zodiac constellations.
However, the constellations do not decide the Ecliptic, but
rather the apparent path of the Sun, which in all actuality
is caused by the tilt of Earth on her axis as she rotates and
revolves around a fixed Sun.
The Ecliptic Plane has a 23.6 degree
tilt above and below the Celestial Equator. There are two very
important points where these two great circles intersect: 00
Aries in the east & 00 Libra in the west. If you imagine a globe
with a circle around the equator and then pass another circle
at a 23 degree tilt through that circle, you will note two intersections
occur on the celestial equator. At these two points the declination
(measured north and south of the celestial equator) is 00 degrees.
At the eastern intersection the celestial longitude (measured
along the ecliptic) is 00 degrees or 00 Aries. At the western
intersection the celestial longitude degree is 180 or 00 Libra.
When the Sun reaches the western
intersection of these two great circles, fall begins in the
northern hemisphere & spring begins in the southern hemisphere.
The declination is considered to be 00 South because the Sun
is heading south to the Capricorn solstice.
Don’t forget there are only two
times a year when you can balance an egg on end on your kitchen
counter. This equinox is one of them! Provides interesting food
for thought on expanding the perception of “as above, so below”
doesn’t it?!
Moon Data
for September 2005
On September 3rd, the moon conjuncts
the sun at 2:45 p.m. EDT resulting in a New Moon. The faster
moving luminary then pulls away from our parent star to illuminate
the angular phases of their relationship. On the 6th, a Crescent
Moon will join Jupiter in the evening sky. On the 7th, the moon
joins Venus in the evening sky. This is an occultation for observers
in southwest Africa and Antarctica.
The First Quarter Moon occurs on
the 11th at 7:37 a.m. EDT when the moon reaches an angular separation
of 90 degrees from the sun, or a waxing square. On the 16th,
the moon comes closest to Earth as she can in her orbit. This
month’s perigee distance is 223,945 miles.
The Full Moon occurs at 10:01 p.m.
EDT on the 17th, when the moon opposes the sun. September’s
Full Moon is the Harvest Moon. On the 22nd, the moon joins Mars
in the night sky.
The Third Quarter Moon occurs on
the 25th at 2:41 a.m. EDT. This phase of half illumination is
representative of the 270 degree angular separation of the moon
from the sun, or the 90 degree waning square. On the 28th, the
moon reaches the farthest distance from Earth in her orbit.
This month’s apogee distance is 251,846 miles. Also on the 28th,
the Moon joins Saturn in the morning sky.
Sky Maps Available
in the OCA Main Public Library
Sky maps for September are available
in the OCA Main Public Library
to help you identify the constellations and locate the planets.
You will find evening sky maps of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon.
The map for the southern hemisphere is for the evening of September
6th at 8:30 p.m. The map for the northern hemisphere is for
September 7th at 8:30 p.m.
You will also find morning sky
maps of The maps of Moon, Mars and Saturn. The map of the southern
hemisphere is for September 23rd at 5:30 a.m. The map for the
northern hemisphere is for September 24th at 3:15 a.m.
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