Sky Tour: September 2010
By Stars & Astronomy On September 3rd, 2010Astronomy a Go Go! September Sky Tour
This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory.
Download this month’s sky map!
Skymaps.com is our favorite monthly skymap provider. Download either the Northern hemisphere, Equatorial, or Southern Hemisphere sky map so you can follow along with our viewing sessions.
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis
Southern Hemisphere Additional Information
As Astronomy a Go Go! finds its home in the higher Northern latitudes those of you who live south of the equator will benefit from these two Southern Hemisphere sites: Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand’s Southern Hemisphere Calendar RASNZ site (absolutely outstanding) and Southern Sky Watch.
September Planets
(click images to enlarge)
- Mercury- Inferior conjunction on the 3rd moving into the morning sky during the last half of the month. Greatest elongation to the west on the 19th and FINALLY the angle will favor the Northern Hemisphere. If you can get a clear horizon it is worth getting up early to see Mercury! 4.6 mag (1st) to -0.6 (21st)
- Venus- Beautiful in the western evening sky but very, very low! In the PNW smoke from forest fires in the Olympics is giving Venus a soft amber glow. Observe frequently to watch Venus’ phases change. Maximum brightness on the 29th with an angle favoring the Southern Hemisphere. !! A crescent Moon occults Venus on the 11th if you are in eastern Brazil and SW Africa. Check with the International Timing and Occultation Association (under Upcoming Occultations) for information in your viewing area. -4.6 mag (1st) to -4.8 mag (21st)
- Mars- Very, very low in the western sky with Venus. To help you find dim little Mars it will pass 2 deg N or Spica on the 4th and 6 deg N of Venus on the 29th. Try pulling Mars out of focus to glimpse polar caps. Angle again favors the Southern Hemisphere. Delete or burn any emails you get about Mars being huge and/or close the the Earth…we just can’t get that email to go a way. Between now and 2012 we will the furthest we can be from Mars! 1.5 (1st) to 1.5 mag (21st)
- Jupiter- Rising mid-evening in Pisces and the brightest object in the eastern sky sans the Moon or Sun. Jupiter reaches opposition on the 21st and is 0.8 deg S of Uranus. -2.9 mag (1st) to -2.9 mag (21st)
Finder for Jupiter’s moons: Sky and Telescope - Saturn- Going, going, almost gone! 1.0 mag (1st) to 0.9 mag (21st)
Finder for Saturn’s Moons: Sky and Telescope - Uranus- Rises late, just before Jupiter in Pisces 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
- Neptune- Rising later near the Aquarius-Capricorn us border 7.9 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)
Finder charts for Uranus and Neptune: Sky and Telescope
*complements of the RASNZ (flip this as needed for your hemisphere/optics)
Astronomical Highlights for September 2010
Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 9 pm for Northern Hemisphere and 9 pm for the Southern Hemisphere.
Today’s sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website
Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!
| Day and Events | |
|---|---|
| - Check out the FREE iPhone App from the Night Sky Network! | |
| 1 | - Last Quarter Moon - Moon 0.8 deg S Pleiades (M45) eastern sky early, early morning - Venus 1.2 deg from Spica in the evening sky |
| 2-5 | - Citizen Sky Workshop in San Francisco, CA looking more closely at Epsilon Aurigae and the data collected by YOU! |
| 3 | - Moon 0.2 deg S of M35 - Mercury in inferior conjunction, moving to the morning sky |
| 4 | - Mars 2 deg N of Spica |
| 5 | - Zodiacal Lights visible in the Northern Latitudes before morning twilight(in the east) for the next 2 weeks - Moon near the Beehive Cluster (M44) |
| 6 | - Venus at aphelion (furthest distance from the Sun) |
| 8 | - Moon at perigee (closest to Earth at 357190 km) expect Large tides because… - New Moon (10:20UT) |
| 9 | - Saturn 8 deg N of Moon |
| 11 | - Mars 5 deg N of Moon and Venus 0.3 deg N of the Moon (possible occultation for eastern Brazil to SW Africa) - Last good evening planet ‘photo op’ of the season |
| 14 | - Moon near Antares..also reddish not to be mistaken for Mars! |
| 15 | - First Quarter |
| 18 | - International Observe the Moon Night! Find out what is happening in your area, - Go the the NSN iPhone app - Or to the NSN’s awesome event calendar! |
| 19 | - Mercury greatest elongation W (18 deg) |
| 21 | - Mercury at perihelion - Jupiter at opposition - Uranus at opposition - Moon at appogee (406162 km) |
| 22 | - Jupiter 0.9 deg S of Uranus |
| 23 | - September Equinox!! The Sun is crossing the celestial equator and heading to the Southern Hemisphere. This is all due to the tilt of the Earth. - Full Moon (9:17UT) near Jupiter - Too many cool reason to party! |
| 27 | - Venus at its brightest for the year |
| 28 | - Moon 1.1 deg S of Pleiades (M45) |
Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer’s Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2010, CalSky. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night
September Messier Objects
The sky is alive with globular clusters, all are possible in binoculars, and two of these are the finest globulars which can be seen from northern locations.
Many of the globular clusters surrounding the center of the Milky Way can be found in the direction of Sagittarius…makes sense, it is the direction of our galactic center. Seven of the these globulars appear in the Messier catalog, we will be visiting five of them this month. When you complete the search for these objects be sure to spend some time scanning this region with binoculars or a telescope and see what other sights you can discover. You will not be disappointed.
- M13 The great globular cluster in Hercules is bright enough to be seen with naked eye. Binoculars easily show this cluster as a bright fuzzy ball. M13 is partially resolvable in small aperature telescopes and becomes a fantastic swarm of tightly packed individual stars through large scopes.
- M92 Another globular cluster in Hercules, M92 is easy to find in binoculars appearing slightly dimmer and smaller than M13. As with M13 it is partially resolvable in small scopes and is a fine sight in large instruments.
- M14 A small, bright globular cluster in Ophiuchus. It is a difficult binocular object, look for a small fuzzy patch of light. Through a telescope M14 is an even patch of light, the stars not resolvable except through large scopes.
- M22 This is the other great globular in our tour this month. Located just above the teapot asterism in Sagittarius, M22 can be seen with no optical aid. M22 is easy to find in binoculars, and easy to resolve in telescopes, with about the same impressiveness as M13.
- M28 Located near M22 in Sagittarius, this is a small bright globular. A tough binocular object, look for a small fuzzy patch. Easily seen in a telescope, but requires large aperatures to resolve individual stars.
- M69, M70, M54 All of these are small bright globular clusters laying along the bottom of the teapot in Sagittarius. Very similar in appearance to M28, these are all tough binocular objects requiring dark skies and possibly averted vision to see. M54 is slightly brighter and appears more starlike through binoculars than the other globulars. These are all easily seen in telescopes, though not easily resolvable.
Messier information courtesy of Tony Cecce
Bright(er) Comets for September 2010
- C/2009 R1 McNaught: ~6 mag – on the Pisces-Pegasus border
More comet information at Seiichi Yoshida’s comet website, especially his bright comet page. Also checkout Gary Kronk’s comet and meteor pages
Skyhound Comet pages
Historical and Current Events
…Did you know?
Mark has developed his own website so let’s all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this month!
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Music B.D. Lenz -”Lazy Bones”
Catriona- “Sunrise”
Cross the Border- “Winter Sun”
Great Astronomy Activities!
Citizen Sky
For those in Northern Hemisphere, Capella, the “She Goat” in Aurigae, is circumpolar. At my 47 deg North, Capella disappears behind the tree line, and into the light polluted horizon, but she pops up in a few hours and is easy to find. Also easy to find are epsilon Aurigae (al Maaz the Billy Goat) and “The Kids” which make a small, long, triangle of stars just to the Southwest of Capella.
Epsilon Aurigae and some unknown dark partner, rotate around a common center of mass and every 27 years that dark companion eclipses the giant F-type star. Last August marks the anticipated beginning for that eclipse which will last for 714 days, dimming from 3.0 mag to about half of its brightness.
So why am I calling this a great astronomy activity? Epsilon Aurigae has some definite quirks and more eyes are needed to help scientist figure out what Epsilon Aurigae’s invisible partner really is! We need help…WE NEED YOU!! Anyone can participate; we need people to observe epsilon Aurigae, folks to look at the data for quirks, patterns, or voids, artist to help present the data to the public, friends willing to get the word out to others! To find out more visit:
- The Citizen Sky Project
- AAVSO page on Epsilon Aurigae
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