Moon Phases
Sat., September 8, 9:15 a.m. EDT
Last Quarter Moon
The last or third quarter moon rises around 11:15 p.m. and
sets around 2:50 p.m. It is most easily seen just after sunrise in the southern
sky.
Sat., September 15, 10:11 p.m. EDT
New Moon
The moon is not visible on the date of new moon because it
is too close to the sun, but can be seen low in the east as a narrow crescent a
morning or two before, just before sunrise. It is visible low in the west an
evening or two after new moon.
Sat., September 22, 2:41 p.m. EDT
First Quarter Moon
The first quarter moon rises around 2:25 p.m. and sets
around 12:15 a.m. It dominates the evening sky
Sat., September 29, 11:19 p.m. EDT
Full Moon
This is the full moon closest to the fall equinox, on
September 22 this year, so is called the harvest moon. In Algonquian it is
called the hunter’s moon. Other names are travel moon, dying grass moon and blood
moon. In Hindi it is known as kojagiri or sharad purnima or lakshmi puja. Its
Sinhala (Buddhist) name is vap. The full moon rises around sunset and sets
around sunrise, the only night in the month when the moon is in the sky all
night long. The rest of the month, the moon spends at least some time in the
daytime sky.
Observing Highlights
Sat., September 8, morning
Jupiter occulted by the moon
Jupiter and its moons will be occulted by the moon as seen
from central and southern South America. In North America the moon will slip by
just under Jupiter.
Sun., September 9, after midnight
Ceres occulted by the moon
The dwarf planet Ceres will be occulted by the moon over
most of North America on Sunday morning. Because of Ceres’ small size, 592
miles (952 km.) in diameter, it will appear star-like in even the largest
telescopes, but may not wink out instantly when it passes behind the moon, as a
star would. This should be most apparent when it re-emerges from behind the
dark limb of the moon. The exact times will vary from one location to another,
and you should use planetarium software to estimate the times for your
location. Some typical times for the beginning of the occultation are 3:44 a.m.
EDT for New York, 3:23 a.m. CDT for Chicago, and 1:14 a.m. MDT for Denver.
Ceres will re-appear from behind the moon at 4:19 a.m. in New York, 4:18 a.m.
in Chicago, 2:10 a.m. in Denver, and 1:02 a.m. PDT in Los Angeles. The
occultation begins before the moon rises in Los Angeles.
Wed., September 19, sunset
Mars occulted by the moon
The moon will occult the planet Mars, but the occultation is
visible only from central South America and some of the islands in French
Polynesia. The rest of us will see a close conjunction of Mars and the moon,
visible just after sunset.
Sat., September 22, 10:49 a.m. EDT
Equinox
The sun crosses the celestial equator heading south. This is
the autumnal equinox in the northern hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the
southern hemisphere.
Mon., September 24, 11 p.m. EDT
Pallas at opposition
The bright asteroid Pallas will be in opposition to the sun
in the constellation Cetus, just north of Iota Ceti.
Sat., September 29, 3 a.m. EDT
Uranus at opposition
You can find Uranus with binoculars near the border between
Pisces and Cetus.
Planets
Mercury is too close
to the sun to be observed this month.
Venus is now a
morning “star,” shining brightly before sunrise. It begins the month in Gemini,
crosses all of Cancer, and ends the month in Leo.
Mars is shrinking
rapidly in size and brightness, moving from Virgo to Libra. Mars is low in the
southwest at sunset and sets around 9:00 p.m..
Jupiter is in the
morning sky in Taurus. It rises around 11 p.m. and is visible the rest of the
night.
Saturn is too close
to the sun to be observed.
Uranus returns from
Cetus to Pisces and reaches opposition on September 29.
Neptune is in Aquarius
all month, and is visible most of the night, setting at 5 a.m.
Geoff Gaherty
Starry Night Software Support
