Astro Bob: Summer’s starry embers smolder into September – Duluth News Tribune

As the sugar maples reveal their hidden colours, we welcome Saturn to the night sky.

On Sept. 1, the Ring King stands a couple of fist-and-a-half excessive within the southeast round 10 p.m. By month’s finish, it’s in view by 8. On Sept. 21 the planet reaches opposition, when it lies immediately reverse the solar, rising round sundown and staying up the whole night time. If you’ve a small telescope, have a look. Saturn’s rings are so narrowly tipped this season they resemble a toothpick caught via an olive.

The must-see occasion is the double conjunction of the waning crescent moon, Regulus (Leo’s brightest star) and Venus at daybreak on Sept. 19. All three will scrunch collectively lower than a level aside! We even have each a complete lunar and partial photo voltaic eclipse on faucet. Unfortunately, neither might be seen from the Americas.

Curiously, September’s full moon gained’t be the Harvest Moon, which is outlined as the complete moon closest to the autumn equinox. Instead that honor will go to October’s moon this yr. The Corn Moon will take its place. Despite the title change, we’ll nonetheless see related results, with successive moonrises round full moon spaced simply 20 minutes aside as an alternative of the standard 50 minutes.

Finally, the autumnal equinox happens on Sept. 22 at 1:19 p.m. Central Time. This is when the solar passes the halfway level — known as the celestial equator — between its biggest elevation on the summer season solstice and its lowest level within the sky on the primary day of winter.

Our featured constellation is Aquila the Eagle. It stands halfway up the southern sky as quickly because it will get darkish and hosts the intense star Altair (Arabic for “the flying bird”). Altair, together with Deneb within the Northern Cross and Vega in Lyra, outlines one of many largest and brightest asterisms within the night time sky, the Summer Triangle. In Greek mythology, Aquila was the thunderbird who carried and retrieved lightning bolts Zeus used to conquer monsters, intimidate his enemies and in any other case keep order. Feel free to make your individual associations with the eagle of the night time.

Download the free Stellarium Mobile app for Android and iPhone that can assist you discover and establish the present planets and constellations. Do a Google search, then set up the app, set it in night time mode (purple display) and level your cellphone skyward. For a free September sky map and calendar go to

www.skymaps.com/downloads.html

. I additionally replace on auroras and different sky occasions on Facebook at

.

Events (a.m. signifies the occasion occurs within the morning sky) :
Sept. 1 – Venus shines slightly below the Beehive star cluster in Cancer firstly of daybreak. Use binoculars, focus sharply on the planet, and also you’ll spot the cluster a brief distance above it in the identical subject of view.

Sept. 7 – Full Corn Moon. Rises round native sundown and units the subsequent morning round dawn. Although the beforehand talked about eclipse gained’t be seen within the Americas, you may watch a reside feed at this hyperlink:

beginning at 12:45 p.m. Central Time.

Sept. 8–30 – The International Space Station makes nightly passes throughout the night sky. For an entire record of flyovers on your metropolis, log in to

Heavens-Above.com

, choose your location after which click on the blue ISS hyperlink. Or obtain and set up NASA’s Spot the Station app on the app retailer or Google Play.

Sept. 14 (a.m.) – Last quarter moon. The half-moon stands due south across the time of dawn.

Sept. 19 (a.m.) – Spectacular shut conjunction of the waning moon, Regulus and Venus at daybreak. Face east about 1.5 hours earlier than native dawn. You can see this with the unaided eye, however binoculars will improve the view.

Sept. 20−30 (a.m.) – Watch for the tall, tapered cone of the zodiacal gentle tilting upward from the japanese horizon from 2 hours to 90 minutes earlier than dawn. The softly luminous glow consists of mud unfold throughout the aircraft of the photo voltaic system by comets, colliding asteroids and Martian mud storms. The high quality particles scatter daylight to provide a wedge of faint gentle that resembles the Milky Way however with a particular “pointed finger” form. Both Jupiter and Venus shine alongside the axis of the cone.

Sept. 21 – New Moon. The moon lies in the identical route because the solar and is invisible within the daytime sky. Today the moon will partially eclipse the solar from New Zealand and Antarctica. You can watch a reside feed at

Sept. 21 – Saturn at opposition. It strains up with the Earth on the identical facet of the solar, so the 2 planets are at their closest. That additionally signifies that Saturn will shine at its brightest. You’ll discover it within the southeastern sky beneath the Great Square asterism of Pegasus.

Sept. 22 – Happy equinox! Autumn begins at 1:19 p.m. Central Time when the solar crosses the celestial equator, which marks the halfway level between its summer season pinnacle and winter minimal. Today it rises on the due east level and units due west. Days and nights are practically equal at 12 hours apiece.

Sept. 29 – First quarter moon. In this part, the half-moon stands excessive within the southern sky at sundown.

September can be an excellent month preserve your eyes peeled for auroras. Visit my Astro Bob web page on Facebook for well timed stories and forecasts.

Clear skies! — Bob

“Astro” Bob King is a contract author and retired photographer for the Duluth News Tribune. You can attain him at nightsky55@gmail.com.