What's Up In The Sky Now?
September, 2024
Our Solar System - notes by DMAS member, JoAnn Cogil
This month provides another chance to view the Zodiacal Lights! You will need to find a darker sky location and look to the East about 2 hours before sunrise. This happens the first 2 weeks of the month. With the new moon on the 2nd, conditions are favorable to view this wonderful sight!!
Mercury
MERCURY - on the 4th the tiny planet is at its greatest elongation, the greatest distance from the Sun as viewed from Earth. It will have a magnitude of -0.2. Be ready on the 9th when Mercury & the star Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, rise at dawn in the E-NE sky just 1/2° apart. Its magnitude will brighten to -1.0 by mid-month, but by month’s end the planet will be out of sight due to its superior conjunction on the 30th, which puts the planet on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth. Bye for now!!
Venus
VENUS - can still be found in the Western sky for up to 1 hour after sunset with a nice magnitude of -3.9. The planet’s disk shows from 91% to 85% of full as it goes through the month. On the 5th, the Moon will be 6 ½° left of Venus in the W-SW evening sky, with Spica nearby. Venus sets first. On the 17th or about mid-month, Venus is 2-3° from Spica (in the constellation Virgo) after sunset.
Earth
EARTH - Autumnal Equinox occurs at 7:44 AM CDT on the 22nd of September. Fall has arrived!!
Mars
MARS - Our pretty red planet can be found between the horns of Taurus the first week of September, but quickly moves into Gemini by the 6th. It rises about midnight to 1 AM & continues to rise earlier by month’s end. The best viewing times for Mars are the pre-dawn hours. On the 25th, Mars & the Moon can be found in the Eastern early morning sky before dawn, with the Moon 4° to the upper left of Mars.
Jupiter
JUPITER - Like Mars, it also continues an eastern movement through the sky and shines with a 0.7 magnitude. Look for this beauty between the horns of Taurus on the 3rd. Before sunrise on the 27th, we find the Moon, Mars & Jupiter together around the horns of Taurus, and form a right triangle.
Saturn
SATURN - Remains visible all night, rising just after sunset. Saturn reaches opposition (with the Earth between Saturn & the Sun) on the night of the 7th to 8th. The planet is in Aquarius, about 805 million miles from Earth, reaching its best peak magnitude of the year at 0.5 this month!! Titan, the planet’s largest moon, orbits every 16 days and shines at 8.4 magnitude.
**Our highlight this month** On the 17th, the early morning almost full Moon occults Saturn. But it may be questionable for us to see much from our central US location as better viewing is predicted for the western US.
Uranus
URANUS - Can be found about 5° SW of the Pleiades all month.
Neptune
NEPTUNE - This planet can be found about 12° east of Saturn early in the month as it rises at dusk. It has an occultation by the full Moon on the 17th, but the planet is very dim at magnitude 7.8. On the 20th it is at opposition, with the Earth between the planet and the Sun, but is at its closest to the Earth for this year at 2.7 billion miles from Earth. Neptune is known for its signature bluish hue which results from sunlight being absorbed by atmospheric methane.
The Moon
- New Moon, August 04
- First Quarter, August 12
- Full Moon, August 19
- Last Quarter, August 26