Home Back to September Sky
New Moon: September
14
Full Moon:
September 28
STAR GAZE (September
17):
(Last month's star gaze was canceled due to weather, so the tailgate
picnic was postponed till this month. So come early, bring you own food, and
actually SEE the people you spend so much time with in the dark!)
Sun: Sets at 7:22pm, astronomical twilight ends at 9:03pm and begins
at 5:55am the next morning. The Sun rises the next morning at 7:08am. Between
astronomical twilights, we get about 8.5 hours of darkness.
Moon: (illuminated 14%) The Moon sets at 9:21pm.
Saturn: Rises at 2:29am. The star-like object about 2 ring-diameters away to the South East is the moon Titan.
Asteroid: Vesta is a possible naked-eye astroid this month at magnitude 6.1! It is 46 degrees above the southern horizon when it transits at 1:15am on the night of the gaze. It is in the constellation Aquarius, and only about two degrees away from the asteroid Metis (see below).
Asteroid: Metis, at mag 9.1, is only about 15 arc minutes away from NCG7727, a mag 10.6 galaxy, and about 35 arc minutes away from NCG 7723, a mag 12.2 galaxy. Metis is the brightest object between these two galaxies. Get out your wide-field eye pieces and see all three in a 3/4 degree field of view! ( A 30mm FL, 80 degree AFOV eye piece in a 10" SCT will cover an area this wide, but will it's low magnification reveal the faint galaxies?)
Asteroid: Juno is in the constellation Scutum,
about 2 degrees away from Messier 26. It is 47 degrees above the southern horizon
at sunset on the night of the gaze, and transits at 8:16pm. It is magnitude 10.3.
SOLAR SYSTEM:
Mercury:
Is at greatest elongation west of the Sun on Sept 9. On the morning of Sept
10, it's less than a degree away from Regulus, and brighter. Mid-September is
a good time to see Mercury.
Venus: Begins the month near Saturn, in the morning sky.
Jupiter: Reaches conjunction with the sun on Sept 22, so it can not be seen this month.
Saturn: Is about 30 degrees above the eastern horizon at sunrise at the beginning of the month.
Uranus: Was at opposition on August 6, in Aquarius. It is magnitude 5.7 and may still be visible to the unaided eye if you catch it early in the evening. Here's a finder chart on the S&T web site.
Neptune: Was at opposition on August 27, in Capricornus. It is magnitude 7.8 and visible through binoculars. Here's a finder chart on the S&T web site.
Pluto: Was at opposition in July, is now in Ophiuchus. It is magnitude 13.8 and visible in a 14" -18" scope. Here's a finder chart on the S&T web site.
Asteroids: Vesta is at opposition on September 13.
DEEP SKY OBJECTS (DSO's) (Not
the biggest or best, but interesting) :
Edge-on Galaxies:
NGC 891: Mag 9.9, size is 9'x2' thru an 8" scope. It appears
large, so it seems dimmer than it's magnitude would indicate. A 12" scope
is needed to see it's dark lane. 16" scopes show much detail, such as the
"chinmeys" in the dark lane. This galaxy in inclined 88.2 degrees to
our line of site (1.8 degrees from edge-on). (Location: 02hr 23m RA
+42 deg 21' Dec, in Andromeda)
NGC676: Mag 9.6, size is about
3'x1' thru amateur scopes. A superimposed star from our galaxy makes this galaxy's
core deceptively bright. Individual stars can be seen thru 16" scopes. It's
location is relatively easy to find in a finder scope, after you find the bottom
of the deep "V" in Pisces. (Location: 01hr 49m RA +05
deg 54' Dec, in Pisces)
(Note:These 2 galaxies transit at about 2:00am
in Mid-September. This puts them highest in the sky just after many lights are
turned out for the night.)
HIGHLIGHTS:
Sept
10: Harvest Moon. This is the full moon nearest the fall equinox
(Sept 23). The Moon is on the celestial equator at this time, and is progressing
"up " (westward on) that equator. This helps compensate for the Moon's
eastward movement against the stars, so the Moon rises only about 30 minutes later
each night, instead of it's usual 50 minutes. This is more pronounced the further
north you are, until eventually, at 62 degrees north, the Moon is actually rising
earlier each night.
Sept
16: Rosh Hashanah. This is the first day of the Jewish new year
(5765), and is marked by the sighting of the new moon nearest to the autumn equinox.
Sept 16: The Fall equinox. the Sun crosses into the southern
celestial hemisphere.
CLUB STARGAZE:
You can check the AstroAsheville
Yahoo group (or call Tim @ 251-0040 or John @ 251-1933 x17 (before 5:00) or
667-9268 (after 5:00)) for a go/no-go decision and to verify location.
CLUB MEETING:
Indoor club meetings are usually the first Thursday of every
month, at 6 p.m. in the Sim’s
Group offices (230 Short Coxe Ave., Asheville, NC.)
Happy Starwatching! Dress Warm!
Blue Ridge Parkway Information
Line is 828-298-0398
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(Much of the above info is derived from Sky & Telescope magazine, Ottewell's
Astronomical Calendar, The Night Sky Observer's Guide, Burnam's Celestial Handbook,
Megastar 5.0, Planets202, the ol' Miller Planesphere, and a little (very little)
common sense.)