September will bring cooler nights across Utah. This month will also bring another planetary opposition as well as the return of the zodiacal light. I hope that this month will also find YOU out under the stars!
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| Mercury |
Mercury returned to the morning sky during the last week of August. It will continue to be found in the morning sky during September. It will start the month off close to 10° high in the east. As the month progresses, you will find Mercury sinking closer to the horizon and possibly being harder to detect in the glow of the morning Sun. On the 5th and 6th, the innermost planet will find itself passing within 2° of the star Regulus. Mercury will shine a little brighter than Regulus which shines at a magnitude of 1.
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| Venus |
Venus will again dominate the early evening sky this month, shining up to magnitude -4.8. It will likely be the first "star" that you will see. Venus will be found near the star, Spica, on the first evening of the month. Like Regulus, Spica also shines at magnitude 1. Venus will lose altitude as the month progresses, so your best chances of viewing this bright planet will be earlier in the month and having an unobstructed view of the western horizon. Don't forget that you can use a telescope or binoculars to view the "phases" of Venus!
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| Mars |
Mars will continue to delight observers throughout September. The views won't be as great as they were in July when it was at opposition, or even during August when it still was somewhat close to the Earth, but they should still offer views of the darker regions, known as "mares" as well as a chance to see Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system. You might also be able to catch a glimpse of some clouds around the volcano if you have a night of really good seeing. Mars will start the month off shining at magnitude -2.1 but will dim as the month progresses. Be sure to view Mars while it lies high in the sky so that you will have less interference from the atmosphere.
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| Jupiter |
Jupiter will also offer great views through a telescope, but the greatest details will be seen earlier in the month. You should be able to make out the cloud bands of this gas giant with a telescope and any size of instrument will offer up views of the four largest moons. If you view this planet hourly or even nightly, you will notice how the moons have changed position as well as the cloud bands. Venus and Jupiter will pass within 23° during the first evening of the month. The pair will be joined by the Moon on the 12th, and by the end of the month, the two planets can be found within 14° of each other.
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| Saturn |
Saturn will be in a great position during the early evening hours for viewing its rings. Any size of telescope will reveal these majestic rings as well as several of the larger moons. Saturn will be found in the constellation of Sagittarius which is rich with deep sky objects. If you have a telescope, be sure to target a few of these objects, especially if you are able to get away from city lights. The Moon will join Saturn in this area of the sky on the 16th and 17th.
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| Uranus |
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| Neptune |
The outer ice giants will require a telescope for the best possible views from Earth. Uranus will rise around 9:30 at the beginning of the month and by months end, a full two hours earlier. Neptune will reach opposition on the 7th, meaning it will rise at the same time the Sun is setting. This will offer the best views of our outermost planet this year. I have yet to see Uranus and Neptune, but will hopefully have a chance during my last outing with Hercules for the year.
Zodiacal Light
This month does not offer a major meteor shower but instead brings the return of the zodiacal light. The best chance of viewing this light will be in the morning sky between the 8th and the 23rd when the Moon is out of the morning sky. It will also help to get away from all sources of light pollution. The zodiacal light is caused by sunlight being reflected off of tiny dust particles that get caught in the atmosphere.
Monthly Breakdown
September 02: Venus and Spica within 2°
September 02: Last Quarter Moon 🌗
September 06: Mercury and Regulus pass within 2°
September 07: Neptune at opposition
September 09: New Moon 🌑
September 12: Venus and Moon pass within 10°
September 13: Moon and Jupiter pass within 4°
September 16: First Quarter Moon 🌓
September 17: Moon and Saturn pass within 2°
September 20: Moon and Mars pass within 5°
September 22: Autumn Equinox
September 24: Full Moon 🌕
Think About This....💡
In early August, the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) was launched to study the Sun in more detail than ever before. The PSP will fly into the corona (atmosphere) of the Sun which will be a distance of about 4 million miles from its center. The temperatures this far away from the Sun is still very high at about 1650 Kelvin (2500° F). The PSP is designed to continue flying closer to the Sun until the heat shields and thermal insulation can no longer take the punishment, at which point the probe will burn up.
The Parker Solar Probe will take more accurate measurements of the magnetic field as well as studying the plasma and energy particles of the Sun. It will also study the solar wind, the wind created by the charged particles (electrons, protons, etc.) created by the Sun. The PSP will take about 7 years to reach the Sun which will be acheived by using the gravity of Venus to assist in getting the probe to its destination.
You may have heard of solar storms, solar flares, and may have seen sunspots, either images or with your own eyes. You may not know that the Sun has an 11 - 12 year cycle where it reaches solar maximum and minimum. During solar maximum, the Sun is more active and will have more sunspots and larger solar flares which send tons (literally, tons) of electrified gas clouds through space, which may or may not impact the Earth. During the solar maximum, earthbound observers can enjoy the many different colors of the aurorae, which is caused by the electrified particles interacting with the Earth's magnetic field. When the electrified gas clouds have a more head on collision with the Earth, we may suffer power outages, failing satellites, and higher radiation in the atmosphere which impacts the astronauts and even airline pilots. The most recent solar maximum was the weakest in over 100 years, meaning there was less solar activity, including sunspots, during this cycle.
During solar minimum, the solar flares and sunspots are less common and typically smaller in size. Sometimes the surface of the Sun will not have a sunspot for days or even weeks at a time. This is a safer time to fly and for astronauts in space, but a less impressive time for the aurora observers. We are currently headed towards solar minimum. You may click here to see the latest images of the Sun provided by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The bottom image on this page is the best view if you want to see if there are currently any sunspots on the Sun.
The Parker Solar Probe will take more accurate measurements of the magnetic field as well as studying the plasma and energy particles of the Sun. It will also study the solar wind, the wind created by the charged particles (electrons, protons, etc.) created by the Sun. The PSP will take about 7 years to reach the Sun which will be acheived by using the gravity of Venus to assist in getting the probe to its destination.
You may have heard of solar storms, solar flares, and may have seen sunspots, either images or with your own eyes. You may not know that the Sun has an 11 - 12 year cycle where it reaches solar maximum and minimum. During solar maximum, the Sun is more active and will have more sunspots and larger solar flares which send tons (literally, tons) of electrified gas clouds through space, which may or may not impact the Earth. During the solar maximum, earthbound observers can enjoy the many different colors of the aurorae, which is caused by the electrified particles interacting with the Earth's magnetic field. When the electrified gas clouds have a more head on collision with the Earth, we may suffer power outages, failing satellites, and higher radiation in the atmosphere which impacts the astronauts and even airline pilots. The most recent solar maximum was the weakest in over 100 years, meaning there was less solar activity, including sunspots, during this cycle.
During solar minimum, the solar flares and sunspots are less common and typically smaller in size. Sometimes the surface of the Sun will not have a sunspot for days or even weeks at a time. This is a safer time to fly and for astronauts in space, but a less impressive time for the aurora observers. We are currently headed towards solar minimum. You may click here to see the latest images of the Sun provided by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The bottom image on this page is the best view if you want to see if there are currently any sunspots on the Sun.
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| Now get outside and look up! |
Planet images taken by NASA.
Above image taken by Jeff Greenland.
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