September skies

Posted on 2007 January 01 @ 00:01 - filed under Astronomy.

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Mercury is in the evening sky the entire month, and is very well placed from the middle of the month onward, setting two hours after the Sun by month's end. Venus is in the morning sky, best place from the second week onward. By month's end it rises two hours before the Sun. Mars is in the morning sky, rising after midnight. Jupiter is in the evening sky, setting soon after midnight. Saturn is visible in the morning sky from the second week onward.

Early evening looking south, Crux and the Points are prominent in the south-west, and Achernar (in Eridanus) to the south-east. Facing east, Fomalhaut can be seen. In the north-east, the triangle made by Altair (in Aquila), Deneb (in Cygnus) and Vega (in Lyra) should be obvious. Arcturus is getting low in the north-west, while in the west, Spica (in Virgo) can be seen. Overhead, Scorpius is dominant, with Jupiter nearby.

Before sunrise to the south, Crux is low, while Achernar is high up in the south-west. Canopus lies high up in the south-east. Facing north-east, Orion dominates the view - below it, Procyon (Canis Minor), to the right, Sirius (in Canis Major), to the left, Aldebaran and the Pleiades (in Taurus). In the north, Capella (in Auriga) is low on the horizon. In the north-west, Andromeda hugs the horizon.Cetus lies in the west, with Fomalhaut towards the south-west.

September events

Day	Event
01	Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (4.8 arcmin east at 10h).
02	Anniversary of first-ever comet fly-by, when the International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE-3), renamed the International Comet Explorer, passed by comet Giacobini-Zinner in 1985.
02	Saturn near Regulus (0.8°).
03	Mercury makes a close approach (14.7 arcmin) to Zavijah (beta Vir, mag=3.7).
03	Minor planet (2) Pallas reaches opposition (mag 8.8, declination +4°).
04	Last Quarter Moon (04: 32).
04	Mars near the Moon (5.8°).
04	Moon in Auriga for about 27 hours.
05	Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (4.7 arcmin west at 00h).
05	Moon northernmost declination this month (+29.2°).
07	Jupiter's moons attractively arranged, two on either side (from 21h onward).
07	Pollux near the Moon (3.1°).
07	Venus stationary.
08	Anniversary of the first recorded observation of Halley's Comet from South Africa (1682), by Simon van der Stel.
08	Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (4.7 arcmin east at 14h).
08	Pluto stationary.
09	At noon, Venus is 10° from the Moon (looking NW; altitude 43° Cape Town, 45° Johannesburg).
09	Jupiter's moon Callisto at maximum distance from the planet (8.3 arcmin west at 04h).
09	Uranus at opposition, best time for observing.
10	Regulus near the Moon (0.2°), occultation seen from Polynesia, Japan and Central Asia.
10	Saturn near the Moon (0.8°), occultation seen from S. Indian Ocean, W. tip of Australia and part of Antarctica.
10	Solar rotation number 2061 starts.
11	New Moon (14: 44).
11	Partial eclipse of the Moon. Visible in parts of Antarctica, South America except the north part and the south-western Atlantic Ocean.
11	Periodic comet P/Hoenig (2003 R5) reaches perihelion (period 3.99 years).
12	Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (4.6 arcmin west at 04h).
12	New Year's Day of the year 1724 in the Diocletian era.
12	New Year's Day of the year 5768 in the Jewish (A.M.) era.
13	Mercury near the Moon (2.2°).
13	Religious holiday: First day of Ramadan (tabular).
13	Religious holiday: Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah (tabular).
14	John Dobson's birthday (1915).
14	New Year's Day of the year 2319 in the Grecian (Seleucidae) era.
14	New Year's Day of the year 7516 in the Byzantine era.
14	Spica near the Moon (1.7°).
15	Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (4.6 arcmin east at 18h).
15	Moon at apogee.
17	Jupiter's moon Callisto at maximum distance from the planet (8.0 arcmin east at 14h).
17	Mercury at aphelion (third of four occurrences in 2007).
18	Antares near the Moon (0.7°), occultation seen from Antarctica, southern oceans, and S. Madagascar.
18	Jupiter near the Moon (5.6°).
18	Jupiter's moons attractively arranged, two on either side (from 20h to 00h).
18	Moon in Ophiuchus for about 21 hours.
19	First Quarter Moon (20: 48).
19	Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (4.5 arcmin west at 08h).
19	Moon southernmost declination this month (-28.3°).
20	Piscids meteor shower reaches maximum, active Sep 01-Sep 30 (parent body unknown).
21	Herbert G. Wells' birthday (1866).
21	Minor planet (1) Ceres stationary.
22	Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (4.5 arcmin east at 22h).
22	Mercury makes a close approach (4.8 arcmin) to Spica (alpha Vir, mag=0.9).
22	Religious holiday: Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
23	Anniversary of the establishment of the South African Astronomical Observatory in 1970, with the amalgamation of the Cape, Radcliffe and Republic Observatories.
23	Equinox (11:52).
23	Neptune near the Moon (1.2°).
24	Venus greatest illuminated extent.
25	Jupiter's moon Callisto at maximum distance from the planet (7.9 arcmin west at 22h).
25	Uranus near the Moon (1.7°).
26	Full Moon (21: 45).
26	Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (4.5 arcmin west at 12h).
26	Moon brightest for 2007 (mag = -12.8).
26	Periodic comet D/Schorr (1918 W1) reaches perihelion (period 8.51 years).
27	Religious holiday: First day of Tabernacles (Succoth).
28	Moon at perigee.
29	Mercury at greatest elongation E (26°).
30	Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (4.4 arcmin east at 02h).
30	Venus makes a close approach (16.2 arcmin) to Subra (omicron Leo, mag=3.6) .

Constellations

Constellations visible from Southern Africa at 21:00 SAST (* = overhead):

Apus, Aquarius, Aquila, Ara*, Capricornus*, Carina, Centaurus, Chamaeleon, Circinus, Corona Australis*, Crux, Cygnus, Delphinus, Dorado, Equuleus, Grus, Hercules, Hydrus, Indus, Libra, Lupus, Lyra, Mensa, Microscopium*, Musca, Norma, Octans, Ophiuchus, Pavo, Phoenix, Piscis Austrinus, Reticulum, Sagitta, Sagittarius*, Scorpius*, Scutum*, Serpens, Telescopium*, Triangulum Australe, Tucana, Volans, Vulpecula.

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