From first quarter moons, shortest solar days, fall equinoxes and more, here’s what you can look for in the sky in September, according to NASA.
The sky is full of things for you to look for! Each month there is a list of events occurring in space. September also brings a lot of things in space for you to see. From the first quarter moon to the shortest solar day – September has it all. “What’s up this month, stargazers? Mars forms a red triangle with the stars Aldebaran and Betelgeuse, the Moon hangs out with Jupiter, and September 23 brings the equinox”, Solar System heaven NASA tweeted.
NASA has also announced upcoming events this month by tweeting, “Mars is moving, the Moon is out with Jupiter, and September 23 marks the beginning of the fall in the Northern Hemisphere and the season.” Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. ” Jupiter’s transit, prime viewing time, for more – here’s a list of what’s in the sky in September.
1. September 3: The first moon of the month– The Moon is a quarter of the way through the month and you see half of its illuminated side. The first quarter moon rises around noon and sets around midnight. The sky is high in the evening.
2. September 6: Mars and Aldebaran– Mars and the bright star Aldebaran will appear closest to each other late Tuesday night through Wednesday morning.
3. September 7: Saturn and the Waxing Gibbous Moon- Saturn will be in the upper left corner about 9 degrees from the anthropomorphic moon when evening twilight ends at 8:28 p.m. EDT. It may be noted that times and views are based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC
4. September 10: Full Moon- The Moon will be full on September 10 at 5:59 a.m. EDT. It’s called Harvest Moon; Fruit or Barley Moon; corn moon, and many other names. The Moon will be fully visible for about three days from Thursday evening to Sunday morning.
5. September 11: Jupiter and the Moon- On Sunday morning, Jupiter will appear near the full moon. Jupiter will appear about 8 degrees to the left of the Moon around midnight and will shift about 6 degrees from the Moon at morning twilight beginning at 5:47 a.m. EDT. It would make for a great viewing opportunity to see the Moon and Jupiter together through binoculars.
6. September 14: Shortest Solar Day- Our 24-hour clock is based on the average length of the solar day. Solar noon on September 14 to solar noon on September 15, 2022, will be the shortest solar day of the year, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 38.6 seconds long.
7. September 16: Mars and the Moon Gibbous Waning- Late Friday through Saturday morning, Mars will appear near the waning ape moon. The pair will rise above the east-northeast horizon about an hour before midnight on Friday night, with Mars about 4 degrees to the right of the Moon. According to the Solar System NASA
8. September 17: Third Moon- The Moon is three-quarters of the way through its monthly journey and you should be able to see half of its illuminated side. (The other half compared to the first quarter period.) It rises around midnight and sets around midday.
9. September 19: Moon in Apogee- At 10:44 a.m. EDT, the Moon will be in an apogee position, the furthest away from Earth for this orbit.
10. September 20: Pollux and the Crescent Moon Rise- Tuesday morning, the bright star Pollux will appear about 3 degrees to the upper left of the fading crescent. The Moon will rise above the northeast horizon in the early morning at 1:19 a.m. EDT, and morning twilight will begin later than 5 a.m. at 5:56 a.m.
11. September 22: Autumn equinox- The fall equinox, the astronomical time that ends summer and begins autumn, is at 9:03 p.m. EDT. The Sun will move from the North to the Southern Hemisphere, passing through the Earth’s equator (in the Pacific Ocean, north of the Solomon Islands).
12. September 23: Mercury in a Lower Intersection- Early Friday morning, Mercury will pass between the Earth and the Sun, known as a lower conjunction. Additionally, Mercury will shift from the evening sky to the morning sky and will begin to emerge from dawn on the eastern horizon after September 27 (depending on viewing conditions).
13. September 25: New Moon- This is the invisible phase of the Moon, with the illuminated side of the Moon facing the Sun and the night side facing the Earth. During this phase, the Moon is in the same part of the sky as the Sun and rises and sets with the Sun.
