Posted: 09/08/2014 12:48:45 PM MDT
Updated: 09/08/2014 12:50:32 PM MDT
Skywatchers in September have every reason to be 'the glass is completely full' type of people. While many dread the approach of summer's end with its cool, depressingly early sunsets, others prefer to consider this time akin to the furtive peeling off of the solar pool cover to once more gain access to the depths of the greater abyss.
Darkness certainly falls much quicker than is does in, say, July. The sun sets about 51 minutes earlier on Sept. 30 than it does on Sept. 1, and the overall length of daylight is slashed by 82 minutes. This means that skywatching and planet hunting can take place during the more civilized evening and early waking hours. More is more in this case.
September's evening skies hold both the summertime and autumnal constellations, and that might lead one to say that our celestial cups overfloweth.
Look southwest one hour after sunset to find coppery-bronze Mars in Constellation Libra, 'the scales,' to the left of Saturn about 6 degrees apart. As the month progresses, both Saturn, with its rings generously tilted open more than 23 degrees, and Mars trend eastward. However, while Saturn progress is slow and downward, Mars speeds out of Libra and into Constellation Scorpius, 'the scorpion.'
On the 17th, look for the Red Planet to get within one-half degree of the magnitude 2 Delta Scorpii, the scorpion's variable head star. Take the rare opportunity on the last four days of September to witness Mars coming within a mere 3.1 degrees north of the scorpion's heart star Antares, 'the rival of Mars.'
As night deepens, image stabilizing binoculars or a medium telescope reveal that one's cup in this wide swath comprising Libra, Scorpius and Sagittarius truly runneth over with deep space objects. Dense arms of the Milky Way intersect at Sagittarius, the loci of the galactic center, and as such there are many a star cluster and nebula.
Easy to find are many astounding light emission nebulae like the Lagoon, Omega and Trifid nebulae. The Lagoon Nebula has more than 17,000 so-called Bok globules, dark clouds of dense cosmic dust and gas in which star formation can occur. The Omega Nebula is the brightest of all emission nebula, with 35 bright stars in its interior and an excess of 1,000 stars forming at the edges. NGC 6559 is an impressive star forming region with both red and blue emissions.
In addition to these heavyweights, there are scores of other beautiful celestial entities including the dark nebulae Barnard 92 with a Bok globule just yon; and highly concentrated globular and planetary star clusters.
If by this time your shoes aren't absolutely soaked with spectacular sights, try this: face north and look directly overhead to find the Summer Triangle. The southernmost star is Altair in Constellation Aquila, 'the eagle'; the westernmost star is Vega in Constellation Lyra, 'the lyre'; and the star in the asterism's east is Deneb in Constellation Cygnus, 'the swan.' You'll also note that this triangle shares a star with the Northern Cross, which themselves are the five primary stars in Cygnus. Recline into a comfortable position; you'll be here for a little while.
The swan is a wonderful place to spend some time because of the sheer diversity of fascinating individuals to gaze upon. There's the Veil Nebula, the death shroud of a supernova with its filaments, cirrus, lacework, network and tornado elements. The North America Nebula, best seen with the naked eye, requires very dark skies to observe. The vast rifts of intervening dust that split the band of stars are obvious enough, so try to locate the Northern Coalsack, beside the Northern Cross.
Also here are endless star chains, loops, circles and clusters to froth up your celestial chalice.
The autumnal equinox is at 8:29 p.m. Sept. 22, the moment when the plane of the earth's equator passes the center of the Sun.
The moon is full at 7:38 p.m. Sept. 8, and is called the Harvest Moon.
Entities 0 Name: Saturn Count: 3 1 Name: Libra Count: 2 2 Name: Northern Cross Count: 2 3 Name: Scorpius Count: 2 4 Name: Northern Coalsack Count: 1 5 Name: Barnard Count: 1 6 Name: North America Nebula Count: 1 7 Name: NGC Count: 1 8 Name: Deneb Count: 1 9 Name: Constellation Aquila Count: 1 10 Name: Trifid Count: 1 11 Name: Lagoon Nebula Count: 1 12 Name: Harvest Moon Count: 1 13 Name: Vega Count: 1 14 Name: Antares Count: 1 15 Name: Cygnus Count: 1 16 Name: Omega Nebula Count: 1 17 Name: Omega Count: 1 18 Name: Lyra Count: 1 19 Name: Veil Nebula Count: 1 20 Name: Delta Scorpii Count: 1 Related Keywords 0 Name: nebula Score: 80 1 Name: star Score: 46 2 Name: constellation Score: 41 3 Name: libra Score: 30 4 Name: mars Score: 25 5 Name: scorpion Score: 23 6 Name: celestial Score: 21 7 Name: sagittarius Score: 20 8 Name: bok Score: 20 9 Name: saturn Score: 20 Authors Media Images 0
Post a Comment for "Astronomy: September skies offer the best of both seasons"