September Astronomy Highlights
August 2005 :
Note: This article may contain outdated information
This article was published in the August 2005 issue of The Skyscraper and likely contains some information that was pertinent only for that month. It is being provided here for historical reference only.
Like the last few Septembers, it's too bad we don't have any major astronomical events to take advantage of the improving sky conditions. Fortunately there will be several interesting objects to observe.
On the evenings of September 6 and 7, look to the west after sunset. There you will find an interesting grouping of the crescent Moon, Jupiter, Venus and Spica (the brightest star in Virgo). It should be a beautiful sight. On the night of September 17-18, the Full Moon is the Harvest Moon.
Look overhead and a little to the western sky and you'll get a good look at the Milky Way. In a dark sky location you will see a wispy stream of stars that begins in the constellation Cygnus and continues towards the western horizon. Hazy skies most of this summer have prevented us from viewing many of the interesting objects throughout this region of the sky. Grab your binoculars and telescopes and simply pan down that river of stars. You'll encounter many star clouds and nebulae.
Two distant planets will be visible during September as well. Uranus will be in the constellation Aquarius, whereas Neptune will be in Capricornus. Only a medium-sized telescope will show their true nature. Both appear like little blue-green marbles. Because they are so distant and they are gas giants, no detail can be discerned on these far off worlds. Regardless, if you visit Seagrave Memorial Observatory within the next two months, our members will be able to show them to you.
And last but not least, during mid-September at around midnight, Mars will be almost 30 degrees above the eastern horizon. If you have a telescope, begin watching Mars as he comes closer and closer to the Earth. Closest approach is on October 29-30, when the planet will be 43,137,588 miles distant. This close approach will not be as good as it was back on August 27, 2003 (34,646,418 miles, when we had absolutely incredible detailed views of it), but this time Mars will be about 30 degrees higher in the sky, taking it out of the often soupy haze nearer to the horizon.
We will not be able to observe our celestial neighbor from Seagrave at a reasonable hour for another month or so due to the tree line to our east. I will be writing a Mars Observing Guide to be published sometime during the middle to late October. Though Seagrave Observatory is open to the public every clear Saturday night, when Mars finally gets high enough we will focus our attention and telescopes on the wealth of detail he will present during this close encounter. Watch this publication for details.
And finally, the Autumnal equinox (Fall, my favorite season), occurs at 6:23 pm EDT on the 22nd. On this date the Sun stands directly over the Earth's equator on its way towards the southern hemisphere. You know what that means...Winter won't be far behind!
Keep your eyes to the skies.
PS. Unfortunately the Perseid curse still persists, at least for us here in southern New England. The heat and high humidity during the peak of the Perseid meteor shower conspired on August 11-12 and 12-13 with thick haze, low clouds, and fog on the coast. On the first night the haze was very dense early in the evening. At midnight the conditions had not changed. At 3:00 am when I stepped out onto my porch I was surprised to see Mars visible to the east. Even the Great Square of Pegasus was visible just south of the zenith (a point directly overhead). As I became dark adapted that was all I could see. Immediately I saw one Perseid meteor zoom to the southeast below Mars. But that was it! Soon the haze and low clouds obscured even the bright stars of Pegasus, and then Mars disappeared from view as well. I thought maybe we would get lucky the next night.
I thought wrong. The conspiracy continued, for the next night was just as bad. Before midnight no stars were visible. Once again I stepped out at 3:00 am to give the Perseids another try. For a second or two in the western sky I could see the summer triangle, a stellar asterism formed by the bright stars Deneb, Vega and Altair. Then they disappeared as though someone had pulled a gauzy curtain over them. Mars couldn't be seen at all in the east that morning. And needless to say , I didn't observe a single meteor!!
I would normally say better luck next year, but the Perseid meteor shower will peak on the night of August 12-13 in 2006, and the almost last quarter Moon will spoil the view. Not a total loss, but not the best observing conditions one could hope for.
