Not as many planets will be visible in the September’s sky,
while the now famous comet Elenin will be the center of attention to many,
for all the wrong reasons.
*MERCURY formed his Inferior Conjunction with the Sun, moving between the Earth and the Sun, on August 16, and re-emerged in the pre-dawn sky at the end of August.
Our Little brother will become visible for a short time in early September.
It will be possible to observe Mercury around September 9, looking East, just before sunrise, when it will be very close to Regulus, alpha star of the Leo constellation, but only in a place with a very low and clear horizon.
After the middle of September Mercury will disappear in the Sun’s glow once more, to make his last appearance of 2011 as a Evening Star, from the end of October to late November.
From early December Mercury will be again a Morning Star.
VENUS: September will not be a good month to observe Venus. After her Superior Conjunction to the Sun in mid-August (as Mercury was forming his Inferior Conjunction) Venus has become again the Evening Star, but she is still too close to the western horizon this month to allow for easy observation.
Venus will show off in her full glory only from mid-October, cruising longer and longer the evening sky after sunset, becoming brighter until April 2012 (maximum elongation, or longitudinal distance from the Sun, happening at the end of March).
MARS: only very early risers will be able to observe Mars in September, just above the Eastern horizon, against the backdrop of the Twins constellation.
Mars will rise around 3 am at the start of the month, and a bit earlier at the end, moving from the middle of Gemini to the middle of Cancer.
The Red Planet will be more easily identified around Equinox time, September 22 and 23, when the Waning Moon will pass close by him and the stars Pollux and Castor (Gemini), and Procyon (Canis Minor).
Mars will continue to rise before the Sun until 2012.
JUPITER: Jupiter rises after 10 pm, at the start of Septemeber, and about 9 pm at the end of the month. He then navigates the night sky ’til morning.
The best time to observe Jupiter will be the hours before dawn. The giant planet can be found against the backdrop of Aries, the constellation of the Ram.
On September 15 and 16 Jupiter is easily spotted close to the still big Waning Moon and the star Hamal, alpha of Aries.
SATURN, the planet that has dominated the night sky since March, is now edging closer to the western horizon, ready to completely disappear from view in October.
If you happen to have a very low and uncluttered horizon, you could still spot Saturn at the start of September, an hour or so after sunset, with the backdrop of Virgo constellation, below bright Spica, the ear of corn in the maiden’s hand.
VESTA:
the asteroid Vesta, orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, has had her yearly opposition to the Sun on August 5, the best time for observation, the Sun illumining her globe more fully.
It is still possible however to spot Vesta even with the naked eye, better with a pair of binoculars though (magnitude 6). Her relatively fast track in the sky can be followed in September through the constellations of Capricorn. She will be already high in the sky after sunset.
The Waxing Moon will pass close to Vesta on September 8/9. Look for them overhead and then going westward, between 7 pm and 3 am.
ELENIN: in regard to the much talked about Elenin, comet or pseudo red dwarf, harbinger of doomsday or higher consciousness, I refer the reader to a comment I posted in answer to a query on the subject: My view on ELENIN.
As far as observing Elenin with the naked eye, the 22 and 23 of September have been indicated as the best times. But the comet will be around the constellation of Virgo, very close to the setting Sun and for most lost in the glare.
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All the Sky Snapshots have been generated using Stellarium, a wonderful Planetarium freeware software.
Information for the Sky Events has been gathered from these web sites:
http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/kellykw
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mjpowell/Astro/Naked-Eye-Planets/Naked-Eye-Planets.htm#PlanetList
http://www.astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/Sky%20this%20Month.aspx
http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html
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