AstroPlanet

Autumn begins on September 22^nd when the Autumnal Equinox occurs. The Autumnal Equinox occurs when the tilt of the Earth is in tangent with the orbit of Earth around the Sun.  This point marks the beginning of Autumn.  An Equinox has an equal amount of daylight and nighttime.

The Full Moon for September occurs on the 4^th.  The Full Moon is called the Full Fruit Moon and is also known as the Barley Moon.

The New Moon for September occurs on Friday, September 18^th this will make the weekend of September 19-20 as the best weekend for deep sky observing.

Mercury crosses from evening to morning hours this month.  Mercury is observable in the evening until around September 14^th when it disappears into the glare of the Sun.  Mercury re-emerges into the evening around September 26^th.  Mercury is in retrograde motion between September 7^th through September 28^th.

The above movie shows the path of Mercury during the month of September. Each frame is one sideal day. Note the retrograde motion as is moves past the Sun as it crosses from evening to morning hours.

Mercury begins September in the constellation Virgo (The Maiden) and on September 22^nd it crosses into the constellation Leo (The Lion) where it spend the rest of the month.

Venus is the Morning Star for September. Venus begins September in the constellation Cancer (The Crab) until September 10^th went it moves into the constellation Leo (The Lion).

	September 1st finds Venus within 1°15’ for the Beehive Cluster (M44).
On September 16th, the waning, crescent Moon passes within 3°30’ of Venus.
	On September 20th, Venus passes with 0°30’ of the star Regulus.

Mars is observable in the morning hours of September in the constellation Gemini (The Twins) this month.  Mars rises around 1:20 am (PDT) at the beginning of September and by the end of the month rises around 12:45 am (PDT).

On September 13th, Mars rises within 3°34’ below the waning, crescent Moon with will pass within 1° of Mars on that day.

Currently in retrograde motion, Jupiter is located in the constellation Capricornus (The Sea Goat) until January 2010.  Jupiter is observable in the evening and mid-night hours of September; setting around 4:55 am (PDT) at the beginning of the month and setting around 2:50 am (PDT) by the end of September.

	On September 3rd, the waxing, gibbous Moon rises within 4°30’ of Jupiter and Neptune.
On September 30th, the waxing, gibbous Moon rises within 2°20’ of Jupiter and Neptune.

Due to its position near the Sun, Saturn is not observable this month.  Saturn ends it long stay in the constellation Leo (The Lion) on September 2^nd, when it will pass into the constellation Virgo (The Maiden) where it will remain until December 6^th, 2012.

September is the best month this year to observe Uranus as it reaches Opposition on September 17^th. Uranus is visible all night, all month and is located in the constellation Pisces (The Fish).

Uranus at Opposition on September 17^th - The above images show the

relative position of the planet Uranus when it is at Opposition on
September 17^th, relative to Jupiter, Neptune and the waning, gibbous
Moon.

On September 5^th, Uranus rises within 5°15’ of the waning, gibbous Moon.

Neptune is observable most of the night in September until the very early morning hours.  At the beginning of the month, Neptune sets around 5:20 am (PDT) and by the end of the month, Neptune sets around 3:25 am (PDT).  Neptune is moving in retrograde motion this month.

	On September 3rd, the waxing, gibbous Moon rises within 4°30’ of Jupiter and Neptune.
On September 30th, the waxing, gibbous Moon rises within 2°20’ of Jupiter and Neptune.

Pluto is observable until the late evening hours of September in the constellation Sagittarius (The Archer).  At the beginning of the month Pluto sets around 1:20am (PDT) and at the end of the month Pluto sets around 11:25 pm (PDT).

Pluto is moving in retrograde motion until September 12th.

The relative position of pluto this month in the constellation Sagittarius.

Tags: Autumnal equinox, First Quarter Moon, Full Corn Moon, Jupiter, Last Quarter Moon, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, New Moon, Pluto, Saturn, Uranus, Uranus Opposition, Venus

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under What's Up this Month. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.