Venus and Mars have left Saturn behind in the night sky (check out my earlier blog on the position of the planets). You can spot the star Spica in between Mars and Venus during this time of year. (Spica is similar to Mars in brightness and closer to Venus than to Mars). 

Cloud structure in The Venusian atmosphere, revealed by ultraviolet observations

September is the last full month to observe Venus at dusk. That’s because Venus has by now come around to Earth’s side of the sun on its faster, inner orbit.  Thus, Venus now begins to overtake the Earth, passing between the Earth and sun on October 29.  We’ll therefore see Venus shift farther to the left of Mars and then drop down below it.  In October, Venus exits the evening sky quite quickly as it shifts back towards the sun.  September and October 2010 is an excellent period for observing Venus’ crescent phase in telescopes.  Anytime Venus is on our side of the sun, more of its night side faces us, resulting in a crescent like appearance when magnified.

Saturn is far to the lower right of Venus and Mars as you face west at dusk.  You’ll need a horizon clear of tall buildings and trees to see it before it sets.  You’ll also need to look early in the month, as Saturn is practically behind the sun by month’s end.  

Jupiter dominates this month’s skies.  On Tuesday morning, September 21, Earth aligns with the sun and Jupiter, bringing Jupiter to opposition (because the sun and Jupiter are then on opposite sides of the Earth).  On the night of September 20-21 we see Jupiter rise at sundown and set at sunup—Jupiter is up literally all night long.  During the whole month, though, Jupiter is visible virtually the whole night.  It outshines all stars in the sky, so it’s easy to find.  Face east in late evening or south southwest at dawn to see it.  The planet Uranus is less than one degree above Jupiter this month; the two planets are closest on September 18.

The Big Dipper is setting in the northwest at dusk; you now need a horizon clear of trees and tall buildings to get a good look at it. You can extend the curve of its handle to ‘arc to Arcturus’, which is in the west at dusk tonight.  Arcturus, by the way, is the fourth brightest star we ever see at night, but the brightest one Americans ever see on a September evening.

As the Dipper gets lower, look for five stars in the shape of an ‘M’ directly across the North Star from the Big Dipper’s handle.  This is Cassiopeia, the Queen—the ‘M’ is the outline of her throne.  Her stars are about as bright as the North Star and the stars of the Big Dipper, so she’s not too hard to find. 

photo credit: livepine

High overhead, look for the enormous Summer Triangle, consisting of the stars Deneb, Vega, and Altair.   This triangle was up all night long from June to early August, hence its name.  Scorpius, the Scorpion, is in the southwest at dusk.  Sagittarius, the Archer, known for its ‘teapot’ asterism, is to its left.  Between these two star patterns is the center of our Milky Way—the brightest part of that band as wee see it.  On a cloudless night far from the big city, see if you notice the Milky Way glow near the ‘teapot’ of Sagittarius. 

Look for the Great Square of Pegasus rising in the east.  The vast stretch of sky under Pegasus is largely devoid of bright stars—ancients called this the ‘Celestial Sea”. 

Moon Phases in September 2010:

Last Quarter                  September 1, 12:22 am, September 30, 10:52 pm

New Moon                       September 8, 5:29 am

1st Quarter                     September 15, 12:49 am 

Full Moon                        September 23, 4:18 am

At 10:13 pm on Wednesday, September 22, the sun is directly overhead at the equator.  As a result, everyone on earth has the same amount of daylight and the same amount of night.  That’s why it is called the equinox (‘equal night’ in Latin).  In the Northern Hemisphere, we’ve seen the days get a little shorter and the midday Sun a little lower each day since June 21.  For us, the season changes from summer to fall at the equinox.  In the Southern Hemisphere, people have seen the days lengthen and the midday Sun get a little higher each day since June.  For them, the season changes from winter to spring.