SKY_September2014.pdf

SkyandTelescope.com September 2014 49

To see what the sky looks like at any given time and date, go toSkyandTelescope.com/skychart. Fred Schaaf

Jupiter

Neptune

Uranus

Pluto

Saturn

March

equinox

Sept.

equinox

December

solstice

June solstice Mars

Sun Earth

Mercury

Venus

ORBITS OF THE PLANETS

The curved arrows show each planet’s

movement during September. The outer

planets don’t change position enough in a

month to notice at this scale.

LATE NIGHT TO DAWN

Neptune was at opposition on August

29th, and Uranus will be on October 7th.

So both of these pale giants are up most of

the night. See page 50 for fi nder charts.

DAWN

Jupiter engaged in a marvelous close con-

junction with Venus back on August 18th.

But now the enormous planet is coming

up sooner and sooner before Venus and

the Sun. The interval between Jupiter-

rise and sunrise increases from 2½ to 4½

hours this month. Jupiter brightens mar-

ginally from –1.8 to –1.9 in September but

remains near its minimum apparent size.

It moves eastward away from M44 (the

Beehive Cluster), approaching the western

boundary of Leo by month’s end.

Venus rises only an hour before the

Sun as September begins, and a half-

hour before as the month closes. Look for

it down near the east horizon far below

Jupiter. Optical aid should reveal Regulus

less than 1° from Venus on September

5th. Venus is very low in bright twilight at

month’s end and will reach superior con-

junction with the Sun on October 25th.

SUN AND MOON

The Sun reaches the equinox on 10:29

p.m. EDT on September 22nd, starting

autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and

spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Moon is a waning crescent lower

right of Jupiter on the morning of Septem-

ber 20th, and right of Regulus on the 21st.

Dawn, Sept 19 – 22

1 hour before sunrise

Regulus

a

Jupiter

Moon

Sept 19

Moon

Sept 20

Moon

Sept 21

Moon

Sept 22

t Looking East

Sickle

of

LEO

Dusk, Sept 26 –30

1 hour after sunset

Antares

Mars

Saturn

Moon

Sept 26

Moon

Sept 27

Moon

Sept 28

Moon

Sept 29

Moon

Sept 30

Looking Southwest

β Lib

η Oph

α Lib

Cat’s

Eyes

Back in the evening sky, the waxing lunar

crescent shines lower right of Saturn

on September 27th and above Mars and

Antares on the 29th. ✦

These scenes are drawn for near the middle of North America (for latitude 40° north, longitude 90°

west); European observers should move each Moon symbol a quarter of the way toward the one for

the previous date. The blue 10° scale bar is about the width of your fi st at arm’s length. For clarity,

the Moon is shown three times its actual apparent size.

SMP layout.indd 49 6/23/14 12:18 PM