Monthly Sky Guide

September's Guide To The Sky


8th
September 2024

Spot a crescent Moon as the Sun sets, and Saturn reaches opposition.

Named after the god who holds up the sky, or in modern times, holds the Earth on his shoulders—Atlas Crater is fascinating to observe, as it is filled with fractures, hills, and smaller craters.

Hercules, the great hero who had to complete impossible tasks to redeem a wrongdoing, also has a crater named after him. This crater sits next to Atlas, with two other prominent smaller craters within itself. You should be able to see both these craters in one go.

Posidonius, a Greek politician, astronomer, geographer, and more, has a crater named after him. Like Atlas, it is filled with fractures, craters, and rille systems (valleys or trenches).

Theophilus Crater is different from the previous craters we've discussed, as it has a peak in its middle. Named after a Pope of Alexandria, Theophilus is attached to another crater, Cyrillus. Its imposing central mountain is 1,400 meters high and has four summits.

Saturn also reaches opposition tonight, with the planet being visible from sunset to sunrise. Now is the best time to spot and view the ringed gas giant. Opposition occurs when two astronomical objects are on opposite sides of the celestial sphere, meaning a planet or planetary body is in the exact opposite position in the sky from the Sun, making it appear slightly bigger and brighter for viewing.



9th
September 2024

Mars and Messier marvels.
After midnight, Mars will begin to rise in the early morning. The god of war is slowly chasing the gas giant Jupiter across the sky. With binoculars or a telescope, you should be able to spot the Messier object M35—a lovely open cluster of stars, a small globular cluster, and the planet all in one view. It's well worth staying up, as you'll get a 3-for-1 view.



10th
September 2024

A smiley face on the Moon.
The crater Albategnius has two craters and a peak within it that, when viewed, resembles a smiling face looking back at you. Best seen today before the Moon sets at 9:00pm., it's a fun little object to spot.



11th
September 2024

Eyes on the Moon.
Another cool crater to spot today is Clavius, named after a priest. When observed at the right time, it will appear to have two eyes peeking out from the darkness. Best viewed today at 6:20pm., when sunlight glints off the edges of two inner craters.



13th
September 2024

Shadow and Moon transit on Jupiter.
A shadow of Jupiter's moon Ganymede passes across the planet from around 11:30pm. to 1:50am., with the moon itself passing across the daytime sky from about 5:00am. onwards. There's something to see both at night and during the day, if you can spot Jupiter in the blue sky.



17th
September 2024

A lovely celestial sight.
Saturn and the Moon will create a beautiful sight in the night sky, a nice scene to point out to friends, family, or loved ones.



18th
September 2024

Partial eclipse of the Moon.
Around 3:44am (depending on your location), the Moon will be at the peak of its partial eclipse. Starting around 1:40am, the Moon will begin to slip into Earth's shadow, dimming slightly as it enters the umbra around 3:12am. You'll see a dark "bite" taken out of the Moon, which will continue until it leaves the shadow around 5:47am. Cameras and phones should capture it nicely.



21st
September 2024

A morning shadow transit.
If you missed the last one, don't worry - there's another Ganymede shadow transit around 3:40am. This time, the moon itself will transit later, around 9:00am. The shadow will leave around 5:45am, just as the Great Red Spot comes into view from the opposite side.



21st
September 2024

Neptune reaches opposition.
Neptune will be a tricky find, as a bright Moon will be in the way. It may be best to wait a few days until the Moon moves out of the way. Neptune is located in an area without any notable stars, but you can use four nearby stars to help "star hop" to its location. It will be next to a nice orange star, providing a striking contrast between Neptune's blue hue and the star's color.



22nd
September 2024

The Moon and the Seven Sisters.
As the Moon rises around 9:00pm., you may notice a close group of shimmering blue lights—the Seven Sisters, or Pleiades, a cluster of brand-new baby stars. You'll have the Moon, Jupiter, and Mars to view tonight, giving you a whole host of celestial objects to spot.



24th - 26th
September 2024

Follow the Moon across the sky.
Watch over the next few nights as the Moon moves to the left in the sky, approaching Jupiter and then the red planet Mars, before finally passing it on the 26th. The Moon will then move out of the way, providing dark skies ideal for observing faint galaxies and nebulae.



30th
September 2024

Supernova leftover.
With the Moon out of the way, now's a great time to spot the remnants of a star that exploded. The Crab Nebula was seen about a thousand years ago by Chinese astronomers, when it was bright enough to be visible during the day. Now, we can observe the remnants of this star torn to pieces.



Clear skies guys, and remember... there's a billion worlds in your back garden!

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