September 2022 Night Sky Calendar
It’s hard to believe summer is slipping by. We see it in earlier sunsets and seasonal changes in the weather and woods. The sky is no different. Warm-weather constellations like Sagittarius and Aquila still hold sway during the early evening hours, but the fall groups are itching to take over. By 10 o’clock local time, the eastern half of the sky is fully decked out in autumnal garb, with the W of Cassiopeia, Pegasus, Andromeda and Aquarius on the rise.
Even the Big Dipper, the most recognizable part of Ursa Major the Great Bear, is skedaddling, sinking toward the northwestern horizon. From the southern U.S. the bear will soon “hibernate” out of view at the bottom of the northern sky. For those living in the northern part of the country, the bruin never sets. After a light nap under the Pole Star, he climbs back into view standing on his tail.
The Great Square of Pegasus is a great place to begin learning the early fall constellations. Face east around 9 o’clock and look for four equally bright stars enclosing a big empty space about two fists directly above the brilliant planet Jupiter. Although the stars outline a square, Pegasus is tipped on its end early in the evening and looks more like a diamond. Jupiter is by far the most captivating planet this month, dominating the eastern sky after 9:30 p.m. You can hardly take your eye off of the brilliant gas giant! Saturn remains low in the southeastern sky, but its the brightest “star” in that direction and well placed for viewing by 9 o’clock.
Jupiter rising with Pegasus, Bob King
If you’re up late, the red eye of Mars makes its first appearance low in the northeastern sky around 11:30 p.m. Venus is still visible very low in the east at dawn early in the month but will disappear in the solar glare by the first day of fall. This year that falls (pardon the pun) on Thursday, September 22.
*Note: When “a.m.” follows the date, it refers to an event visible in the morning sky after midnight. All times are Central Daylight Time (CDT) unless otherwise noted.
Events:
Sept. 3 – First quarter moon
Sept. 7 – Waxing gibbous moon shines to the right and below Saturn.
Sept. 9 and 10 – Full Harvest Moon. For several nights in a row, the delay between successive moonrises will be just 20 minutes.
Sept. 10-11 – Full moon will shine near Jupiter on both nights
Sept. 16 a.m. – Waning moon will beam just to the left (east) of bright Mars
Sept. 17 – Last quarter moon
Sept. 20 a.m. – Thin crescent moon lines up directly below Gemini’s two brightest stars, Pollux and Castor.
Sept. 22 – Fall begins at 8:03 p.m. when the sun crosses the celestial equator moving south. Day and night are both 12 hours long no matter where you are on the planet.
Zodiacal light, Bob King
Sept. 23 to Oct. 6 –Look for the zodiacal light towering in the eastern sky starting about an hour before dawn for the next two weeks. Only visible from dark skies, it looks like a big, cone-shaped glow tapering upward from the horizon. You’re seeing comet dust − and possibly also dust from Martian dust storms − backlit by the sun.
Sept. 24 a.m. – Very thin lunar crescent stands about 9° above Venus this morning a half-hour before sunrise
Sept. 25 – New Moon
Sept. 26 – Jupiter will be at opposition, when it’s brightest and closest to the Earth for the year. The two planets won’t get closer until October 21-29. Face east around 8:30-9 o’clock – you can’t miss it!
Sept. 30 – Thin crescent moon passes 1.6° above red Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius, low in the southwestern sky at dusk
Bob King is an amateur astronomer, author, and passionate educator. He served as a photographer and photo editor at the Duluth News Tribune for 39 years and taught at the UMD planetarium. Bob’s work had a great impact on Voyageurs National Park. To achieve International Dark Sky Park certification, the park was required to host dark sky education events. Through the Night Sky Explorer webinars, the Conservancy was able to fulfill this component and help secure the certification for Voyageurs National Park. We can’t thank Bob King enough for sharing his talents and knowledge with the Conservancy community to support dark sky preservation.