(Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
With September just around the corner, head for some interesting views in our Arizona skyline!
Every year I look forward to cooler weather, the end of the monsoon and a return to some of the best weather in the entire nation as the autumn equinox returns September 22 at 6:30 p.m.
For me, there is something magical about Arizona changing from a hot engine, to calmer and clearer skies in September and October.
As your navigator on the highway to heaven, we begin our journey of September in the air with an overview of the moon!
September will begin with an almost full moon.
This is known as the Full Corn Moon and is full for us in Arizona at 10:22 a.m. on Sept.
This majestic moon will rise in the sky at 19:05 and be a great target for your camera or telescope.
Click here for a map of the moon to help you identify many of the most important surface features, from the large ‘mare’ or seas, to many of the largest named craters.
The moon then disappears and continues to its last quarter phase Sept. 10. The thinner moonlight will place the moon in a thin half moon, rising in the early morning sky, until it returns in another “new” phase September 17th.
This is considered to be the best time to view many of the weak air objects that adorn our skies in Arizona, as well as the best of the Milky Way.
The parade of planets continues through September as we have a great view of two of the largest planets in our solar system.
Look low in the southeastern sky in the twilight, because Jupiter and Saturn are easily visible to the naked eye and continue to see large objects in the telescope.
September is also the month to start serious observations of the red planet – Mars!
Mars will rise in the east around 9 a.m. and close rapidly on Earth, ahead of another major opposition in mid-October.
Even with a small telescope, you can see the shrinking southern polar cap and many of the surface features of this mysterious world.
Click here for an overview of the current Mars opposition for 2020 and here for the best current images of Mars.
Mars will be very clear when we move to October, but now is the time to start your observation sessions.
Arizona has a rich history of Mars observations, with the Lowell Observatory and its founder, Perceval Lowell.
Click here for more information about Lowell and what he did to advance research and observation on Mars.
Our last planet of the moon is Neptune!
Neptune is the farthest from the big planet, number 8 in the distance from the sun and one of the most amazing!
Neptune comes into opposition on September 11 when it rises at sunset and will be in the air all night.
The planet is faint and appears blue in color in a medium-sized telescope.
Neptune was discovered in September 1846 and is one of the largest of the ice giants with a diameter of about 30,000 miles in diameter and a mass of 17 times the Earth. It has 14 satellites and there could be many more.
Click here is a finder diagram for this elusive planet.
Click here to print your own monthly star chart.
Click here to view satellites / dates / times of transit.
Listen to the Dr. Sky Show on KTAR News 92.3 FM every Saturday morning at 3 p.m.
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