September 1, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waning
gibbous today.
September 2, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waning
gibbous today.
September 3, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waning
gibbous today.
That bright red star that you see
one third of the way up in the west at
9:30 PM is Arcturus, a Red Giant in the
constellation of Boötes.
September 4, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waning
gibbous today.
If you are fortunate enough to
have a dark enough sky, look for the
‘Teapot’ asterism of the constellation
of Sagittarius tonight. The Milky Way
looks like steam rising from the
teapot. Click on the image to the left.
Of course, the lines won’t be in the sky!
September 5, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waning
gibbous today.
After dark, look almost all the way
up in the southwest to find the
trapezoid of stars that form the
constellation of Hercules. On the right
edge of this trapezoid, you may see a
fuzzy star which is actually the globular
cluster M13.
September 6, 2023
The Moon is at third quarter phase
at 22:21 U.T. today.
September 7, 2023
Welcome to Planetary Astronomy
for the Fall Semester of 2023.
The phase of the Moon is waning
crescent today.
This is the birthday of the late
James Van Allen, who discovered the
zones of radiation surrounding the
Earth.
September 8, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waning
crescent today
The bright red star you see about
one third of the way up in the west at
sunset is called Arcturus, the brightest
star of the constellation Boötes. It's a
relatively nearby Red Giant star.
September 9, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waning
crescent today.
Forty-seven years ago today, the
Viking 2 spacecraft was launched on a
mission to Mars with the goal to land
on the surface of the Red Planet in a
region called Utopia Planitia.
September 10, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waning
crescent today.
September 11, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waning
crescent today.
Look very low in the south after
sunset to see the red giant star called
Antares.
September 12, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waning
crescent today.
For Northern Hemisphere
observers, the bright star Vega is
essentially overhead as darkness falls.
For as long as I can remember, Vega
overhead at sunset has signaled the
beginning of a new school year.
September 13, 2021
The Moon is at first quarter
phase at 20:39 U.T. today.
Look for the Great Square of
Pegusus in the east tonight at about
10 PM. However, if you do not have a
dark sky, you will just be able to see
the four stars of the square.
Click on the image to the left for
a preview.
September 14, 2022
The Moon is a waning gibbous
today.
September 15, 2022
The phase of the Moon is waning
gibbous today.
Have you seen the ‘W’ shape of
the constellation Cassiopeia in the
northeast after sunset? Click on the
image to the left for help finding this
shape.
September 16, 2022
The phase of the Moon is waning
gibbous today.
That bright star right overhead for
northern observers is Vega, one of three
stars in the Summer Triangle. Vega is
only 25 light years away. Altair below is
closer still at 16 L.Y. But Deneb, to the
left, is over 100 times farther away than
the other two at 3200 Light years.
September 17, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waxing
crescent today.
In the east after sunset, You’ll see
the constellation of Andromeda , home
to the famous M31 spiral galaxy, the
closest spiral galaxy to our own Milky
Way.
September 18, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waxing
crescent today.
Vega is nearly overhead for most
Americans at sunset; a blue-white star
which is about 27 light years away
from Earth. It is the fifth brightest star
in the sky and should be visible even
for observers at the center of the
brightest city.
September 19, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waxing
crescent today.
September 20, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waxing
crescent today.
September 21, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waxing
crescent today.
September 22, 2023
The Moon reaches first quarter
phase at 19:32 U.T. today.
September 23, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waxing
gibbous today.
This is the date of the autumnal
equinox for 2023, the first day of
autumn in the northern hemisphere. At
6:50 U.T. the Sun crosses the celestial
equator. There will be nearly the same
number of hours of daylight and
darkness. See the link above for the
technical explanation.
September 24, 2022
The phase of the Moon is waxing
gibbous today.
September 25, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waxing
gibbous today.
September 26, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waxing
gibbous today.
September 27, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waxing
gibbous today.
September 28, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waxing
gibbous today.
September 29, 2023
The Moon is Full at 9:57 U.T. today.
This is the Harvest Moon for 2023.
The Harvest Moon is traditionally the
Full Moon closest to the date of the
autumnal equinox. The autumn
equinox was a week ago.
September 30, 2023
The phase of the Moon is waning
gibbous today.