Skywatch September 2004

This month Saturn, Venus and Mercury will appear as morning stars. Venus & Saturn's movement can be tracked against the fixed star Pollux of Gemini. Mercury makes conjunction with Regulus of Leo. Mars & Jupiter both conjunct the Sun this month and will not be visible. Uranus is shining brightly enough to be detected by the naked eye in the darker country skies. The asteroid Vesta is visible to the naked eye in dark areas as well this month. The Sun ingresses into tropical Libra and we experience equal day and night with the equinox.

Northern Hemisphere Observations
Observers in the northern hemisphere will find Venus & Saturn rising together on morning of September 1st around 3:30 a.m. in the constellation Gemini. Notice Gemini's sideways orientation as it rises above the eastern horizon. The planets are below the twins' heads. Pollux is the lower star, Castor the higher.

Due to the sunrise moving further east along the ecliptic, Saturn, who stays in relatively the same noticeable position, will rise earlier and earlier as the month progresses. By mid month Saturn will wise around 2:30 a.m. By month's end Saturn will rise around 1:45 a.m.

Venus is moving noticeably east and will pull away from Saturn in her obvious eastern trek through the zodiac. By mid month Venus will rise around 3:45 among the stars of the constellation Cancer. By month's end she will rise around 4:00 a.m. in the constellation Leo and be positioned above the alpha star Regulus.

Mercury rises around 6:00 a.m. on September 1st just above Regulus of Leo. Mercury stations direct on the 2nd at 9:09 a.m. EDT. We can observe his return to eastward motion by using the fixed star Regulus as our guide. We can also observe Mercury climb out of the sunrise as he heads to his greatest western elongation. Mercury is moving east, but due to his station, the Sun's quicker apparent motion pulls the sunrise away from Mercury. This is what enables him to climb out of the sunrise. He reaches his maximum 18 degree distance from the Sun at 10:00 a.m. EDT on the 9th. Mercury will rise around 5:45 a.m. this morning barely above Regulus. Mercury conjuncts this fixed star on the morning of the 10th. On the morning of the 11th Mercury will rise after Regulus and hang below as he continues east through the constellation Leo, picking up speed. The morning of the 22nd will show Mercury rising with the hind leg of Leo to the right of Denebola, the Lion's tail, around 6:30 a.m. He will then begin disappear from our morning skies as he gains considerable speed and travels quickly east into the glow of dawn.

The mornings from the 9th to the 12th are the most interesting to watch this month as the Moon joins these planets. On the morning of the 9th, the Moon hangs above Saturn in the constellation Gemini and lies to the right of Castor, the higher twins head. A sky map of the eastern sky on this morning at 6:00 a.m. depicting the Moon, Saturn, Venus and Mercury with Regulus is located in Downloads. On the morning of the 10th, the Moon will lie between and to the left of Saturn and Venus. The mornings of the 11th and 12th will show the Moon between Venus & Mercury. On the morning of the 13th, a very slender Balsamic Moon will hang below Mercury in the pre-dawn sky.

Southern Hemisphere Observations
Observers in the southern hemisphere will find Venus & Saturn rising together on morning of September 1st around 5:45 a.m. in the constellation Gemini. Notice Gemini's upside-down orientation as it rises above the eastern horizon. The planets are above the twins' heads and will rise before Pollux (left) and Castor (right). The fixed stars clear the northeastern horizon by 6:30 a.m.

While Saturn only moves only 2.5 degrees east this month, the Sun is moving nearly 29 degrees. This will cause Saturn to rise earlier as the month progresses because the sunrise is moving more quickly east along the zodiac band of the Ecliptic. By mid-month Saturn rises around 4:45 a.m. He rises around 4:00 a.m. by month's end.

Venus moves 28 degrees this month and will therefore rise roughly around the same time throughout the month since she is moving east nearly as quickly as the sunrise. By month's end she will rise around 5:30 a.m., gaining only 15 minute of visibility throughout the month in the pre-dawn skies. Notice how Venus begins the month in Gemini and ends the month in Leo above the alpha star Regulus.

On the 2nd Mercury stations direct and rises around 7:10 a.m. On the morning of the 10th, Mercury rises just above Regulus around 7:00 a.m. On the 11th, Mercury rises just after Regulus. Due to the slanted position Leo along the eastern horizon, daylight comes quickly and it will be difficult for observers in the southern hemisphere to gain all but a fleeting glimpse of Mercury. Even on the morning of the 18th when Mercury reaches greatest western elongation, Mercury will not be visible long because he rises just before 7:00 a.m. With the Sun rising before 7:30 a.m., dawn is going to blot out most of Mercury's view.

The morning of the 9th will display the Moon beginning to dance with the planets in the pre-dawn sky. A sky map of this morning at 7:00 a.m. is located in Downloads. By the morning of the 10th the Moon will lie to the left of Saturn & Venus. The Moon will hang below Venus on the morning of the 11th. On the morning of the 12th the Moon will rise to the left of Regulus & Mercury but all three may be lost to the glow of dawn.

Sun Ingress into Libra
The Sun ingresses into Libra on the 22nd at 12:30 p.m. EDT. The northern hemisphere will experience the beginning of fall, while the southern hemisphere will experience the beginning of spring. Both hemispheres will have equal day and night as the Sun joins the hinge points of two great circles: the Ecliptic and the Celestial Equator marked by the tropical degree 00Libra. The Sun then begins it's descent into the southern hemisphere as it heads along the Ecliptic toward the Tropic of Capricorn. Actually it is of course the tilt of the Earth causing the stationary Sun to appear to make this descent. The Earth is relatively straight on her axis in comparison to the Ecliptic when we experience our equinoxes. Our planet then begins to tip her southern tip toward the Ecliptic which causes the Sun to appear to move south.

Moon Data
The Third Quarter Moon occurs on the 6th at 11:10 a.m. EDT. The Moon reaches apogee on the 7th at 10:41 p.m. EDT. This is her furthest distance from Earth of 251,322 miles. The Moon conjuncts the Sun on the 14th at 10:20 a.m. EDT resulting in a New Moon. The First Quarter Moon occurs at 11:54 a.m. EDT on the 21st when the Moon perfects waxing square to the Sun. The Moon reaches perigee on the 22nd at 4:58 p.m. EDT. Her closest distance to Earth this month is 229,652 miles. The Full Moon occurs on the 28th when she opposes the Sun at 9:09 a.m. EDT.

Locating Uranus & Vesta
If you live under dark enough skies or have a pair of binoculars and would like to locate Uranus and Vesta in the night sky, the Moon can be your guide along with the sky maps in is located in Downloads for each hemisphere. Uranus is shining at a magnitude of 5.73 and Vesta at a magnitude of 5.74. So Uranus is almost as bright as Vesta. Remember the higher the number the dimmer the magnitude. The near by star Fomalhaut of Pisces Austrinus is much brighter, shining at a magnitude of 1.15.

Observers in the Northern Hemisphere will find a sky map for 10:00 p.m. on the 25th. Facing southeast, you will find Uranus above and to the left of the Moon. If you have a telescope where you can set the Right Ascension & Declination you can find Uranus at RA 22h 23.610m & Decl -10* 53.815 at 10:00 p.m. EDT on the 25th. This evening Vesta is below and quite a distance left when considering binocular fields. The evening of the 26th is the better night to locate Vesta who will then lie directly below the moon. Vesta's position on the 26th at 10:00 p.m. EDT is RA 23h 33.733m & Decl -15* 14.818'. By the evening of the 27th the Moon moves about as far left of Vesta and is was right on the 25th. As you watch the movement of the moon, it goes from right to left between Uranus & Vesta over those three nights.

Observers in the Southern Hemisphere will find a sky map for 9:00 p.m. on the 26th. Facing east, you will find Uranus above and to the left of the Moon and Vesta a considerable distance below when considering binocular fields. By the evening of the 27th the Moon will have passed up Vesta. Vesta will be above and to the right of the Moon. If you have a telescope where you can set the Right Ascension & Declination you can find then at the following positions at 9:00 p.m. South Australia Time on the 26th:
Uranus: RA 22h 23.568m & Decl -10* 54.038'
Vesta: RA 23h 34.301m & Decl -15* 11.736'


Happy Stargazing!


Julene M. Johnson, NCGR-III
Media Director, OCA
Instructor, OCA
ONLINE College of Astrology
www.astrocollege.com
FIRST in Online Astrological Education