Content provided in partnership with
2003 Ad
Natural History, Sept, 2003 by Joe Rao
Often elusive, fleet Mercury appears low in the eastern sky at dawn beginning around September 20. Rising about ninety minutes before sunup, it reaches its greatest elongation, or angular separation from the Sun (18 degrees west of our star), on the morning of the 27th. By early October the innermost planet returns to the obscurity of the Sun's glow. On the morning of the 24th, look low toward the east for a broad triangle outlined by Mercury, Jupiter, and the Moon; Mercury is below and to the right of the Moon.
By month's end Venus graces the evening, appearing just above the western horizon. Use binoculars to look for it between fifteen and twenty minutes after sunset.
- Most Popular Articles in Reference
- The importance of understanding organizational culture
- Credit card attitudes and behaviors of college students
- What factors attract foreign direct investment?
- Libraries Need Relationship Marketing - mutual interest marketing concept, ...
- How to set performance goals: employee reviews are more than annual critiques
- More »
Mars, just past its opposition of August 28, dominates the night sky. The orange-tinged planet is departing Earth's vicinity as rapidly as it arrived last month. As the distance between our home and Mars increases from 35 to 42 million miles this month, the planet fades from magnitude -2.9 to -2.1. Yet at the same time, viewing Mars becomes more convenient. The planet culminates at 12:55 A.M. local daylight time on the 1st, and at around 10:30 P.M. on the 30th. At those times the planet is about 33 degrees above the horizon (as seen from midnorthern latitudes), where its apparition is sharpest. Mars seems to follow the nearly full Moon across the sky during the night of September 8-9.
Jupiter emerges from the Sun's glare during the second week of September. At magnitude -1.7, the planet shines low in the east about an hour before sunup at midmonth. By the end of the month it's already up by 4:30 A.M. local daylight time. On the morning of the 24th, Jupiter rises above and to the right of a slender crescent Moon, and about 7.5 degrees above Mercury.
Saturn rises progressively earlier this month, appearing after 1:30 A.M. local daylight time on the 1st and coming up before midnight by the 27th. It shines in the constellation Gemini. The rings of the yellowish zero-magnitude planet tip about 25 degrees toward Earth.
The Moon waxes to first quarter on September 3 at 8:34 A.M. and to full on the 10th at 12:36 P.M. Because this full moon is the one nearest to the autumnal equinox, it is designated the harvest moon. The Moon wanes to last quarter on September 18 at 3:03 P.M., and it becomes new on the 25th at 11:09 P.M.
The autumnal equinox occurs at 6:47 A.M. on September 23.
Unless otherwise noted all times are given in Eastern Daylight Time.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Natural History Magazine, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
Find Research Guides for:
Find Featured Titles for: Technology
Most Popular Articles in Reference
- The importance of understanding organizational culture
- Credit card attitudes and behaviors of college students
- What factors attract foreign direct investment?
- Libraries Need Relationship Marketing - mutual interest marketing concept, ...
- How to set performance goals: employee reviews are more than annual critiques
- More »