Sky Events For September 2015

Moon Phases

Saturday, September 5, 5:54 a.m. EDT

Last Quarter Moon

The Last Quarter Moon rises around 11:30 p.m. and sets around 3 p.m. It is most easily seen just after sunrise in the southern sky.

Sunday, September 13, 2:41 a.m. EDT

New Moon

The Moon is not visible on the date of New Moon because it is too close to the Sun, but can be seen low in the East as a narrow crescent a morning or two before, just before sunrise. It is visible low in the West an evening or two after New Moon.

Monday, September 21, 4:59 a.m. EDT

First Quarter Moon

The First Quarter Moon rises around 1:30 p.m. and sets around midnight. It dominates the evening sky.

Sunday, September 27, 10:51 p.m. EDT

Full Moon

The September Full Moon is known as the Harvest Moon or Full Corn Moon. It rises around sunset and sets around sunrise; this is the only night in the month when the Moon is in the sky all night long. The rest of the month, the Moon spends at least some time in the daytime sky.

Observing Highlights

Neptune at opposition

Tuesday, September 1, midnight

Neptune will be directly opposite the Sun in the sky, and visible all night. It is located in Aquarius but is too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. Use binoculars and a star chart from Starry Night.

Mercury at greatest elongation east

Thursday and Friday, September 3 and 4, dusk

Mercury will be well placed in the evening sky for observers in the southern hemisphere, less so for observers in the north.

Aldebaran and the Moon

Friday/Saturday, September 4/5, near midnight EDT

Observers on the eastern part of North America with low eastern horizons may be able to see the Moon occult the first magnitude star Aldebaran just after moonrise (around midnight, but check for local times). Observers in Europe will see it just before sunrise on the 5th.

Zodiacal light

Friday, September 11–Thursday, September 24, before dawn

The best time in the year to see the dim glow of the zodiacal light in the pre-dawn eastern sky, the light reflected from millions of interplanetary particles. It lies along the ecliptic (shown in green).

Partial solar eclipse

Sunday, September 13

This eclipse will be visible from southern Africa, Antarctica, and the oceans in between. Seen here is the maximum eclipse in Cape Town, South Africa.

Equinox

Wednesday, September 23, 4:21 a.m. EDT

The Sun crosses the celestial equator moving southward, causing the days to grow shorter in the northern hemisphere and longer in the southern hemisphere.

Lunar trio

Sunday, September 27, evening

There will be a triple treat for observers in eastern North America as sun, Earth, and moon align: a total lunar eclipse, the moon at its closest, and a full moon, all in one evening. At 8:12 p.m. EDT, the lunar eclipse will begin with the first faint lunar shadow creeping onto the moon. At 9:48, the moon reaches an extreme perigee, the closest it will get to Earth in all of 2015: 221,753 miles (356,877 km). Total phase of the eclipse will begin at 10:11 p.m. and mid eclipse will be at 10:47. At 10:51 it will be the instant of full moon, the largest full moon in 2015. At 11:23, the total phase of the eclipse will end, and at 1:23 a.m. the last of the moon’s shadow will leave the moon. In western North America, the moon will already be in eclipse when the moon rises. Observers in South America, Europe, and Africa will also see most of this eclipse. The illustration shows the moon just entering the umbral shadow of Earth at 9:12 p.m. EDT.

Vesta at opposition

Monday, September 28, 11 p.m. EDT

The brightest asteroid Vesta will be directly opposite the Sun and visible all night in Cetus. At magnitude 6.2, it will be right at the limit of naked-eye visibility, but easily spotted with binoculars.

Planets

Mercury is well placed in the evening twilight for the first half of the month. This apparition is more favorable for observers in the Southern Hemisphere.

Venus is now a bright object in the pre-dawn sky, reaching maximum brightness of magnitude –4.8 on the 21st.

Mars is low in the eastern twilight, moving eastward through Cancer into Leo.

Jupiter reappears in the eastern pre-dawn sky in the middle of the month..

Saturn is low in the southwest mid-evening sky, and sets in late evening.

Uranus rises in mid-evening in Pisces, nearing opposition on October 12. 

Neptune is in opposition on the 1st, visible all night in the constellation Aquarius.

Sky Events For June 2015

Moon Phases

Full Moon

Tuesday, June 2, 12:19 p.m. EDT

The Full Moon of June is known as the “Mead Moon,” “Strawberry Moon,”  “Rose Moon,” or “Thunder Moon.” It rises around sunset and sets around sunrise; this is the only night in the month when the Moon is in the sky all night long. The rest of the month, the Moon spends at least some time in the daytime sky.

Last Quarter Moon

Tuesday, June 9, 11:42 a.m. EDT

The Last Quarter Moon rises around 1:15 a.m. and sets around 1:15 p.m. It is most easily seen just after sunrise in the southern sky.

New Moon

Tuesday, June 16, 10:05 a.m. EDT

The Moon is not visible on the date of New Moon because it is too close to the Sun, but can be seen low in the East as a narrow crescent a morning or two before, just before sunrise. It is visible low in the West an evening or two after New Moon.

First Quarter Moon

Wednesday, June 24, 5:03 a.m. EDT

The First Quarter Moon rises around 12:30 p.m. and sets around 1:15 a.m. It dominates the evening sky.

Observing Highlights

Double shadow transit on Jupiter

Thursday, June 4, 12:58–2:13 a.m. EDT

The shadows of Io and Ganymede will simultaneously fall on the face of of Jupiter.

Venus at greatest elongation east

Saturday, June 6, evening twilight

Venus reaches its greatest eastward distance from the sun, its orbit shown in white here. It is closing in on Jupiter.

Pallas at opposition

Thursday, June 11, 9 p.m. EDT

Pallas, the second largest asteroid, will be in opposition to the Sun. At magnitude 9.4, it will be located just south of Lambda Hercules, below the “keystone” of Hercules.

Uranus and the Moon

Thursday/Friday, June 11/12

The Moon will be close to Uranus just before sunrise. In southern Australia and the South Pacific Ocean, the Moon will actually occult Uranus, as seen here from Melbourne, Australia.

Mercury and the Moon

Monday, June 15, sunrise

As seen here from Sri Lanka, the Moon will occult the planet Mercury. Other parts of the world will see the thin crescent of Mercury very close to the thin crescent of the moon just before sunrise.

Aldebaran and the Moon

Monday, June 15, sunrise

As seen here from eastern North America, the Moon will occult the bright red giant star Aldebaran.

Solstice

Sunday, June 21, 12:38 p.m. EDT

The sun reaches its most northern point, marking the middle of the astronomical summer season in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The actual seasons tend to lag behind the astronomical seasons by about 6 weeks.

Mercury at greatest elongation west

Wednesday, June 24, dawn

Mercury will be at its farthest from the sun, and close to the red giant star Aldebaran.

Venus and Jupiter within 0.3 degrees

Tuesday, June 30, dusk

Venus and Jupiter will pass really close to each other, appearing within the same telescope field. Both will be 32 arc seconds in diameter, but Jupiter is much further away from both the Earth and the sun, so will be much fainter than Venus.

Planets

 Mercury is well placed in the eastern sky at dawn. It is better placed for observers in the Southern Hemisphere.

Venus shines high in the western sky after sunset, reaching its greatest elongation from the sun on June 6.

Mars is too close to the Sun to be visible. It will be in conjunction with the sun on June 14.

Jupiter is low in the western evening sky all month, closing in on Venus.

Saturn is just past opposition and shining brightly in Libra all night.

Uranus is in the eastern morning sky in Pisces.

Neptune rises after midnight in the constellation Aquarius.

If you'd like to follow along with NASA's New Horizons Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, please download our FREE Pluto Safari app.  It is available for mobile devices. Simulate the July 14, 2015 flyby of Pluto, get regular mission news updates, and learn the history of Pluto.

Simulation Curriculum is the leader in space science curriculum solutions and the makers of Starry Night, SkySafari and Pluto Safari. Follow the mission to Pluto with us on Twitter @SkySafariAstro, Facebook and Instagram. 

Sky Events For May 2015

Moon Phases

Full Moon

Sunday, May 3, 11:42 p.m. EDT

The Full Moon of May is known as the “Milk Moon,” “Flower Moon,”  or “Corn Planting Moon.” It rises around sunset and sets around sunrise; this is the only night in the month when the Moon is in the sky all night long. The rest of the month, the Moon spends at least some time in the daytime sky.

Last Quarter Moon

Monday, May 11, 6:36 a.m. EDT

The Last Quarter Moon rises around 2 a.m. and sets around 1 p.m. It is most easily seen just after sunrise in the southern sky.

New Moon

Sunday, May 18, 12:13 a.m. EDT

The Moon is not visible on the date of New Moon because it is too close to the Sun, but can be seen low in the East as a narrow crescent a morning or two before, just before sunrise. It is visible low in the West an evening or two after New Moon.

First Quarter Moon

Monday, May 25, 1:19 p.m. EDT

The First Quarter Moon rises around 1 p.m. and sets around 2:15 a.m. It dominates the evening sky.

Observing Highlights

Mercury at greatest elongation

Thursday, May 7, evening twilight

This is the best evening apparition of Mercury this year for observers in the northern hemisphere. Use Venus to help you locate it. Mercury is most easily located by sweeping with binoculars, but once you’ve located it, you should be able to see it with your unaided eyes

Uranus and the Moon

Friday, May 15, dawn

The Moon will pass just south of the Uranus just before sunrise.

Double shadow transit on Jupiter

Wednesday, May 20, 8:06–8:35 p.m. EDT

The shadows of Io and Ganymede will be on opposite limbs of Jupiter, while the moons Io and Callisto will be central on the disk.

Saturn at opposition

Friday, May 22, 10 p.m. EDT

Saturn will be in opposition to the Sun.

Note how most of Saturn’s moons are in the same plane as the rings, except for Iapetus, whose orbit is tilted 8.3 degrees. At opposition, Iapetus is close to maximum elongation towards the west, while Tycho is close to maximum elongation towards the east.

Double shadow transit on Jupiter

Wednesday, May 27, 10:01 p.m.–12:18 a.m. EDT

The shadow of Io chases the shadow of Ganymede across the face of Jupiter, catching up with it and passing it at 11:48 p.m. EDT. The Great Red Spot will also cross Jupiter’s disk during this period.

Planets

 Mercury is well placed for northern hemisphere observers in the evening twilight sky for the first three weeks of May.

Venus shines high in the western sky after sunset.

Mars moves from Aries to Taurus on May 3, too close to the Sun to be visible.

Jupiter is well placed in the evening sky all month.

Saturn is just north of Scorpius’ “claws.” At opposition on May 22, it is visible all night.

Uranus rises just before the Sun in Pisces.

Neptune is in the eastern morning sky in the constellation Aquarius.

If you'd like to follow along with NASA's New Horizons Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, please download our FREE Pluto Safari app.  It is available for iOS and Android mobile devices. Simulate the July 14, 2015 flyby of Pluto, get regular mission news updates, and learn the history of Pluto.

Simulation Curriculum is the leader in space science curriculum solutions and the makers of Starry Night, SkySafari and Pluto Safari. Follow the mission to Pluto with us on Twitter @SkySafariAstro, Facebook and Instagram.