E W

N

S

September 21st to October 18th

General Information

• September/October: • The subtle patterns of Fall begin to fill our main viewing area,

many connected with water, such as Aquarius, Capricornus, Cetus, Pisces and others.

• Saturn (barely 20° high in the west an hour after sunset) is the only naked-eye planet of the evening, with Uranus and Neptune needing at least binoculars to spot. Some of the best planet viewing is in the pre-dawn sky.

• Sunset Range: 7:19 p.m. (September 21st) to 6:39 p.m. (October 18th)

• End of Astronomical Twilight (Full Darkness* – Sun 18° below horizon): 8:46 p.m. (September 21st) to 8:06 p.m. (October 18th)

* Usually dark enough for observing about a half hour before this.

Moon Phases – August/September

• September 21st – First Quarter Moon

• September 27th – Full Moon

• October 4th – Last Quarter Moon (Observing at Cahas on 2nd and 3rd *)

• Note: October 3rd is the VAAS gathering in Charlottesville.

• October 12th – New Moon (Observing at Cahas on 9th and 10th *)

• Note: October 10th is the RVAS picnic and star party at Apple Ridge Farm.

Roughly speaking:

• First Quarter Moon is highest at sunset and sets at midnight• Full Moon rises at sunset and is in the sky all night• Last (or “Third”) Quarter Moon rises at midnight and is highest at

dawn• New Moon sets with the sun and is absent from the sky all night

Celestial EventsSeptember 21st to October 18th

• September 23rd, 4:21 a.m.: Fall or autumnal equinox.

• September 25th, 5:30 a.m.: Challenge Photo Op – Mars 0.78° NNE of Regulus (α Leonis), 10° high in the east, just before morning twilight begins. Venus is about 8° above Mars; Jupiter is near the horizon, below Mars.

• September 27th, 8:12 p.m.: “Supermoon” Total Lunar Eclipse. Moon at perigee; 55.95 Earth-radii distance (closest perigee for 2015).

• September 28th: Brightest of the asteroids, 4 Vesta reaches opposition in Cetus, shining at mag. 5.99.

• October 4th: Challenge Telescopic Observation – Comet 22P Kopff 0.13° N of Saturn (magnitudes 10 and 0.6), 15° high in W at 8:00 p.m.

• October 8th, 5:45 a.m.: Celestial line-up of the waning crescent Moon, Venus (with Regulus about 2.5° to its left), Mars and Jupiter, low in the E, just before morning twilight begins.

August 17th, 9:15 PM

Last month’s meeting date.

30 minutes before full darkness.

September 21st, 8:15 PM

30 minutes before full darkness.

Darkness continuing to fall earlier.

Meridian

Meridian

Saturn

Moon

E

S

W

N

20:12 EDT

01:23 EDT

22:48 EDT

22:11 EDT

21:07 EDT

00:27 EDT

23:23 EDT

Finding Asteroid 4 Vesta

53°Vesta

M31

Pleiades

Mira

October 10th, 10:00 PM EDT

Great Square of Pegasus

Pisces

Cetus

Cassiopeia

3.6

2.0

3.5

VestaMag. 5.99

Vesta

2°

Vesta

7.3

6.9

7.4

2°

Questions???