Learn what is happening in September 2009 and what has happened in September in the past. Discover highlights of the night sky and learn what to look for in September 2009.
September Highlight - An Unusual Star
NASA
Astronomy Magazine speaks of "The Sky's Oddest Star," Epsilon Eridanae, also known as Al Maaz (Arabic for he-goat) and visible to the naked eye. Every 27 years this star undergoes a diminishing of brightness (about 60,000 times greater than the Sun) lasting about 2 years. It is thus one of a class called "eclipsing stars". The cause of this regular pattern of luminosity change is still uncertain. The last such event was in 1983; the current eclipse bagan around August 6 and should be visible by this month.
Closer to home, Jupiter continues to dominate while Saturn and Mercury are awash in twilight and hard to spot. Venus and Mars are still morning stars. If you try, Neptune can still be spotted while Uranus reaches opposition on the 17th.
September Skymap
Nick Greene
Check out this map for the month of September, or create your own customized map with our Free Sky Maps tool.
Note: This map is for a median time and location and September have slight differences from your location and viewing time. Planets and moons shown on this map will have the highest probability of appearing in different locations.
Use this handy Sky Map Symbols Key to figure out what you should be looking for.
Events in September
Courtesy of Scaled Composites, LLC
Check out our Astronomical Events Calendar to learn about other happenings in space and on Earth. Here is a sampling of highlights.
- 1 - HTV-Demo Test Flight H-2B Launch (International Space Station, Japan)
- 4 - Saturn's Rings Edge-on From Earth
- 6 - American Astronomical Society's 110th Birthday (1899)
- 9 - William Bond's 220th Birthday (1789)
- 17 - Uranus At Opposition
- 17 - Saturn in Conjunction With the Sun
- 20 - Mercury in Inferior Conjunction
- 21 - Asteroid Juno at Opposition
- 22 - Autumnal Equinox, 21:18 UT
- 29 - 5th Anniversary (2004), SpaceShipOne Launch F-2 (2nd Private Manned Space Flight)
Featured Constellation - Canis Major
Public Domain
This month, the constellation Canis Major can be seen high in the sky. Let's take a closer look at Canis Major.
- The Greater Dog
- Genitive: Can Majoris
- Abbreviations: CMa, C Maj
- Right Ascension, (h): 7
- Declination, (deg): 20S
Featured Biography - Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter, Jr.
Born August 15, 1947, in Macon, GA, Sonny Carter considered Warner Robins, GA to be his hometown. He was selected as an astronaut by NASA in May 1984. Carter was assigned as Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Representative for the Mission Development Branch of the Astronaut Office when selected to the crew of STS-33. He died April 5, 1991, near New Brunswick, Georgia, in the crash of a commercial airplane while on NASA business travel.This Month in History
NASA
Check every day to learn what happened "This Day in History."
- 2: 1988 - Phobos 1 - USSR Mars Orbiter/Lander (launched July 7, 1988) was lost en route to Mars through a command error.
- 7: 1958 - Black Knight missile of the United Kingdom was launched from the Australian range at Woomera to an altitude of over 300 miles.
- 10: 1960 - X-15 flown at more than 2,100 mph and to 80,000 feet.
- 17: 1857 - Konstantin Eduardovitch Tsiolkovsky (Russian Rocketry Pioneer) born in the village of Ijevskoe, Ryasan Province, Russia.
- 26: 1958 - Vanguard (SLV-3) reached 265 miles' altitude and was destroyed 9,200 miles downrange over Central Africa on reentry into the atmosphere.