September 2022 MAC Newsletter

What's Up in the September Sky - Dan Malone

Sept 03 Sa First Quarter

Sept 10 Sa Full Moon

Sept 16 Fr Neptune Opposition

Sept 17 Sa Last Quarter

Sept 22 Th Autumnal Equinox

Sept 23 Fr Mercury Inferior Conjunction

Sept 25 Su New Moon

Sept 26 Mo Jupiter Opposition

Full Harvest Moon occurs on Saturday, September 10th.

Sun sets on September 1st @ 8:17pm. By September 30th it sets almost 90 minutes earlier @ 7:29pm.

The planets Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune are well up in the evening sky by mid-month.

Mars rises before midnight on it's way to it's closest approach for this year, 50,592,000 miles (.544 au) on November 30, with Opposition on December 7th.

September ushers in Autumn as well as our winter constellations - rising before Sun up. Orion, Gemini, Canis Major/Minor are well up around the middle of the month. Fall in the Northern hemisphere arrives the 22nd.

September Sky Charts:
Mid September looking South at 10pm EDT. Image created with SkySafari 6 for Mac OS X, �2010-2018 Simulation Curriculum Corp., skysafariastronomy.com.
Mid September looking North at 10pm EDT. Image created with SkySafari 6 for Mac OS X, �2010-2018 Simulation Curriculum Corp., skysafariastronomy.com.
This month's video:

Anton Petrov thoughfully debunks the social media claim that the JWST data disproves the Big Bang Theory:

Did James Webb Prove Big Bang Theory?

Factoid:
Website of the Month:

Even though Mercury is closer to the Sun, Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar System due to its extremely thick carbon dioxide atmosphere, which traps heat. With surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead, Venus is a difficult place to explore.

Excerpted from the Planetary Society's August 19th Downlink

The Sun has been very active lately with huge prominences, large sunspot groups, and solar flares. Follow all the action at the Solar Dynamics Observatory's (SDO) website:

Solar Dynamics Observatory

Announcements:

The Minnetrista Center will be closed for Labor Day so we will be having our September meeting this Saturday, 8/27, at Summit Lake State Park near New Castle where we'll have a pitch-in starting at 4pm, solar observing, and public outreach. See Dan's emails for all the details. Remember, tell them at the gate that you're with the Muncie Astronomy Club for the Naturalist program and you won't need to pay to enter the park.



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