MILKY WAY GALAXY — (FOX 17) — Here is a look at some of the sights you can see in the nighttime sky this month. This information is provided by Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.
PLANETS: Bright white Venus will be visible low in the west-southwest sky as the sun goes down and visible for the entire month. Meanwhile, Saturn begins September just to the left of Venus, but by the 19th, the two planets will be right next to each other. Jupiter is also visible this month. It rises around 2am early in the month but rises earlier as the month progresses. By the end of the month, Jupiter will be high in the eastern sky as dawn breaks. Therefore, Jupiter will be this month’s “morning star.” Finally, Mars will be visible low in the eastern sky around 4am but much higher prior to sunrise. It’s hard to miss this planet due to its red hue.
FALL STARTS: This year’s Autumnal Equinox is on September 22 at 4:44pm EDT. From this point until March, the length of nighttime will be more than the length of daylight.
MOON PHASES: The new moon is on the 5th, followed by the first quarter on the 12th. The September full moon (“Harvest Moon”) is on the 19th and last quarter is on the 26th.
To find out if skies will be clear for your nighttime viewing, join us on FOX 17 News, or visit the weather page at http://www.fox17online.com/weather
