Moon myths and fables

This year, September’s full moon is the closest to the fall equinox, making it, by tradition, the “Harvest Moon.” When it occurs a bit later, in October, this full moon becomes the “Corn Moon.” Other names used, when September’s full moon is very late in the month, are the “Fruit Moon” and “Barley Moon.”

Among the American Indian names given the full moon of September are the “Nut Moon” (Cherokee), “Mulberry Moon” (Choctaw), and “the Moon when the calves grow hair” (Dakotah Sioux).

Focus on the planets

Mercury will make an appearance in mid-September just above the eastern horizon, where it is located to the lower left of much more prominent Jupiter in the dawn sky.

Venus is essentially lost to view in September, just barely peeking above the western horizon at sunset as the month draws to a close.

Mars has made its historic near approach to Earth but still blazes in the southeast an hour after sunset, where it easily outshines any other object in the sky other than the moon.

Jupiter rises in the east at dawn, where it outshines the bright star Regulus of Leo, located to the gas giant’s upper right. This month is listed as affording an excellent opportunity to study Jupiter’s four major moons by telescope.

Saturn rises in the east around 2 a.m., to the immediate right of the twins Castor and Pollux. The star to Saturn’s lower right that rivals the ringed planet in brightness is Sirius the Dog Star.

Uranus lies near and to the northwest of Mars during September, where both are in Aquarius. Even though Uranus is several orders of magnitude dimmer than Mars, its bluish-green hue should be visible with a good pair of binoculars.

Neptune, situated among the stars of Capricornus, is far to the west of Mars. It will require a finder’s chart and telescope to locate Neptune’s faint blue glow.

Our celestial neighborhood

The constellation of Orion is once again making its way above the pre-dawn eastern horizon, marking the end of another summer. High above Orion is Aries the Ram and in this constellation lies a dim reddish star that has suddenly caught the attention of the astronomical community, writes Roger Sinnott in the September issue of Sky & Telescope.

The reason for the interest is that the star, named Teegarden’s Star after Bonnard Teegarden of the NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, moves 5 arcseconds across the heavens during a six-month period. The more a star appears to move across the heavens, the closer it is to the sun, and preliminary estimates put Teegarden’s Star at less than 8 light years (Ly) distant, making it the fifth-closest star to the sun if the measurements hold up.

The star was found while Teegarden’s research team sifted through more than 67,000 images taken for a Near Earth Asteroid Tracking project. A puzzle has emerged in that the star’s spectral type and brightness place it at more than 12 Ly distant. The discrepancy between the two values has yet to be resolved.

September events

1 Sunrise, 5:57 a.m.; sunset, 7:13 p.m.

2 Look to the left of the moon at nightfall for orange Antares.

3 Moon in first quarter, 8:35 a.m.

8 Mars is to the lower left of the nearly full moon tonight. Far below the pair is the solitary star Fomalhaut.

10 Full moon, 12:35 p.m. Look for the names of September’s full moon under Moon Myths and Fables.

16 The moon is at apogee, or greatest distance from the Earth, today.

17 The sun enters Virgo on the ecliptic. Looking east around 4 a.m. in mid-September will afford a view of Saturn.

18 Moon in last quarter, 3:03 p.m.

23 Fall or autumn equinox, 6:48 a.m. The sun crosses the celestial equator into the southern hemisphere, heralding spring in that part of the world. The sun also enters the astrological sign of Libra even though, astronomically, it is in Virgo.

24 Look to the east at dawn, where the thin crescent moon, Jupiter and Mercury form a triangle, with the moon at the apex and the planets at the base.

26 New moon, 11:08 p.m.

28 Moon at perigee, or closest approach to the Earth, today.

30 Sunrise, 6:31 a.m.; sunset, 6:18 p.m.