This is an old revision of the document!


Sky Highlights and NEKAAL Events for SEPTEMBER 2015

  • September 5 – Last Quarter (moon absent from evening sky)
  • September 12 – OPEN HOUSE at Farpoint Observatory, JOIN US beginning 8:30 pm
  • September 13 – New Moon
  • September 21 – First Quarter
  • September 19 – NEKAAL PICNIC, Farpoint Observatory, 6:00 pm
  • September 27 – Full Moon & TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE (see SKY EXTRAS, below)

PLANETS in September 2015

Evening Sky:

  • Mercury – in west, low, only early in the month
  • Saturn – in southwest
  • Neptune – in southeast

Midnight:

  • Uranus – in southeast
  • Neptune – in south

Morning Sky:

  • Venus – in east
  • Mars – in east
  • Uranus – in southwest

CONSTELLATIONS well placed in evening during September 2015

North to South, at 9-11 pm:

  • Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, also the Little Dipper
  • Draco, the Dragon
  • Cepheus, the King of Ethiopia
  • Lyra, the Lyre
  • Cygnus, the Swan
  • Delphinus, the Dolphin
  • Aquila, the Eagle
  • Ophiuchus, the Serpent Handler
  • Capricorn, the Sea-Goat

SKY EXTRAS in September 2015

  • This month's big news it the TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE just after sunset, Sunday, September 27. The Kansas times are:
    • lunar eclipse begins 7:12 pm
    • sunset, 7:16 pm
    • Totality: 9:11 pm to 10:23 pm
    • eclipse ends 12:22 am.
  • Saturn season is coming to a close. You can still see Saturn low in the evening twilight, but only early in the month.
  • The Summer Triangle continues nearly straight overhead (near the zenith) in the evenings.
  • No comets visible in binoculars from Kansas this month. Best telescope bet this month is comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2), high in the sky, Bootes, just after dusk. You'll need a 6-8“ telescope. There's also the new, slightly fainter comet Jacques (C/2015 F4), high in Lyra. If you want to try for comet 67P, the very one now visited by the Rosetta spacecraft, you'll need to look high in the eastern sky, in Gemini, and you'll need a very large telescope–this comet is fading so this is your last chance for a while.
  • No significant meteor showers this month. (Orionids in October)