~ St. Maarten’s Backyard Astronomy for September 5 - 7 ~
Sun rises at 5:58am
Sun sets at 6:21pm
Lunar phase: Full Moon, virtually absent
Moon sets at 4:44am, Saturday
Moon rises at 5:47pm, Saturday
This week, we watched the waxing gibbous moon travel through Sagittarius the Centaur archer. Sagittarius is often recognized by the “teapot shape” of the stars in the Centaur’s body. By this weekend, we see the moon rise in the east while the sun sets in the west – the mark of a near full moon. By Saturday night, the almost full moon will sit within the stars of Aquarius.
September’s full moon this year is the Corn Moon – officially Sunday night. The Corn Moon is named to honour the harvesting of maize (corn) by the native peoples of North America, traditionally done near the end of summer.
Look for the bright planet Saturn sitting close to the full moon. Mars hangs low in the western sky after sunset, a position designated as our “evening star”. Jupiter and Venus are currently holding court as “morning stars” – look to the east prior to the sunrise to see these beauties!
If you happen to be out around midnight on Saturday night, and if the skies are clear, look overhead to find Pegasus constellation, the winged horse of mythology. This constellation appears to us like a large square. You can use the moon and Saturn to help you find Pegasus – gaze up above the planet Saturn, and the sides of this “square” are almost as long as the distance between Saturn and the moon.
By the way, if you hear talk of a total lunar eclipse this weekend, it’s true; however, it’s not visible from our port of the planet. Asia, Africa, and Australia will have a chance to view this celestial event which is promising to be a red moon, sometimes called a blood moon.
Stay tuned to this space in your Weekender pages for the exciting weeks to come, as we enter the annual Meteor season. Late September to December offers several meteor showers sure to make you stand amazed at the magnificence of the night sky and all that nature has to show us.
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles, backyard (or beach) astronomy designed for St. Maarten sky viewing. FYI: If you are out later on in the week, note that each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later. Night Sky is researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett. Earthsky.org is a key resource for information and images. Questions or comments? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
