Representative Image
(NASA)The last month of southwest monsoon is here and most parts of the country are likely to continue witnessing cloudy skies. Those fortunate to have a clear horizon can catch the dazzling spectacle of several stars and planets shining brightly in the night sky. We just need to move out of our steady states and find the right spot to get a glimpse of the vibrant sky.
What's more, individuals can catch a stunning view of the Milky Way galaxy on darker nights, if the sky is clear. For the best view, watch around 8.30 pm in the first fortnight in the southwest sky and you will see the star-studded belt of our galaxy.
Here is the list of some of the best sky events for the month of September 2021.
September 5, 2021
Venus will be very near to the bright star of Spica.
September 6, 2021
Mercury will be at Aphelion—the farthest distance of the planet from the Sun. It will be moving towards maximum elongation by mid-September.
September 7-13, 2021
September 7 is the new moon and this will mark the end of month Shravan for western parts of the country. Four days later, on September 11, Moon will be at the perigee position which is the closest approach to Earth. On September 13, the Moon will attend the first quarter.
September 14, 2021
Planet Mercury will attend the position of greatest eastern elongation. This means tonight, it will be the farthest position from the Sun as seen from Earth. As a consequence, it would set maximum later than the Sun and can be seen till late evening post-sunset. If it is not raining, then we can see bright Venus near the western horizon and tiny, bright Mercury, shining just below it. Further down, Mars will appear just touching the horizon. Tonight Mercury will set at 7.53 pm.
Monthly sky chart.
(Dr Abhay Deshpande/Stellarium)September 20, 2021
The red planet Mars will be at apogee tonight. This means it is at the farthest distance from Earth tonight like a not-so-bright, but a shining dim red spot at 2.64 astronomical unit distance from us.
1 astronomical unit (au) is the average distance between Sun and Earth and is around 150 million km. Hence, tonight Mars will be a distance of 2.6 times 150 million km!
September 21, 2021
This is the night of the Full Moon. The Ganesh festival has ended with the Chaturdashi and we start inching towards the October heat. The autumn is around and we will witness the equinox in a couple of days.
September 23, 2021
This is a day of the autumnal equinox. The Sun will be over the equator at noon and the length of day and night is noted to be the same all around the world. The Sun is halfway through the ‘dakshinayan’ or the southern movement.
The word ‘equinox’ is derived from the Greek word ‘aequus’ meaning equal and ‘nox’ is night. If you happen to see the Sunrise or the Sunset, then the Sun would be at the exact East or exact West position on the horizon. The Sun will be in Virgo on this day.
September 26, 2021
The Moon will be at apogee or the farthest distance from the Earth tonight. It would be 404,640 km away from us. On September 29, the Moon will be attending the last quarter.
Planet Watch
Mars at lower right just above the horizon when Sun is setting. Mercury at the centre and Venus top left.
(Dr Abhay Deshpande)Mercury: Evening planet of this month. It will be close to the horizon at the beginning of the month and will keep climbing up the setting sky each day. It will attend the maximum height above the horizon on September 14 and will be seen maximum time in the sky after the sunset. We can see it till 8 pm tonight. Thereafter, it will start going closer to the horizon day-by-day to disappear in the glow of the Sun by month-end. It will be between Sun and Earth in October.
Venus: Venus is visible in the evening sky just after sunset throughout the month.
Mars: Mars is in the evening sky post-sunset very near the Sun. It is approaching Sun and will not be seen throughout time.
Jupiter and Saturn: Both the giants are easily seen in the morning sky after Sunset. Jupiter attended opposition on August 20 while Saturn on August 2. At the time of opposition, the planet is close to Earth and would appear all night in the sky. Hence, both these planets are easy to catch all night in the sky.
This article was produced in collaboration with Khagol Mandal, a non-profit collective of astronomy enthusiasts who organise various sky observation programmes, lectures and study tours. Dr Abhay Deshpande is a Senior Scientist (Physicist) working for SAMEER, R&D Lab of MeitY, Government of India. He is also the Honorary Secretary of Khagol Mandal.
This article is a guest column reflecting the author’s opinions and do not necessarily represent the official views of The Weather Channel.
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September 03, 2021 at 07:04PM
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Watch the Sky—September 2021: Catch Dazzling Spectacle of Stars and Planets This Month | The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com - The Weather Channel
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