Last Minute Astronomer
Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare
Last Minute Astronomer
September 2024
Full text available at the Cosmos Safari Blog
What is gracing the September 2024 skies? A juuuuust barely partial lunar eclipse, the best viewing for Saturn, 5 lunar close encounters, and the transition to fall.
Hi everybody, I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.
We’ll start by talking about September’s big events, then highlight the naked eye planets, and finish up with the lunar phases, so you can plan ahead better than me.
BIG EVENTS
7th – 8th – Opposition of Saturn
17th - Just Barely Partial Lunar Eclipse
- 8:41pm - Penumbral Eclipse Starts
- 10:12pm - Partiality Starts
- 10:44pm - Maximum Eclipse (8%)
- 11:15pm - Partiality Ends
- 12:47pm - Penumbral Eclipse Ends
Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset - Venus
Middle of the night - Saturn
Morning - Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Mercury
LUNAR CYCLE
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
New Moon – 3rd (darkest skies)
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – 11th (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
Full Moon – 17th (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
Last Quarter Moon – 24th (Visible midnight into the morning)
LUNAR CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
The Moon will be traveling across the sky as normal, passing by some planets at particular times.
1st - VERY thin Waning Crescent Moon 4˚ left of Mercury, after 5:15am, low in East
5th - VERY thin Waxing Crescent just 6˚ left of Venus, after sunset & before 8:45pm, low in West
16th - Full Moon 5˚ to the right of Saturn, after 6:30pm, SE, moves West throughout the night
17th - Full Moon 10˚ to the left of Saturn, after 7:00pm, SE, moves West throughout the night
22nd - First encounter with the lineup of Mars, Jupiter, Taurus, & Pleiades. Waning Gibbous right next to the Pleiades, after 9pm, and crosses through the Pleiades before dawn
23rd - Waning Gibbous Moon between the Pleiades and Jupiter, with Taurus just below, after 10pm until dawn
24th - Last Quarter Moon 7˚ left of Jupiter, and 16˚ above Mars, after 10:30pm until dawn
25th - Waning Crescent Moon 5˚ above Mars, after 11:30pm until dawn, ENE
26th - Waning Crescent Moon 10˚ below and to the left of Mars, after 12:30am until dawn, ENE
And that’s the sky for this month. If you find this advance notice of the night sky helpful, please support this work by finding Last Minute Astronomer on Patreon, and don’t forget to follow Last Minute Astronomer on Facebook and Instagram. Till next month, I’m the Last Minute Astronomer wishing you fruitful plans and clear skies.
Music was produced by Deep Sky Dude and used with permission.
And that’s the sky for this month! If you find this advance notice of the night sky helpful, please support this work by finding Last Minute Astronomer on Patreon, and don’t forget to follow Last Minute Astronomer on Facebook and Instagram. Till next month, I’m the Last Minute Astronomer wishing you fruitful plans and clear skies. Music was produced by Deep Sky Dude and used with permission.
