The first Tuesday of the month is marked by the presence of the Full Moon in the constellation of Aquarius.
On the 6th, the Moon will have moved to the constellation of Pisces. At the end of this morning, the Moon will be in a direction so close to that of Mars, that in the districts of Beja, Évora, Faro and Setúbal and the Madeira Archipelago will be able to witness the concealment of this planet by our natural satellite.
This event will take place at 6:20 am in the Madeira Archipelago, and about 20 minutes later on the mainland.
Astronomical ephemeris such as the start and end times of these events, or the position where the “contact” between the Moon and the planets takes place were used by astronomers to confirm their calculations regarding the movements of bodies in the solar system.
A few minutes before the end of the 9th, eve of the waning quarter, we will watch the birth of the Moon next to Aldebarã, the eye of the constellation of Taurus.
Two nights later (day 11), Neptune will be in opposition, ie, diametrically opposite the Sun, making it an excellent opportunity to observe this planet.
However, such activity requires not only the use of a telescope (or a good pair of binoculars), but also a sky free of light pollution sources that dim the dim light of this planet.
On the 14th, it will be the turn of the planet Venus to be visited by the Moon. This planet will appear throughout the month as a morning star, rising at four o'clock in the morning.
At midday on September 17th, the New Moon will take place. As it occurs fourteen hours before the Moon reaches the point of its orbit closest to Earth (the perigee), it can give rise to more intense tides than usual: these are what are called perigean spring tides.
Two days after New Moon, the Moon will be seen alongside Mercury, a planet observable throughout the month at dusk.
At 14:31 pm on the 21st, our planet once again reaches one of the two points in its orbit where its axis of rotation is perpendicular to the direction of the Sun, and consequently the Earth's northern and southern hemispheres are equally illuminated. We call this event autumnal equinox, because, from this moment on, our hemisphere is facing away from the Sun, thus giving rise to autumn in this part of the globe.
It should be noted that, due to atmospheric refraction, the Sun always appears to us slightly above its real position, and therefore, on this date, the day lasts slightly longer than the night. Only on the 25th day and night will have a similar duration.
Finally, the quarter crescent will take place at 3 am on the 24th, but by this time the moon will have set. At the beginning of the following night, the Moon will be seen approaching the planet Jupiter and, a day later, already close to Saturn.
Good remarks!
Author Fernando JG Pinheiro (CITEUC)
Science in the Regional Press – Ciência Viva
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