The Autumnal Equinox and the Harvest Moon

The thunderstorms began during the night, bringing much needed rain to this part of the state ... waking to the sound or raindrops hitting the roof I also remember that the Equinox is this evening - in this part of the Northern Hemisphere it comes at 11:03pm, or some time very close to that, and brings with it a full Harvest Moon. The day has been appropriately hazy and misty, with some patches of blue sky and I'm hoping to be able to have a small fire outside in the fire pot, and to also be able to observe the moon as it sails across the sky, in the company of Jupiter ....

Autumn days, golden weather and misty, foggy evenings bring reminders that it is the Season of the Witch. It is a mystic season of elegant mysteries, of the fullness of Harvest, the safety of gathering darkness and the growing hush of a country side waiting for the opening of the Book of Secrets and the wisdom which will be revealed.

"Lord, it is time. The summer was very big. Lay thy shadow on the sundials, and on the meadows let the winds go loose. Command the last fruits that they shall be full; give them another two more southerly days, press them on to fulfillment and drive the last sweetness into the heavenly wine."
- Rainer Maria Rilke

September 2010 Skies - Thank You Sky Views!

Jupiter and its moons

"The Start of Fall in the Northern Hemisphere"

Jupiter, the solar system's largest planet, will dominate the sky nearly all night during September, presenting its best appearance in almost 50 years. Glowing low in the east as evening twiligh tfades, Jupiter will climb high in the south before midnight and set in the west around the time morning twilight begins. With no bright stars nearby,the planet will be easy to spot. Jupiter's four brightest moons were discovered by Galileo, and they can usually be seen with binoculars. All four of these moons will be grouped to the east of Jupiter before the morning sky brightens on Sept. 24. Venus and Mars will form a tight trio with the bright white star Spica lowin the west-southwest at the beginning of the month. Brilliant white Venus on the left (south) will be 300 times brighter than pale orange Mars onthe right, which will be hard to see without binoculars in the bright glowof twilight. The two planets will remain close all month as Spica gradually moves away from them toward the right (west). As the evening sky darkens early in the month, Saturn will be visible with binoculars very low in the west, far to the right of Venus. By mid-monthSaturn will be too close to the sun to be seen, and it will pass throughconjunction with the sun on Sept. 30. In the last two weeks of the month, Mercury will become visible very lowin the east-northeast about a half hour before sunrise. Look for the white pinpoint of light glimmering through the morning twilight just below the bright white star Regulus in the constellation Leo the Lion. This will be Mercury's best morning appearance of the year for observers atmid-northern latitudes.

International Space Station The International Space Station can be seen from time to time as itcrosses the sky, if you know when and where to look. Information on how to locate it is provided at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/quickstart/index.html.

Aurora On a clear September night, you may be lucky enough to see an aurora (sometimes called "northern lights"). These silent ribbons and curtains of light can appear whenever the sun is active, but they are especially likely from August to October. Eruptions from the sun's surface hurlenormous amounts of charged particles into space, and when some of these solar particles head in our direction, they cause auroral activity. You can watch for auroras when they are most likely to happen by checkingWeb sites such as http://www.spaceweather.com and http://www.sec.noaa.gov/. Sightings of auroras are reported at
http://www.spacew.com/www/aurora.html.

Equinox The sun will reach the September equinox on Sept. 22 at 11:09 p.m. EDT(Sept.23 at 3:09 Universal Time) marking the start of fall in the NorthernHemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere. For the next six monthsin the Northern Hemisphere, the nights will be longer than the days.Moon phasesThe moon will be at third quarter on Sept. 1, new on Sept. 8, at firstquarter on Sept. 15 and full (the Harvest Moon) on Sept. 23.-------

From "Sky Views" by Jay Respler
http://mars.superlink.net/~jrespler/skyviews.html

"September Morning Still Can Make Me Feel That Way"

The name "September" is a derivative of a Latin word which means "seven," and September was indeed the seventh month of the Roman calender. The name "September" gradually traveled through Europe following the path of Roman conquest until it arrived in England and replaced the days of the English calender which had been known as "the month of harvest." In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the meteorological autumn is the first day of September.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core

....John Keats