Starwatch Newsletter Minnesota Starwatch is a tape-recorded message describing the night sky in the Midwest, which can be called by telelphone number (612) 624-2001 It is updated montly, and is produced by the Department of Astronomy, University of Minnesota 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

Hello, this is Starwatch for September 2001. The Moon is full on the 2nd, at last quarter on the 10th, new on the 17th, and at first quarter on the 24th. The waning crescent Moon on the 15th will be close to Venus, making a striking pattern in the morning sky just before sunrise. The waxing quarter Moon will pass very close to Mars on September 24th in the evening sky about an hour after sunset. Mars continues to dominate the evening sky, appearing as a bright orange-red object high in the southern sky at nightfall. A good medium size telescope should be able to detect the large dark feature known as Syrtis Major if the dust storms on Mars have finally subsided. Venus shines incredibly bright in the eastern sky just before sunrise. On the 20th and the 21st it comes within 0.8 degrees of the brightest star, Regulus, in the constellation Leo. Jupiter is also very bright in the morning sky, rising around 1 a.m. in the middle of the month, but Venus still outshines it by a factor of six. Saturn and the Moon provide a spectacular performance this month. On the morning of September 10th the Moon will pass over Saturn. In the Minneapolis area the planet will disappear behind the Moon about 7:50 a.m. and reappear shortly before 9:00 a.m. Unfortunately, all of this will take place when the sun has already risen and hence will be difficult, but not impossible, to see without some form of optical aid. Fortunately, there will be repeat performances in a much darker sky on November 30th and December 28th.

The Minneapolis Planetarium offers a wide variety of programs for all ages. For more information, call (612) 630-6150.

For those interested in the Minnesota Astronomical Society, call (651) 649-4861 for information on their upcoming events.

Minnesota Starwatch is available online at http://www.astro.umn.edu/Outreach/pub_out.html.

This has been Minnesota Starwatch, produced by the University of Minnesota Astronomy Department in cooperation with WCCO Weather Center.

Last Updated: Thu Aug 16 12:25:45 2001