By Neill Simmons
The planet Venus shines brightly as a prominent evening star low in the western sky after sunset. On the 14th of September there will be a great sight to see with Venus and the Moon appearing to be in the same area. The planet Venus is bright this month but very low in the west. On September 5, the crescent Moon appears next to Venus which is a beautiful sight. Venus is one of the four terrestrial planets in our solar system, meaning that it is a rocky body like Earth. It is similar to Earth in size and mass. However, its surface temperature is almost 900 degrees Fahrenheit!
If you have good binoculars, the planet Neptune will be at its closest to Earth on Friday September 25. Neptune is located in the constellation Pisces. To help locate Neptune, look for the naked-eye planet Saturn in the southwest sky. Neptune has the fastest and strongest winds in the solar system, reaching speeds up to 1,300 miles per hour. Neptune is bright blue in color and does not have a solid surface. If you tried to land on it, you would sink right through thick clouds of hydrogen and helium.
Sagittarius is a favorite September constellation. Its main stars look exactly like a teapot. Under dark skies, a dense area of the Milky Way can be seen rising in an arc just above the spout, like a puff of steam rising from a boiling kettle. Right beside Sagittarius is the constellation Scorpius. With a little imagination, you can see its stars tracing the shape of a scorpion. The brilliant red star, Antares, lies at the scorpion’s heart. The constellation has the shape of the letter J, with the curved bottom of the J representing the Sscorpion’s curved tail.
On Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 pm, the Ventura County Astronomical Society will host a free Star Party at Paramount Ranch located at 2903 Cornell Road, Agoura Hills.
The event is outdoors so it may get chilly. Only red flashlights are allowed. Please no pets. There will be lots of telescopes for viewing the night sky and amateur astronomers will be available to share their knowledge.
On Thursday, September 10 at 2 pm there will be an Autumn Night Sky astronomy lecture at Calabasas Senior Center. There is a fee for this event. For ticket information call (818) 224-1777.
NASA reports that a super massive black hole, flung from its galaxy, actually devoured a star in a tidal disruption event captured by the Swift telescope. This rare black hole was previously invisible and only revealed itself through the bright ultraviolet flare of the stars destruction.
The Roman Space Telescope was launched aboard a Space X Falcon rocket on August 30. Built by NASA, this 18,000-pound space observatory is cutting-edge technology which uses shape-shifting mirrors to block out the glare of distant stars, allowing astronomers to directly capture images of exoplanets. Over its lifespan, it will map the cosmos 1,000 times faster than Hubble. It is designed to probe the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.
Also in NASA news, it was announced that a new US Space Academy was “created to educate the engineers, scientists, technicians, operators and even the astronauts who will be necessary for pursuing a bright future in space.”
Saturday, September 26 will bring the full Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is tied to the change of seasons. It is the full moon nearest to the start of autumn.
Looking ahead, mark your October calendar for a special presentation by the Santa Susana High School Astronomy Club. It will be on October 6 at 7:30 pm and it is free. The address is: 3570 East Cochran Street, Simi Valley.
When not stargazing, Neill Simmons, is an Investment Executive with LPL Financial in Woodland Hills. If you have any astronomy or financial questions, he may be reached at (818) 936-2626 or neill.simmons@llpl.com.
