The purpose of this feature is to give scout leaders, educators and naturalists an idea of some of the natural events coming up each month.  We will try to cover a variety of natural events ranging from sky events to calling periods of amphibians, bird and mammal watching tips,  prominent wildflowers and anything else that comes to mind.  We will also note prominent constellations appearing over the eastern horizon at mid-evening each month for our area for those who would like to learn the constellations.  If you have suggestions for other types of natural information you would like to see added to this calendar, let us know!

Though we link book references to nationwide sources, we encourage you to support your local book store whenever possible.

Sky Events for September 2024:

We recommend checking the NASA Space Weather Prediction Center forecast every few days for upcoming auroral displays. Some sources on the internet tend to exaggerate the visibility of these displays, at least at our latitude. To really tell if you have a chance to see them in Tennessee, compare what the NASA Space Weather Prediction Center shows with the image at right. It shows the predicted display for the aurora on May 11th, during the great magnetic storm beginning on May 10th.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will briefly make an appearance in the morning sky around the end of the month. This comet could possibly brighten enough to reach naked eye visibility. As with all comets, it's impossible to predict exactly how it will behave. For more information and a sky chart, look here. It will be more favorably place in the evening sky in October.

For a more in-depth discussion and star chart look here. For a quick way to "discover" the eruption on your own, you can look at the pattern of the brighter stars in the constellations of Bootes and Corona Borealis.

In the image at right notice there is a distinct pattern that is formed by the very bright orange star Arcturus and the three fairly bright stars above it. Arcturus, Izar, Seginus and Gemma form a bright pattern in the shape of a capital "Y". Simply look due west as the skies darken in early September and you should easily be able to pick out bright orange Arcturus, which will be about 30 degrees above the horizon. It is the brightest star in that part of the sky.

Next look for the moderately bright stars Izar, Seginus and Gemma. These stars form a pattern in the shape of a capital "Y". If you extend the upper left-hand part of the "Y" about half the distance between Izar and Gemma, you will be at the spot where the blaze star should appear when it erupts. Each segment of the "Y" will be about the width of the fingers of your hand (minus the thumb)  held at arm's length.

Just get in the habit of checking the "Y" pattern each clear night. If one evening you see a "new" star in the position shown, you'll be among the first to see the star brighten. Since this star is about 2,700 light-years distant, you will be seeing an event that actually occurred 2,700 years ago!

 The Moon undergoes a partial eclipse on September 17th. Mid-eclipse happens at 10:44 EDT. The umbra barely grazes the northwest limb of the Moon, and only a slight darkening of the limb will occur.

Venus is low in the west after sunset. If you have a flat western horizon, look for it with binoculars about 15 minutes after sunset low in the West-Northwest. It is bright but it is very close to the horizon. On September 4th you can use the same technique to try and spot Venus and a very thin crescent Moon just after sunset. Be sure to let the Sun disappear before searching. You can do serious damage to your eyes if you happen to sweep across the Sun.

Jupiter rises about 5 hours after sunset at the beginning of the month in Taurus. Mars is also in Taurus and rises about 30 minutes after Jupiter. It still appears quite small in a telescopic view, only about 6.5 seconds of an arc in diameter. On September 1st, look for it below and to the left of Jupiter facing east. See if you can see the reddish color of Mars. It will be more obvious in binoculars.

 Morning Sky:

 Mercury has a great morning apparition in September! On September 1st look for it about 30 minutes before sunrise in the East-Northeast about 9 degrees above the horizon. Look for a razor thin crescent Moon about 4-1/2 degrees to the left and slightly above Mercury. A typical binocular field of view is about 6 degrees, so I recommend binoculars to make both easier to see. On September 6th, the fleet-footed planet will reach its maximum height above the horizon, and on the 8th it will pass about 1/2 degree from the bright star Regulus in Leo.

Recommended:  The Frogs and Toads of North America, Lang Elliott, Houghton Mifflin Co.