Andy’s Astronomy: Fall Equinox Next Week

The Fall Equinox, sometimes called the September Equinox, takes place on Saturday, Sept. 26.

The days have been growing noticeably shorter and the nights longer, and on Sept. 26 there will be equal amounts of day and night. On that day, sunrise is at 7:28 am and sunset at 7:28 pm.

After September 26, the nights will become longer than daytime until the Winter Equinox on December 21, when the days start becoming incrementally longer and the nights slowly shorter.

The changing seasons are the result of the Earth being tilted on its axis. When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, it is hit by Direct Sunlight resulting in longer days and hotter temperatures. When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, it receives Indirect Sunlight with the result of cooler and shorter days.

The Southern Hemisphere experiences seasons opposite to the Northern Hemisphere, and for those residing near the Equator, there is little change in the seasons.

This is the 60th anniversary of Star Trek’s very first broadcast in September 1966.

In honor of that significant milestone, an astronaut on board the International Space Station placed a badge of the United Federation of Planets with the command symbol of the Starship Enterprise on her uniform. A photograph was taken of the badge floating weightless in front of a window on the ISS.

Astronaut Sophie Adenot had the badge delivered to the ISS among the various supplies needed by those on board the ISS.

“For me, exploration and science are about curiosity and cooperation, daring to go a little farther together, learning from what we discover and build, and turning that knowledge into a better future for everyone,” Adenot said.

Live long and prosper.

Spend more time looking at the night sky instead of your phone.

Meteors can flash across the sky anytime, day or night, and they are spotted quite often. Particularly bright meteors are often referred to as fireballs.

The American Meteor Society webpage suffered a cyberattack that took much of the site offline. The site is currently being rebuilt with reports of fireballs taking priority, Anyone seeing a fireball is urged to report the sighting to https://amsmeteors.org

Going outside and looking at the night sky can be fun and educational for the entire family. There are a number of free apps available to help identify stars and constellations, and some of the apps will show satellites.

Happy skywatching!