DARK SKY HAPPENINGS - September 2020
Moab
UT (at City Hall)
38O34’ N Latitude
109O33’ W Longitude
4048 ft - 1234 m |
Questions About Stars - Answered by Cool Cosmos
By Joette Langianese
How far away are the stars? The stars are not all at the same distance from us. Some stars are closer
Sunrise-Sunset for September(The time of sunrise and sunset assumes a flat horizon. Actual time may
vary depending upon the landscape.) |
DATE |
SUNRISE |
SUNSET |
Tue, Sep 1 |
6:48 am |
7:46 pm |
Wed, Sep 2 |
6:49 am |
7:45 pm |
Thu, Sep 3 |
6:50 am |
7:43 pm |
Fri, Sep 4 |
6:51 am |
7:41 pm |
Sat, Sep 5 |
6:52 am |
7:40 pm |
Sun, Sep 6 |
6:53 am |
7:38 pm |
Mon, Sep 7 |
6:54 am |
7:37 pm |
Tue, Sep 8 |
6:54 am |
7:35 pm |
Wed, Sep 9 |
6:55 am |
7:34 pm |
Thu, Sep 10 |
6:56 am |
7:32 pm |
Fri, Sep 11 |
6:57 am |
7:30 pm |
Sat, Sep 12 |
6:58 am |
7:29 pm |
Sun, Sep 13 |
6:59 am |
7:27 pm |
Mon, Sep 14 |
7:00 am |
7:26 pm |
Tue, Sep 15 |
7:01 am |
7:24 pm |
Wed, Sep 16 |
7:01 am |
7:23 pm |
Thu, Sep 17 |
7:02 am |
7:21 pm |
Fri, Sep 18 |
7:03 am |
7:19 pm |
Sat, Sep 19 |
7:04 am |
7:18 pm |
Sun, Sep 20 |
7:05 am |
7:16 pm |
Mon, Sep 21 |
7:06 am |
7:15 pm |
Tue, Sep 22 |
7:07 am |
7:13 pm |
Wed, Sep 23 |
7:08 am |
7:11 pm |
Thu, Sep 24 |
7:09 am |
7:10 pm |
Fri, Sep 25 |
7:09 am |
7:08 pm |
Sat, Sep 26 |
7:10 am |
7:07 pm |
Sun, Sep 27 |
7:11 am |
7:05 pm |
Mon, Sep 28 |
7:12 am |
7:03 pm |
Tue, Sep 29 |
7:13 am |
7:02 pm |
Wed, Sep 30 |
7:14 am |
7:00 pm |
|
and some are farther away. The closer a star is to us, the brighter it will appear. Also, stars come in a variety of sizes and brightness. Larger stars usually shine more brightly than smaller stars do. So, how bright a star appears in the night sky depends on its size as well as how far away from us it is. The closest star is about 25,300,000,000,000 miles away, while the farthest stars are billions of times farther than that.
 Why do the stars twinkle? Stars do not really twinkle, they just appear to twinkle when seen from the surface of Earth. The stars twinkle in the night sky because of the effects of our atmosphere. When starlight enters our atmosphere it is affected by winds in the atmosphere and by areas with different temperatures and densities. This causes the light from the star to twinkle when seen from the ground.
What is the closest star to earth? The closest star to us is actually our very own Sun at 93,000,000 miles. The next closest star is Proxima Centauri. It lies at a distance of about 4.3 light-years or about 25,300,000,000,000 miles. A car travelling at a speed of 60 miles per hour would take more than 48 million years to reach this closest star.
How many stars can you see at night? The number of stars that you can see on a clear (moonless) night in a dark area (far away from city lights) is about 2000. Basically, the darker the sky, the more stars you can see. Moonlight brightens the night sky and reduces the number of stars you can see. A full Moon brightens the sky more than a crescent Moon or half Moon. Artificial lights also reduce the number of stars you can see. In a large city, which has a lot of bright lights at night, you may only be able to see the brightest dozen stars. As the night sky gets brighter, the faintest stars disappear from view first. The two brightest stars (not planets) of September evenings are Vega high overhead and Arcturus in the west.
The Moab Dark Skies was established by the Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks in conjunction with the National Park Service and Utah State Parks Division of Natural Resources. |
MOON HAPPENINGS
Sep 1 - Full Moon at 11:22 am
Sep 23 - First Quarter at 7:54 am
|
