Last Updated on September 7, 2022 by Solar System Ambassador Pam Roller
Here’s an update from our local Solar System Ambassador Pam Roller:
Mars is on the move this month, forming a “red triangle” with bright red stars Aldebaran and Betelgeuse. Saturn and Jupiter fly with the Moon on the 9th, and then the Moon slides over closer Jupiter in the morning sky on the 11th. At the end of the month, September 23rd brings the equinox, meaning day and night are of nearly equal length, and a change of seasons is afoot.
NASA’s Jupiter-orbiting Juno spacecraft is slated to make a special, fast flyby of one of those icy moons, Europa, on the 29th. The spacecraft is planned to pass a little over 200 miles above the moon’s surface, returning images and science data. And NASA is currently preparing its Europa Clipper spacecraft for launch in 2024. It’s planned to make dozens of close flybys of Europa to investigate whether the moon could have conditions suitable for life.
Phases of the moon are included.
Credits: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Preston Dyches