September stargazing

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
Oscar Wilde

September 2010 Stargazing

The tight grouping of Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Spica ends its spectacular run this month. All four are low in the western sky at nightfall as September begins, but Saturn drops from sight early in the month. Mars and Venus are still in the sky by month's end, but they shine for only a little while before dropping below the horizon. By that time, however, the night sky's next-brightest object, the planet Jupiter, is climbing skyward in the east, and will shine brilliantly throughout the night.

More stargazing information: http://stardate.org/nightsky

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http://stardate.org/feeds/rss.xml September 1-5: Nuke 'em! One researcher says that when it comes to protecting Earth from asteroids, Hollywood has the right idea: Nuke 'em! Join us for ways to explore the asteroids, the Sun's influence on their orbits, and ways to blast them out of the sky.

September 6-12: Life in the solar system. We know of only one world with life: our own Earth. Yet several worlds in the solar system seem to have the right conditions for life, and one of them shows some intriguing signs of life. Join us for details on life in the solar system.

September 13-19: Living in space. Before you head for Mars — or even Earth orbit — there are a few things you ought to know. You'll lose some muscle mass, bone density — and maybe your fingernails. Join us for the challenges of living in space.

September 20-26: Giant performance. The biggest planet in the solar system is putting in a big showing this week — first on its own, and later paired with the Moon. Join us for the giant planet Jupiter and much more.

September 27-30: Dark passages. Astronomers have discovered hundreds of planets in other star systems — many of them as they passed in front of their stars. Join me for details on these dark passages, and what they can reveal about the planets.

September Program Schedule: http://stardate.org/radio/calendars
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