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[Music]

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what's up for September following the

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crescent moon the September equinox and

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wait where did Mars go we're at a

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several month period right now when the

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new moon falls right around the end of

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each month this means we get to enjoy

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lovely waning crescent moons at dusk for

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the first few days of each month and

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delightful waxing crescent in the

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pre-dawn sky near the end of each month

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this month look low in the West about

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half an hour after sunset to enjoy the

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crescent moon on September 1st through

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the 4th with the moon appearing a bit

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higher in the sky each night by the

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fifth the first quarter that is half

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full moon winds up here just a couple of

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degrees to the right of Jupiter at the

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end of the month from September 23rd to

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the 27th look east half an hour before

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dawn for an increasingly slimmer

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Crescent that appears lower in the sky

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each day as you make your lunar

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observations remember that for many

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thousands of years the cycles of the

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Moon and Sun were the basis of human

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timekeeping and many traditional

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cultures still rely on these cycles to

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mark special events a few months ago it

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seemed like the red planet Mars was a

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constant companion in the evening sky

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but as our two planets moved along in

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their orbits this summer Mars has

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drifted further into the glare of the

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Sun finally disappearing from our skies

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altogether in July did you notice in

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late August and early September this

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year Mars is more or less behind the Sun

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as seen from Earth this has implications

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for spacecraft at Mars like NASA's

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insight Lander and Curiosity rover this

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event called solar conjunction happens

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about every two years during this time

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mission controllers on earth stopped

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sending commands to our spacecraft in

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order to avoid potential radio

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interference from the Sun a few weeks

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later when Mars has moved farther apart

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from the Sun as seen from Earth normal

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communications can resume for those of

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us eater for a peek at Mars with our own

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eyes once again it'll return to our

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pre-dawn skies in early November

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September 23rd marks the equinox with

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day and night being of equal length

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this marks the beginning of fall in the

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northern hemisphere and although this

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means it's time to bid farewell to those

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long summer days the upshot for

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stargazers as longer nights meaning more

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time to look up here are the phases of

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the Moon for September you can catch up

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on all of NASA's current and future

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missions at nasa.gov I'm Preston dykes