Early September: A Parade of Planets
The month begins with the Moon making a tour of the solar system's brightest beacons. On September 6th and 7th, look for the waning crescent Moon cozying up to the red planet, Mars, in the pre-dawn eastern sky. This pairing provides an excellent chance
to spot the still-faint Mars as it climbs out of the Sun's glare. Just a day later, on September 8th, the Moon continues its journey to meet Jupiter. You'll find them together in the east before sunrise, a striking duo for early risers. Some parts of the world, like eastern Russia, will even see the Moon pass directly in front of Jupiter in an event called an occultation.
September 22: Venus at Peak Brilliance
Venus, often called the 'Evening Star,' will be impossible to miss this month, reaching its peak brightness for the year on September 22. Shining at a dazzling magnitude of -4.8, it will command the southwestern sky shortly after sunset. Interestingly, if you were to look at Venus through a telescope on this night, you would see it as a slender, beautiful crescent. Its peak brightness occurs not when its face is fully lit, but at a point where its increasing closeness to Earth and its crescent phase combine to create maximum brilliance.
September 23: The Autumnal Equinox
Mark your calendars for the official start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. The autumnal equinox occurs at 00:06 UTC on September 23, which for those in India is 5:36 AM IST. On this day, the Sun shines directly on the Earth's equator, and day and night are of approximately equal length across the globe. For stargazers, this is a welcome milestone. As the nights grow longer, the canvas for celestial viewing expands, offering more time to explore the cosmos. The equinox period is also known to sometimes increase the chances of seeing auroras, so those at higher latitudes should be extra vigilant.
September 26: The Harvest Moon
This month’s celestial headliner is the full Harvest Moon, which peaks on Saturday, September 26. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox. Its name comes from a time before electricity when farmers would use the bright light of the full moon, which rises close to sunset for several evenings in a row, to extend their workday and bring in the harvest. Though the moon will technically be at its fullest during the day in India, it will appear perfectly full on the nights of both September 26 and 27. Look for it rising in the east as the sun sets in the west.
September 26: Neptune at Opposition
On the very same night as the full Harvest Moon, the distant ice giant Neptune reaches opposition. This is the point in its orbit where Earth passes directly between Neptune and the Sun, making the planet appear at its brightest and bringing it to its closest point to us for the year. While Neptune is the only major planet that can't be seen with the naked eye, opposition is the absolute best time to try and spot it. You will need a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope to find it in the constellation Pisces, where it will appear as a tiny, faint blue-green dot. Its brightness will be diminished by the glare from the full moon, but it's a worthy challenge for a dedicated observer.