September’s Evening Planets

Jupiter and Saturn will be in Sagittarius the Archer all night. Find red Mars as of 10 PM and rising earlier every night in Pisces the Fish. Mercury will be up after sunset for about an hour close to the horizon in Virgo the Maiden. Neptune is in Aquarius the Water bearer and Uranus will be in Aries the Ram all night. Dwarf Pluto is in Sagittarius the Archer all night.

September’s Evening Stars

Spot the Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle all night, every night. Capella in Auriga the charioteer will be up around 10 PM and linger all night. Antares in Scorpio the Scorpion will be up until around 9 PM. Spot the stars of constellations Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Cepheus, Hercules,  Pegasus, Draco, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Capricornus and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

September’s Morning Planets

Bright Venus will be moving between Gemini the Twins and Leo the Lion through September as of 4 AM. Mars will be in Pisces the Fish until sunrise. Neptune will be in Aquarius the Water bearer and Uranus will be in Aries the Ram until the morning.

September’s Morning Stars

Sirius, the brightest star viewed from Earth, will be up around 4:00 am every morning, and earlier every day rising at 2:00 AM by the end of September. Spot Capella in Auriga the charioteer, and the stars of Aquarius, Cetus, Taurus, Gemini, Orion, Pegasus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, Perseus, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

September Skylights

• Sep   2 Full Moon at 1:20 AM
• Sep   6  Moon at apogee (252,000 miles away)
• Sep 10  Last Quarter Moon at 5:25 AM
• Sep 11  Neptune at opposition, closest to Earth in 2020
• Sep 17  New Moon at  7:00 AM
• Sep 18  Moon at perigee (223,100 miles away)
• Sep 22  Autumnal equinox at 9:30 AM
• Sep 23  First Quarter Moon at 9:55 PM
• Sep 23  Saturn, Jupiter, Moon, and Antares line up after sunset

Times given in EDT.

Resources

Download Ken Graun’s September 2020 sky chart for reference and observing ideas.
Another equally helpful resource is Skymaps monthly evening sky charts available for different hemispheres. Download The Evening Sky Map for September .