Night sky, September 2025: What you can see tonight [maps]

The night sky tonight and on any clear night offers an ever-changing display of fascinating objects you can see, from stars and constellations to bright planets, the moon, and sometimes special events like meteor showers.

Observing the night sky can be done with no special equipment, although a sky map can be very useful, and a good telescope or binoculars will enhance some experiences and bring some otherwise invisible objects into view.

You can also use astronomy accessories to make your observing easier, and use our Satellite Tracker page powered by N2YO.com to find out when and how to see the International Space Station and other satellites. We also have a helpful guide on how you can see and track a Starlink satellite train.

You can also capture the night sky by using any of the best cameras for astrophotography, along with a selection of the best lenses for astrophotography.

Read on to find out what's up in the night sky tonight (planets visible now, moon phases, observing highlights this month) plus other resources (skywatching terms, night sky observing tips and further reading)

Related: The brightest planets in the night sky: How to see them (and when)

Monthly skywatching information is provided to Space.com by Chris Vaughan of Starry Night Education, the leader in space science curriculum solutions. Follow Starry Night on Twitter @StarryNightEdu and Chris at @Astrogeoguy

Editor's note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Calendar of observing highlights

Monday, Sept. 1 - Venus buzzes the Beehive (predawn)

During September, the brilliant planets Venus and Jupiter will catch your attention in the east before sunrise. Early risers on Monday, Sept. 1, can use binoculars (orange circle) to see the lower planet, Venus, to see the large star cluster in Cancer called the Beehive or Messier 44.

The cluster's stars, which are spread across an area twice the size of a full moon, will be centered about a thumb's width above (or 2 degrees to the celestial NNW of) Venus. To see the "bees" more easily, hide very bright Venus just beyond the bottom edge of your binoculars' field of view. The cluster will fade as the morning sky brightens, but Venus can be seen until sunrise.

Tuesday, Sept. 2 - Watch algol brighten

The star Algol (or Beta Persei) in the constellation of Perseus is among the easiest-to-monitor variable stars. During a ten-hour period that repeats every 2 days, 20 hours, and 49 minutes, Algol dims noticeably and then re-brightens when a companion star with an orbit nearly edge-on to Earth crosses behind the much brighter main star, reducing the total light output we perceive.

Algol normally shines at magnitude 2.1, similar to the nearby star Almach in Andromeda. But while dimmed to minimum brightness, Algol's magnitude 3.4 is almost the same as the star Rho Persei (ρ Per), which is located just two finger widths to Algol's lower right (or 2.25 degrees to the celestial south). For observers in the eastern half of North America, fully dimmed Algol will sit in the lower part of the northeastern sky on Tuesday evening, Sept. 2, at 9:15 p.m. EDT, which converts to 01:15 GMT on Wednesday. Five hours later, the star will return to its full intensity from a perch high in the eastern sky.

Wednesday, Sept. 3 - Mare Imbrium (evening)

On Wednesday, Sept. 3, the lunar terminator will move far enough west for all of Mare Imbrium, the Sea of Rains, to be fully illuminated. That dark, circular feature dominates the northwestern quadrant of the waxing gibbous moon's Earth-facing hemisphere. The mare is the moon's largest impact basin, measuring more than 715 miles (1,145 kilometers) in diameter. It was formed during the late heavy bombardment period approximately 3.94 billion years ago. Telescope views of Mare Imbrium at this phase will reveal ejecta blankets around its major craters Aristillus and Archimedes, several nearly-submerged ghost craters (Cassini and Wallace), and numerous subtle wrinkle ridges (Heim, Stille).

Thursday, Sept. 4 - The Aristarchus Plateau (all night)

Three prominent craters break up the expanse of Oceanus Procellarum, the widespread dark region on the moon's left-hand side. Large Copernicus is the easternmost of the craters. Its extensive, ragged ray system intermingles with that of the smaller crater Kepler to its southwest. The small, but very bright crater Aristarchus, positioned northwest of them, will fall just to the sunny side of the terminator on Thursday, Sept. 4. Aristarchus occupies the southeastern corner of a spectacular, diamond-shaped plateau.

A backyard telescope under high magnification will show features like the large, sinuous rille named Vallis Schröteri. Its snake-like form begins between Aristarchus and the next-door crater Herodotus and meanders across the plateau. One of the most colorful regions on the moon, NASA orbiters have detected high levels of radioactive radon there.

Friday, Sept. 5 - Grimaldi Graces the Edge (all night)

The dark-floored basin named Grimaldi is a prominent, rugged oval located near the western edge of the moon. It is just south of the moon's equator (the left-right red curve) and below, or lunar southwest of, the large, dark patch of Oceanus Procellarum, the Sea of Storms. The 108-mile (175 km) diameter basin is easy to see using your unaided eyes and through binoculars and telescopes. On Friday, Sept. 5, the terminator on the waxing gibbous moon will fall just to the west of the crater, accentuating its complex, pitted rim and some subtle wrinkle ridges on the basalts of its eastern floor. The 14-mile (22 km) wide fresh crater named Grimaldi B on the basin's northern edge is visible under magnification. Grimaldi will be fully illuminated from Wednesday night onward.

Saturday, Sept. 6 - Uranus reverses course (evening)

On Saturday, Sept. 6, the motion of the distant planet Uranus through the background stars of western Taurus will slow to a stop in order for it to reverse course in a westward retrograde loop that will last until early February and span several degrees of the sky. Magnitude +5.7 Uranus can be seen in binoculars and backyard telescopes, and even with unaided eyes under dark skies. After the planet clears the rooftops in the east in late evening, its small, blue-green dot will be shining four finger widths below and just to the lower right (or 4.5 degrees to the celestial east-southeast) of the bright Pleiades star cluster, Messier 45. If you position the entire Pleiades just inside your binoculars' field of view (orange circle) at the 11 o'clock position, Uranus will be the dull blue "star" opposite it. Once you have identified Uranus, enlarge the planet with your telescope.

Sunday, Sept. 7 - Full Corn Moon (evening)

The moon will officially reach its full phase on Sunday, Sept. 7, at 2:09 p.m. EDT or 11:09 a.m. PDT and 18:09 GMT. The September full moon, traditionally known as the "Corn Moon" and "Barley Moon", always shines in or near the stars of Aquarius and Pisces. The indigenous Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes region call this moon Waatebagaa-giizis or Waabaagbagaa-giizis, the Leaves Turning or Leaves Falling Moon. The Cree Nation of central Canada calls the September full moon Nimitahamowipisim, the "Rutting Moon" — when the bull moose scrapes the velvet from his antlers as a sign that mating shall begin. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) of Eastern North America call it Seskehko-wa, the "Time of Much Freshness Moon".

Full moons always rise around sunset and set around sunrise. Since it will be precisely full while it's below the horizon in the Americas, the moon will appear not quite full on both Saturday and Sunday night. The September full moon is frequently also the Harvest Moon, but that will occur in October this year.

Sunday, Sept. 7 - Total Lunar Eclipse (afternoon)

Lucky residents of the Eastern Hemisphere will be treated to a total lunar eclipse overnight on Sunday, Sept. 7. The entire eclipse will be visible from Eastern Africa and the Middle East across to most of Asia and Western Australia. Europe and the rest of Africa will see the eclipse in progress when the moon rises. Western Asia and much of Oceania will see the moon partially eclipsed when it sets.

The leading edge of the full moon will slightly darken when it starts to dip into Earth's penumbral shadow at 10:28 p.m. Indochina Time (15:28 GMT), but the first "bite" out of the moon won't appear until the moon contacts Earth's umbra at 11:27 p.m. ICT (16:27 GMT). The moon will progressively flood with darkness until it completely enters the umbra at 12:31 a.m. ICT (17:31 GMT), the start of the so-called "blood moon" or total eclipse stage, when only sunlight refracted through Earth's atmosphere can reach the moon, tinting it red or orange. The moon will be darkest when it is near the center of Earth's shadow at 1:13 a.m. ICT (18:13 GMT). Totality will end when the leading edge of the moon begins to exit the umbra at 1:53 a.m. ICT (18:53 GMT). The last bite out of the moon will disappear at 2:57 a.m. ICT (19:57 GMT), but the moon won't return to full intensity until it clears the penumbra at 3:55 a.m. ICT (20:55 GMT).

Lunar eclipses are completely safe to look at and photograph without protective filters. During totality, watch for the northern part of the moon to be darkest and reddest, and for the stars of Aquarius around it to become visible without the bright moonlight hiding them.

Monday, Sept. 8 - Bright moon near Saturn and Neptune (all night)

When you see the bright, waning gibbous moon above the eastern rooftops after mid-evening on Monday, Sept. 8, the yellowish dot of Saturn will shine prominently to its right (or celestial southwest). The very faint planet Neptune will be positioned between Saturn and the moon. As the trio crosses the sky overnight, the moon's eastward orbital motion will carry it farther from Saturn and Neptune. Meanwhile, the diurnal rotation of the sky will lift the moon above the two planets by the time they all descend the western sky at dawn.

Thursday, Sept. 11 - The Summer Triangle (all night)

Three bright, white stars shine high in the southeastern sky at dusk in September, from the Summer Triangle asterism. Despite the name, it continues to be visible until the end of December! The brightest and highest (most easterly) of the trio is Vega, in Lyra. At magnitude 0.03, Vega is the brightest star in the summer sky, mainly due to its relative proximity — it's only 25 light-years away from our solar system. The magnitude 0.75 star Altair, in Aquila, occupies the lowest (southern) corner of the triangle. Altair is only 17 light-years from the sun. By contrast, Deneb, which shines somewhat less brightly at magnitude 1.25 to the left of Vega, is a staggering 2,600 light-years away from us; but it shines so brightly because its intrinsic luminosity is 1,000 times more than Vega's. On dark nights, the Milky Way can be traced between Vega and Altair and through Deneb. Early risers can see the triangle descending in the west before dawn.

Friday, Sept. 12 - Moon near the Pleiades and Uranus (overnight)

Once you have spotted the waning gibbous moon shining above the treetops in the east late on Friday evening, Sept. 12, look for the stars of the bright little Pleiades Star Cluster, also known as Messier 45, Subaru, and the Hole in the Sky, sparkling to the moon's upper right (or celestial west) — close enough for them to share the view in binoculars (orange circle). Skywatchers viewing the scene later at night or in more westerly time zones will see the moon too far from the cluster for simultaneous binocular views. By dawn on Saturday, the moon and the cluster will be high in the southwestern sky. The rather faint planet Uranus will be positioned several finger widths below the Pleiades during 2025.

Saturday, Sept. 13 - Mars passes Spica (after sunset)

On the evenings surrounding Saturday, Sept. 13, the orbital motion of Mars will carry it just two finger widths above (or 2 degrees to the celestial north of) Virgo's brightest star Spica. Once the sun has completely set, use binoculars (orange circle) to look for the pair sitting very low in the western sky after sunset, where reddish Mars will appear slightly less bright than blue-white Spica. They will be much easier to see from tropical latitudes, where they will shine higher and in a darker sky. Mars and Spica will be close enough to share the view in binoculars from Sept. 5 to Sept. 20, with Mars approaching Spica from the lower right (celestial west) before Saturday and then shifting farther to its upper left afterwards.

Sunday, Sept. 14 - Third Quarter Moon

The moon will complete three-quarters of its orbit around Earth, measured from the previous new moon, on Sunday, Sept. 14, at 6:33 a.m. EDT and 3:33 a.m. PDT or 10:33 GMT. At the third (or last) quarter phase, the moon appears half-illuminated, on its western, sunward side. It will rise around midnight local time, and then remain visible until it sets in the western daytime sky in early afternoon.

Third quarter moons are positioned ahead of the Earth in our trip around the sun. About 3½ hours later, Earth will occupy that same location in space. The week of dark, moonless evening skies that follow this phase are the best ones for observing fainter deep sky targets.

Monday, Sept. 15 - The Great Square of Pegasus (all night)

Pegasus, which is climbing the Eastern sky during evening in September, contains one of the most recognizable asterisms in the sky, a giant square of four similarly bright stars called the Great Square of Pegasus. The square's edges are about 1.6 fist diameters (or 16°) in length, and it spans two fist widths (about 20°) measured corner to corner. The pattern might remind you of a baseball diamond when you see it, because it's often tilted with one corner downwards. For the Lakota people, the square represented the great shell of Keya, the Turtle. The Anishinaabe of the Great Lakes region view the square as the torso of Mooz, the Moose. Using unaided eyes only, from the suburbs, the Great Square appears empty. But look more closely. Two dim stars offset to the upper right from the centre of the square represent the moose's heart.

Tuesday, Sept. 16 - Crescent moon meets Jupiter over Venus (predawn)

In the eastern sky before sunrise on Tuesday, Sept. 16, the pretty, waning crescent moon will shine between the very bright planet Jupiter and the "twin" stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux. While the grouping will have risen during the wee hours, skywatchers outside after about 5 am local time can enjoy brilliant Venus gleaming below them until almost sunrise.

Wednesday, Sept. 17 - Old moon approaches the Beehive (predawn)

In the eastern sky before sunrise on Wednesday morning, Sept. 17, the pretty, waning crescent moon will shine between the widely separated bright planets Venus and Jupiter. If you are outside before the sky brightens too much, your binoculars (orange circle) might also reveal the scattered stars of the Beehive Cluster (or Messier 44) sparkling below the moon. To best see the "bees", which are spread across an area twice the moon's diameter, hide the moon beyond the top edge of your binoculars' field of view. For Time zones in the west and across the Pacific Ocean, the moon will be closer to the cluster.

Thursday, Sept. 18 - Morning Zodiacal Light for Mid-Northern Observers (predawn)

During autumn at mid-northern latitudes every year, the ecliptic extends nearly vertically upward from the eastern horizon before dawn. That geometry favors the appearance of the faint Zodiacal light in the eastern sky for about half an hour before dawn on moonless mornings. Zodiacal light is sunlight scattered by interplanetary particles that are concentrated in the plane of the solar system — the same material that produces meteor showers. It is more readily seen in areas free of urban light pollution. Between now and the full moon on Oct. 7, look for a broad wedge of faint light extending upwards from the eastern horizon above Venus and centered on the ecliptic (the green line). It will be strongest in the lower third of the sky below Jupiter and the twin stars of Gemini. Don't confuse the zodiacal light with the Milky Way, which is positioned nearby in the southeastern sky.

Friday, Sept. 19 - Venus Gleams between the Crescent moon and Regulus (before sunrise)

Early risers on Friday, Sept. 19, can look low in the eastern sky before sunrise to see the brilliant planet Venus tucked between the delicate crescent of the old moon and Leo's brightest star, Regulus — cozy enough for them to share the view in binoculars (orange circle) or a backyard telescope. Since the moon slides east by its own diameter every hour, skywatchers located in the Eastern Time zone will see the trio aligned, whereas other parts of the world will see them merely grouped together. As a bonus, observers located in extreme northeastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, western Russia, and parts of northern Africa can watch the moon occult Venus in a daytime sky, and those in the Urals region can watch the moon occult Regulus as well. After Friday, Venus will shift farther from Regulus and the moon will hop away sunward.

Saturday, Sept. 20 - Max Saturn at Opposition (overnight)

On Saturday night, Sept. 20, Saturn will reach opposition. You can see the creamy-yellow dot of the ringed planet all night long, shining below the ring of rather faint stars that form Pisces' western fish.

Planets at opposition rise at sunset and set at sunrise because Earth is positioned between them and the sun. Tonight, Saturn will be at a distance of 794.7 million miles, 1.278 billion km, or 71 light-minutes from Earth. It will shine at a magnitude of 0.62, its brightest for 2025. While planets already shine brightest at opposition, Saturn's brilliance will be boosted by the Seeliger effect — backscattered sunlight from its rings. In a telescope (inset), Saturn's disk and rings will show maximum apparent diameters of 19 arc-seconds and 45 arc-seconds, respectively.

Saturn's rings are opening more now since being edge-on to Earth back in March. Opposition is also the optimal time to view Saturn's moons through a backyard telescope in a dark sky. Owners of large telescopes can catch the transits of the larger Saturnian moons and their black shadows across the planet's globe.

Sunday, Sept. 21 - New moon Partial Solar Eclipse

On Sunday, Sept. 21 at 3:54 p.m. EDT or 12:54 p.m. PDT and 19:54 GMT, the moon will officially reach its new moon phase. At that time, our natural satellite will join the sun in Virgo. While new, the moon is travelling between Earth and the sun. Since sunlight can only illuminate the far side of the moon, and the moon is in the same region of the sky as the sun, it is usually completely hidden from view from anywhere on Earth for about a day. This new moon, however, will deliver a very deep partial solar eclipse that will only be visible from New Zealand, eastern Melanesia, southern Polynesia, and western Antarctica. In Dunedin, New Zealand, the eclipse will begin at sunrise on Monday. At greatest eclipse at 7:12:21 a.m. NZST, the moon will cover nearly 79% of the sun. The eclipse will end at 8:22:45 a.m. NZST. Use an app like Starry Night to look up the times for your own location. Protective filters will be required to view or photograph any part of this eclipse.

Monday, Sept. 22 - September Equinox

On Monday, Sept. 22 at 2:19 p.m. EDT, 11:19 a.m. PDT, or 18:19 GMT, the sun's apparent motion along the ecliptic (green line) will carry it across the celestial equator, traveling southward, marking the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of autumn there. On the equinoxes in March and September, day and night are of equal length and the sun rises due east and sets due west (yellow arc).

Tuesday, Sept. 23 - Neptune at opposition (all night)

On Tuesday night, Sept. 23, Neptune will reach opposition. At that time, the distant planet will be closest to Earth for this year — a distance of "merely" 2.68 billion miles, 4.32 billion km, 4 light-hours, or 28.9 Astronomical Units.

At opposition, blue Neptune will shine with a slightly enhanced magnitude of 7.8. Since it will be opposite the sun in the sky, Neptune will be visible all night long in backyard telescopes. Good binoculars (orange circle) can show it, too, if your sky is very dark. Your best views will come after 9 p.m. local time, when the blue planet has risen higher. Around opposition, Neptune's apparent disk size will peak at 2.4 arc-seconds and its large moon Triton will be the most visible (inset). Throughout September, Neptune will be located a short distance to the left of much brighter Saturn, both planets below (or celestial southeast of) the circle of stars that forms Pisces' western fish.

Wednesday, Sept. 24 - Delicate moon and Mars (after sunset)

On Wednesday evening after sunset, the delicate crescent of the young moon will appear above the southwestern horizon for about an hour. Sharp eyes and binoculars (orange circle) might spot the weak speck of Mars located about a palm's width to the moon's upper right (or ~6 degrees to the celestial NNW). On the following evening, the moon's slightly thicker crescent will shift east, putting Mars about 1.5 fist diameters to the moon's right.

Friday, Sept. 26 - The Andromeda Galaxy (all night)

September evenings feature the Andromeda Galaxy climbing the northeastern sky after dusk. This large spiral galaxy, also designated Messier 31 (or M31) and NGC 224, is the closest large galaxy to us — at a distance of "only" 2.5 million light-years. It covers an area of the sky measuring 3 by 1 degrees (or six by two full moon diameters). Under dark skies, the galaxy can be seen with unaided eyes as a faint smudge located 1.4 fist diameters to the left (or 14 degrees to the celestial northeast) of Alpheratz, the star that forms the left-hand (northwestern) corner of the square of Pegasus.

The three highest (westernmost) stars of Cassiopeia, Caph, Shedar, and Navi (Gamma Cas), also conveniently form a triangle that points towards M31. Binoculars (orange circle) will show the galaxy best. For telescopes, use low magnification and look for M31's two smaller companion galaxies, the foreground Messier 32 and more distant Messier 110 (inset).

Saturday, Sept. 27 - Moon crosses Scorpius (early evening)

As the sky darkens on Saturday evening, Sept. 27, the stars of Scorpius will appear around the waxing crescent moon. The very bright, reddish star Antares, which marks the heart of the scorpion, will shine just to the moon's right (or celestial west). The up-down row of fainter stars that form the claws of the critter will be off to Antares' right.

Sunday, Sept. 28 - The first known exoplanet (all night)

In the eastern sky on starry September evenings, look for a dim star shining a thumb's width just outside of the baseball diamond shape of Pegasus' Great Square, midway between the top and right corners. That yellow, sunlike star named Helvetios (or 51 Pegasi) was orbited by the first exoplanet ever discovered in 1995. The planet, which orbits that star every 4.23 days at a distance much closer to the star than Mercury does in our solar system, is categorized as a Hot Jupiter type. Originally nick-named Bellerophon, one of the original riders of Pegasus in Greek mythology, the planet is now officially named Dimidium, the Latin word for "half" — since the planet has half the mass of Jupiter.

Monday, Sept. 29 - First quarter moon

When the moon completes the first quarter of its journey around Earth on Monday, Sept. 29, at 7:54 p.m. EDT, 4:54 p.m. PDT or 23:54 GMT, its 90-degree angle away from the sun will cause us to see the moon half-illuminated — on its eastern side. In first quarter, the moon always rises around midday and sets around midnight, so it is also visible in the daytime sky, too. The evenings surrounding first quarter are the best ones for seeing the lunar terrain when it is dramatically lit by low-angled sunlight, especially along the terminator, the pole-to-pole boundary that separates the lit and dark hemispheres.

Visible planets

Mercury

Mercury's superior conjunction with the sun on Sept. 13 will prevent it from being visible this month.

Venus

Brilliant, magnitude -3.9 Venus will share the eastern predawn sky with Jupiter all month long. Its angle from the sun will decrease from 31 degrees to 24 degrees, lowering it substantially in the sky and shortening its viewing window. Venus will commence September positioned just 1.1 degrees to the lower right (or celestial south) of the large Beehive star cluster in Cancer. Then it will travel east through the Crab and enter the Lion on Sept. 10, forming a spectacular, very close conjunction between Regulus and the waning crescent moon on Sept. 19. A telescope will show Venus waxing from 84% to 91%-illuminated and its apparent disk size shrinking from 12.3 to 11.1 arc-seconds.

Mars

The earlier sunsets of September will allow the reddish planet Mars to remain visible with difficulty in the lower part of the bright western sky, though it will be too far away and too low for clear telescope views. Mars' eastward orbital motion through western Virgo will carry it two finger widths above (or 2.2 degrees to the celestial north of) her brightest star Spica on Sept. 12. The waxing crescent moon will shine a palm's width to Mars' lower left (or 6 degrees to its celestial SE) on Sept. 24.

Jupiter

As it climbs farther from the sun during September, very bright, magnitude -2.1 Jupiter will increasingly dominate the eastern sky from the wee hours until sunrise, with brilliant Venus rising to join it before dawn. Binoculars will reveal Jupiter's four large Galilean moons flanking the planet, a backyard telescope will show its equatorial bands on a disk that grows from 34.4 to 36.9 arc-seconds, and a better quality instrument will reveal the Great Red Spot every 2nd or 3rd night and Jupiter's Galilean satellites frequently eclipsing and occulting one another. From time to time, they will cast their round, black shadows on the planet, many events featuring Io and Europa shadows crossing simultaneously. Jupiter's eastward trek through central Gemini will carry it very close to the medium-bright star Wasat on Sept. 6. The pretty, waning crescent moon will create a lovely photo opportunity when it shines near Jupiter on Sept. 16-17.

Saturn

Creamy-yellow Saturn will be available for viewing all night long during September because it will be rising shortly after dusk. The ringed planet will be traveling retrograde westward through the stars of western Pisces until it crosses into Aquarius at month-end. Far fainter Neptune will be positioned approximately 2.3 degrees to Saturn's upper left (celestial ENE). On Sept. 20-21, Saturn will reach opposition. At that time, the ringed planet will be at a distance of 794 million miles, 1.278 billion km, 71 light-minutes, or 8.55 Astronomical Units from Earth.

While planets at opposition always look their brightest, Saturn's peak magnitude of 0.62 will be boosted by the Seeliger effect, backscattered sunlight from its rings. In a telescope, Saturn will show an apparent disk diameter of 19 arc-seconds, and its rings will subtend 45 arc-seconds. Still only months after appearing edge-on to us in March, Saturn's rings will remain narrow and its moons will continue to travel close to its ring plane, producing shadow transits of its largest moon Titan, every 16 days. The full moon will shine to either side of Saturn on Sept. 7-8.

Uranus

Uranus will spend September positioned less than a binoculars' field to the lower right (or about 4.5 degrees to the celestial SSE) of the prominent Pleiades star cluster in Taurus. After Sept. 6, it will commence a slow westward retrograde loop that will cross 4 degrees of the sky in 22 weeks. Uranus will attain sufficient altitude for clear telescope views after midnight. The magnitude 5.7 planet can be spotted as a blue-green speck in binoculars and as a small 3.6 arc-seconds-wide, blue-green disk through any telescope. The waning gibbous moon will shine near Uranus on Sept. 13.

Neptune

During September, the distant, magnitude 7.8 planet Neptune will cross the night sky all night long, just 2 finger widths to the left (or about 2 degrees to the celestial northeast) of much brighter Saturn and very close to the celestial equator. Both planets will be moving retrograde westward, with Saturn outpacing Neptune and gradually widening their separation. On Sept. 23, Neptune will reach opposition — closest to Earth for this year at a distance of 2.68 billion miles, 4.32 billion km, 4 light-hours, or 28.9 Astronomical Units. Around opposition, Neptune's apparent disk size will peak at 2.36 arc-seconds and its large moon Triton will reach peak visibility.