{"id":62757,"date":"2024-08-29T12:25:55","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T12:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7ad3a307-4e40-4c49-a90f-c239b27d55d5"},"modified":"2024-08-29T12:39:55","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T12:39:55","slug":"lunar-eclipse-saturn-at-its-best-and-comet-c-2023-a3-discover-the-best-things-in-the-night-sky-in-september","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/lunar-eclipse-saturn-at-its-best-and-comet-c-2023-a3-discover-the-best-things-in-the-night-sky-in-september\/","title":{"rendered":"Lunar eclipse, Saturn at its best and comet C\/2023 A3. Discover the best things in the night sky in September"},"content":{"rendered":"

What can you see in the night sky tonight? Find out what’s on view in our monthly stargazing guide. <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 29 August 2024 at 12:25 PM<\/p>

\n\n

In this guide we’ll reveal what you can see in the night sky tonight, and throughout the month.<\/p>

Those of us who enjoy stargazing and observing the night sky can’t always plan when and where we’re going to get the chance to gaze upwards.<\/p>

Busy schedules, light pollution<\/a>, the weather: sometimes finding even just 30 minutes to stand and stare up at a clear, dark night sky and take in the planets, stars and constellations can be a feat in itself.<\/p>

So when you do find the time, you’ll need to know what’s visible in the night sky tonight, and the best things to look out for when stargazing.<\/p>

Complete newcomer? Read our guides to the best telescopes for beginners<\/a> and astronomy for beginners<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

Credit: M Gucci \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Here’s our stargazing guide to what you can see in the night sky tonight.<\/p>
Our guide is centred around what’s visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.<\/p>
In our guide, we use Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT<\/p>
We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).<\/p>
These coordinates are the night sky\u2019s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial \u2018globe\u2019.<\/p>
For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates<\/a>.<\/p>
**For more advice, read our guide on** **how to stargaze<\/a> or sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter<\/a> for weekly tips delivered directly to your email inbox.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>**
***If you’re south of the equator, find out what you can see in the*** ***Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>***
$\"Milky$
Milky Way over Namthing Pokhri Lake Basudeb Chakrabarti, West Bengal, India, 13 March 2022 Equipment: Nikon D5200 DSLR, Tokina 11\u201316mm lens, tripod<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**What’s in the night sky tonight?<\/strong><\/h2>**
**September astronomy highlights<\/strong><\/h3>**
**2 September:<\/strong> Very thin Moon lies near Regulus (am)<\/li>**
**5 September:<\/strong> Venus lies near 5%-lit waxing crescent Moon (pm)<\/li>**
**8 September:<\/strong> Saturn at opposition<\/li>**
**13\/14 September:<\/strong> Excellent Ganymede shadow transit from 23:38 BST<\/li>**
**18 September:<\/strong> Small partial lunar eclipse of the Harvest Moon (am)<\/li><\/ul>****Planets<\/strong><\/h2>** $\"Chart$
Chart showing the location of Saturn at opposition and throughout September 2024. Click to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Hold on to your hats this month as there is lots happening. In terms of the planets, that old adage about how you wait forever for a bus to turn up and then two arrive at once seems to apply.<\/p>
After a painfully slow start to the 2024 season, the planets are back with a vengeance this month!<\/p>
Saturn is at opposition<\/a> on 8 September<\/strong>, Neptune on **21 September<\/strong>, both well-placed currently.<\/p>**
**Mars is slowly improving and has a brief encounter with** M35<\/a> on the morning of **9 September<\/strong>, passing 52 arcminutes south of the cluster\u2019s centre.<\/p>**
**Jupiter is superb, able to reach an altitude of nearly 60\u00b0 under relatively dark skies. At mag. \u20132.1 it\u2019s a real beacon too.<\/p>**
**Jupiter is located 3.3\u00b0 east-northeast of the** Crab Nebula<\/a>, M1, on **30 September<\/strong>.<\/p>**
**$\"The$**
The Crab Nebula. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Uranus is near Jupiter currently and this dim world rises to around 56\u00b0 altitude under dark sky conditions from mid-month.\u00a0<\/p>
Even the inner Solar System joins in.<\/p>
Mercury rises 90 minutes before the Sun on 1 September<\/strong>, reaching greatest western elongation on **5 September<\/strong>.<\/p>**
**Venus improves in visibility in the evening sky, albeit very slowly.<\/p>**
Venus sits 4.7\u00b0 northwest of a 5%-lit waxing crescent Moon on the evening of 5 September<\/strong> and sets 50 minutes after the Sun on **30 September<\/strong>.<\/p>**
***Find out more in our guide to the*** ***planets during autumn and winter 2024<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>***
**Comet C\/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS<\/strong><\/h2>** $\"Comet$
Comet C\/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) captured by Jos\u00e9 J. Chambo, remotely from Hakos Farm, Namibia, 26 June 2024, 18:03 UTC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
September and October will be the times to look out for comet C\/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS \u2013 if it lives up to the hype.<\/p>
How will it perform and will it reach expectations?<\/p>
It\u2019s not possible to tell ahead of time, but we give you as much rational observing information as we can in our comet C\/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS<\/a> guide.<\/p>
This month it\u2019s predicted to brighten from mag. +4.9 to +0.3 but, be warned, it\u2019s placed in a tricky part of the sky.<\/p>
**The Moon<\/strong><\/h2>**
$\"A$
Click to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
If thin<\/strong> Moon<\/strong> hunting is your thing, there\u2019s an excellent opportunity on **2 September<\/strong>, as a less than 1%-lit waning crescent sits near** **Regulus<\/a> (Alpha (\u03b1) Leonis) in the dawn sky.<\/p>**
If you prefer your Moon at a fuller phase, on **18 September<\/strong> there\u2019s a tiny partial eclipse<\/a> to look forward to.<\/p>**
**This will obviously be happening to the full Moon and, occurring just four days before the Northern Hemisphere\u2019s** **autumn equinox<\/a>, this particular full Moon takes the title of the Harvest Moon<\/a> for 2024.\u00a0<\/p>**
**Stars and constellations<\/strong><\/h2>**
$\"constellation$
Click to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The stars of summer are well represented early evening.<\/p>
With darker skies to see them in, September is a great month for exploring the region from Cygnus, the Swan down to Sagittarius, the Archer.<\/p>
Despite drifting further west each day, the increase in the length of night offsets this, giving these regions an extended lease of life.\u00a0<\/p>
Following from the east of Cygnus is the large sprawling constellation of Pegasus, the Flying Horse, best recognised by the large Great Square of the Pegasus asterism.<\/p>
$\"Chart$
Chart showing the location of the Great Square of Pegasus asterism in the night sky. Click to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Running along the bottom of the Great Square and near its eastern side is Pisces, the Fish, which contains a faint but distinctive geometric asterism the Circlet, sitting just south of the Great Square.<\/p>
Below Pegasus is Aquarius, the Water Bearer, the current home of Saturn.<\/p>
It too is large and difficult to visualise, save for the small three-pronged asterism known as the Water Jar.<\/p>
To the southwest of Aquarius lies the triangular form of Capricornus, the Sea Goat, an ancient constellation that dates back to Babylonian times.\u00a0<\/p>
**Night sky in September 2024, night-by-night<\/strong><\/h2>**
Saturday 31 August<\/strong><\/h3>
Jupiter occults a magnitude +11.3 star between 00:00 and 01:34 BST (23:00 UT on 30 August until 00:34 UT).<\/p>
This morning a 7%-lit waning crescent Moon sits less than 3\u00b0 north of M44, the Beehive Cluster.<\/p>
Sunday 1 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Visible in the early dawn twilight, a 3%-lit waning crescent Moon sits 5.5\u00b0 from mag. +0.6 Mercury this morning.\u00a0<\/p>
Monday 2 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Saturn\u2019s largest moon, Titan, appears immediately south of the planet\u2019s southern pole at 02:52 BST (01:52 UT). Find out more about Saturn Titan transits<\/a>.<\/p>
This morning\u2019s waning crescent Moon is very thin, less than 1%-lit. It sits 2.3\u00b0 from Regulus (Alpha (\u03b1) Leonis) before sunrise.<\/p>
Tuesday 3 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Moons Dione and Tethys and their shadows are centrally placed on Saturn at 04:22 BST (03:22 UT).<\/p>
Thursday 5 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Mercury reaches greatest western elongation, separated from the Sun by 18.1\u00b0 this morning.<\/p>
Mag. \u20133.8 Venus sits 4.7\u00b0 northwest of a 5%-lit waxing crescent Moon, visible just after sunset.<\/p>
Friday 6 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Spica (Alpha (\u03b1) Virginis) appears 26 arcminutes north of this evening\u2019s 11%-lit waning crescent Moon at 18:50 BST (17:50 UT) under daylight conditions.<\/p>
Saturday 7 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Ganymede can be seen transiting Jupiter\u2019s disc between 01:04 and 03:15 BST (00:04\u201302:15 UT).<\/p>
Sunday 8 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Saturn reaches opposition, when it can be seen shining at magnitude +0.2 in Aquarius.\u00a0<\/p>
Monday 9 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Mars makes a close pass of the lovely fifth-magnitude open cluster Messier 35 this morning, the mag. +0.7 planet passing 52 arcminutes south of the cluster\u2019s centre.<\/p>
**Tuesday 10 September<\/strong><\/h3>**At 20:40 BST (19:40 UT), a view of the lunar crater Albategnius<\/a> will show a rim shadow that looks like the profile of a face \u2013 the clair-obscur effect known as the Face in Albategnius.<\/p>
$\"albategnius$
The ‘face in the Moon’ of crater Albategnius. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**Wednesday 11 September<\/strong><\/h3>**An early, daylight view of the Moon at 18:20 BST (17:20 UT) will show two illuminated ovals inside the lunar crater Clavius<\/a>, a clair-obscur effect<\/a> known as the Eyes of Clavius.<\/p>
Friday 13 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Ganymede\u2019s shadow transits Jupiter\u2019s disc between 23:38 and 01:50 BST (22:38\u201300:50 UT), Ganymede itself transiting between 05:00 and 07:20 BST (04:00\u201306:20 UT) under daylight conditions on 14 September.<\/p>
Tuesday 17 September<\/strong><\/h3>
See a bright, almost full Moon sitting 5.2\u00b0 south\u00adwest of Saturn this morning.\u00a0<\/p>
Just after midnight (into 18 September), Titan sits 4 arcseconds south of Saturn\u2019s southern pole.<\/p>
Wednesday 18 September<\/strong><\/h3>
This morning\u2019s full Moon, the Harvest Moon for 2024, undergoes a small partial eclipse. Maximum eclipse is at 03:44 BST (02:44 UT).<\/p>
Saturday 21 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Neptune is at opposition today.<\/p>
The shadow of Ganymede crosses Jupiter\u2019s disc between 03:40 and 05:52 BST (02:40\u201304:52 UT) this morning.<\/p>
**Sunday 22 September<\/strong><\/h3>**The 77%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits 4\u00b0 from the Pleiades<\/a> open cluster and 4\u00b0 north of Uranus this morning.\u00a0<\/p>
Today is the Northern Hemisphere\u2019s autumn equinox.\u00a0<\/p>
Monday 23 September<\/strong><\/h3>
The 58%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits 5\u00b0 north of Jupiter around 23:00 BST (22:00 UT) shortly after both objects rise.<\/p>
Wednesday 25 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Titan sits 4 arcseconds north of Saturn\u2019s north pole at 23:22 BST (22:22 UT).<\/p>
The 45%-lit waning crescent Moon sits 6\u00b0 north-northwest of Mars this morning.<\/p>
Monday 30 September<\/strong><\/h3>
Jupiter appears 3.3\u00b0 west-northwest of the Crab Nebula, M1, both objects reaching an altitude of around 60\u00b0 under relatively dark sky conditions.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>
Rhea\u2019s shadow crosses Saturn from 20:50 to 00:16 BST (19:50\u201323:16 UT).<\/p>
***Share your observations and images with us, or send us your astronomy questions to*** ***contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n***
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