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After sunset you can spot yellowish Saturn rising in the east, crossing the sky throughout the night. Jupiter shines super bright, rising in the east a bit later than Saturn. In the predawn, find Venus shining very bright, low in the east, with Mercury far below it but as high as it’ll get for the next little while. Learn what else to look for in September’s night skies.
What’s up in the night sky: September 2023
Our monthly feature focuses on easy and fun things to see in the night sky, including eclipses, supermoons, meteor showers, planetary conjunctions, and more.
Your current night sky view
Want a map of tonight's sky for your location? We recommend Stellarium, available on the web and for mobile devices.
Night Sky Toolkits
Five best things to see with a beginner telescope From planets like Jupiter and Saturn to wonders beyond our Solar System like the Andromeda Galaxy, here are five things in the night sky that beginner stargazers can find with a simple telescope or binoculars.
Astronomy for Beginners
An introduction to backyard astronomy for amateur stargazers.
How to pick the best beginner telescope
Picking out your first telescope can be overwhelming. This easy-to-follow guide will help you find the best telescope that you'll actually use.
Night Sky Photography for Beginners
An introduction to full-sky astrophotography using a digital camera.
The Perseid meteor shower 2023: How to watch
Here's everything you need to know about the annual Perseid meteor shower and how to watch it.
Moon Toolkits
Moon features you can see from Earth
What can you see on the Moon tonight? This guide from The Planetary Society will help you identify some features.
What is a supermoon?
What is a supermoon, and why does it happen?
The Moon, preserving Earth's origin story
The Moon is the only world besides Earth ever visited by humans. By studying it, scientists can piece together Earth’s origin story.
Can the Moon be upside down?
When you think about how the Moon looks in the night sky, you might never have considered that it looks different to people in other parts of the world. But really, perspective is all relative.