What's Up Above? September Stargazing
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The Labor Day holiday summons the beginning of summer’s swan song. Can you hear it? More so, can you feel it? It is a soft lingering song. A familiar melody, beautiful and yet with a tinge of melancholy. The Milky Way, that hazy celestial river of life spanning and arching across our celestial dome, the “place of spirits,” the connection between Earth and Sky, life and life beyond, now flows a different path. Outside your window at night the Milky Way runs almost directly north to south, dividing the sky east and west, similar to the meridian. The constellation Cygnus, the swan, (appropriately and fittingly) majestically gliding overhead this galactic river heading south, sings her song. What do we hear? A change of season is afoot, yet, not fully here.
The stars come out earlier, and it is still comfortable; possibly even warm after the Sun bids us adieu. (Except where I live.) We’re in a stargazer’s sweet spot. The September sky is full of magic. Plus, you’ll find the night air is still an acceptable temperature, but with a mere hint of wispy chill occasionally passing through.
This month’s calendar takes a moment to call your attention to the Andromeda and Pegasus constellations rising over the eastern horizon as the night progresses. Take a moment to greet our closest galactic neighbor with your naked eye, and then soar to new heights and find the “Great Square” asterism directly overhead, representing the body of the winged horse Pegasus. Then turn west at sunset mid-month to catch the Moon and the planet Venus exchanging sideways glances. The celestial event of September which marks a significant transition for both the cosmos and us, is the autumnal equinox.
September, with its equinox, ushers in the beginning of the season of harvest, fulfillment, and gratitude. It is the month which straddles the final season of growth and the beginning season of harvest. And thus it is so with our September night sky. A sky rich, full of delightful objects to view and events to observe. Get out and look up any pleasant night this month. The cosmos awaits.
The Andromeda Galaxy: The entire month of September
The arrival of autumn brings with it many of the night sky’s most spectacular constellations and grandest mythological stories. One of the easiest to find after sunset is the constellation Cassiopeia, the vain Queen, and mother of Andromeda. Look to the northeast horizon edge after 8:30pm locally for five bright stars all of similar brightness (magnitude) that together create an asterism, it is the shape of a somewhat flattened letter “W.” The brightest star of the “W 4” is called Schedar. It will be our pointer star to find the Andromeda Galaxy. Just to confuse things, there is a constellation named Andromeda, as well as a galaxy named Andromeda. The Andromeda Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy like our Milky Way and is the nearest galaxy to us. It is our galactic neighbor galaxy. It has spectacular broad sweeping arms, one extending from each end of the bar. As it resides an intimate 2.5 million light-years from Earth, we can clearly see it with our unaided, naked-eye.
To find the Andromeda Galaxy, get to a dark location and first locate the constellation Cassiopeia and the five bright stars forming the “W.” Next, find Schedar, the brightest star of the five in the “W.” You’ll notice it is at the bottom of the most pronounced “V” in the “W” of Cassiopeia creating a pointer from which you draw an imaginary straight line from Schedar, back to the horizon. Extend your arm out and make a fist. Place the thumb of the closed fist on Schedar. Maintain the angle set by the pointer star, turn your wrist on the imaginary straight line down towards the horizon. When the line hits the horizon, at the other end of your fist, the pinky finger begins to look for a faint, slightly brighter patch of diffused light. Think of a light white finger print of chalk on a window pane about the size of a dime. That patch is the Andromeda Galaxy. Give your eyes time to adjust and as they do, the galaxy’s size will become more apparent. It will look like a large oval serving platter. It’d be appropriate to say “Whoa!” when you see it.
The Constellation Pegasus: The Great Square of a Winged Horse, the Entire Month of September
While you’re in the neighborhood, take a step to the right of the Andromeda Galaxy and locate another famous asterism, the Great Square of Pegasus. It’s easy to find notwithstanding the stars in the square are a bit dimmer. The brightest star of the great square is Alpheratz. This star occupies the upper left corner of the square. To find it, start at the Andromeda Galaxy, and move one fist width towards the south maintaining the same latitude. Each side of the square is approximately two fists width in length.
Yes, it does look like a half of a horse; there’s a head, a body (the Great Square), and front legs. The only problem is that Pegasus flies upside down through the night! You’ll need to be a little creative to visualize it, but it’s there and once you find it, you’ll never not see it again.
The Epsilon Perseid Meteor Shower Peak, September 9th
Do you recall the “British Invasion” and the debut performance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show? Excellent for you. Now, do you remember the act that followed the Beatles that night? (If you’re drawing a blank, it was the married comedy duo of Charlie Brill and Mtizi McCall.) Overlooked and forgotten. That’s what it’s like for the e-Perseid meteor shower. Truly, after summer’s biggest stargazing event, the August “granddaddy of ‘em all,” the Perseid meteor shower. Who could be blamed for not knowing there was an e-Perseid meteor shower? Well, now you know.
Interestingly the exact parent comet or asteroid which produced the e-Perseids’ debris trail is unknown. It is thought to be a long period comet. This is a comet with an orbital period around the Sun of 200 years or more. Two different comets, two different times, radiating from the same Perseus constellation.
The Epsilon Perseid produces fewer meteoroids overall (about 5 metros per hour at its peak). This year, as the Moon is 27-days old, it rises after the Earth has rotated into the full force of the meteor shower, prospects are good for limited luminance from the Moon washing out fainter meteors. That’s good news for you meteor hunters out there.
If you’re busy the night of the 9th, do not despair. The e-Perseid meteor shower is predicted to be visible till September 21st and has a history of being unpredictable. With meteoroids zipping along at 144,000 miles per hour, they are fast movers that often bring fireballs, and bolides that explode in a bright terminal flash.
To find the e-Perseid meteor shower in the night sky, orient yourself towards the north western horizon any time after sunset at your location. Scan the area about four fists above the horizon in the area where the Moon set in the west. The radiant point for this shower, the star Epsilon Persei, in the constellation Perseus, falls below the northwestern horizon at 2am. This means you pretty much have the entire night to spy one of the elusive, yet explosive e-Perseid meteoroids. Happy hunting!
A Wink and Sideways Glance At Sunset. The Moon and Venus, September 14th
Who can resist Venus? No god in mythology, or mortal cannot be enraptured by her beauty and brilliance. In fact, for the ancient Greeks, Venus was associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, desire, and attraction. She possessed a magical girdle or belt said to contain the power of irresistible attraction. Venus was Aphrodite's star. Even gods could be overcome by desire through her influence. And it appears on the 14th, our Moon is held by her irresistible draw.
Does Venus affect you? Find out for yourself on the 14th a bit before sunset, near 7pm local time. Look to the southwest as the Sun is just about to pass behind the west-southwest horizon and there you’ll see our cheeky crescent Moon, just a mere 4-days past its New Moon phase, trying earnestly to now be drawn in by the power of Venus. Yet, giving her a sideways glance; and admittedly, a little wink. You’ll have about one hour to catch their flirtatious conjunction before the pair bids you adieu. That’s nice.
The Autumnal Equinox: September 22nd
In the northern hemisphere, the autumnal equinox occurs on September 22rd, at 6:08am MT. The date of the autumnal equinox demarcates the end of the summer season and the beginning of the autumn season.
On this day, the center of the Sun sits high over the equator and spends roughly equal amounts of time above and below the horizon at every location on the Earth. No matter where you are in the world, the sun rises due east, and sets due west. Stand anywhere on the equator at the time of the equinox and look straight up, the sun is directly overhead.
There are two equinoxes a year, one in autumn, and one in spring; which are opposite of one another. More so, every planet in our solar system has an equinox when its tilt and orbit result in both hemispheres receiving equal amounts of light.
In Japan, Autumnal Equinox Day is a public holiday. It is a day when individuals take time to reconnect with their families and by tradition tend to the graves of ancestors, visit shrines, and meditate in temples.
The Harvest Full Moon, September 26th
Our September Full Moon is special and important because it is the nearest one to the autumnal equinox. It is called the Harvest Moon. But why?
Normally, our Moon rises about 50-minutes later each night in its cycle. As that cycle nears the autumnal equinox, and the vernal equinox (spring) as well, the interval between the daily moonrise becomes much shorter. This shortening then results in several evenings of bright moonlight which illuminates dusk soon after sunset. Yep, that’s the original natural "harvest light." In the agrarian cultures throughout time, the harvest season was a promise fulfilled, and to gather their yield, meant working quickly. Consequently, with the Moon close to the same time for several evenings, it gave our ancestors in the past as well as today, precious extra light to gather their crops.
Astronomically, the Full Moon occurs at a precise moment when the Moon is opposite the Sun in Earth's sky. Yet to our eyes, it can appear essentially full for the night before and the night after. In 2026, the exact full phase occurs at 10:48am MT on the 26th.
Among various regions, cultures, and societies, the September Full Moon has different seasonal names. For some First Nation People it is called the “Corn Moon,” the “Falling Leaves Moon,” and the “Yellow Leaf Moon.” For the Saxons of England, call it the “Winterfylleth” referring to September’s lunar month. If you are in China on this day, you can join in the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival. A festival which celebrates the traditions of family, gratitude, moon viewing; and of course, mooncakes. Sounds like fun. Let’s go.
Whether you can attend the Mid-Autumn Festival or not, when you look up at our Harvest Full Moon this month, take a moment to be thankful that the Moon has been with us from the beginning and continues to be both a clock in the sky and our constant, reliable companion through the changing seasons.
Each new season does indeed calls us forward, as well as asks us to be grateful for that which has passed. The summer celestial season has given much to us to see, enjoy, and contemplate. We feasted on the undeniable beauty and brilliance of Venus, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune through June, July, and August. We “ooh and aah” at the unexpected sighting of a meteor streaking across the heavens. We stared dumbfounded at the brighter fuzzy patch of light at the southern end of the Milky Way after we learned that patch is the galactic center of our home, the Milky Way Galaxy. Throughout the season, we gazed up at the Summer Triangle of constellations, our companions through it all.
It is appropriate that we take a moment to pause and watch Cygnus lightly fly south through our river of stars. Equally fitting is that we turn towards autumn. With anticipation and excitement, let's look up at the rising Pegasus constellation in the east, carrying Princess Andromeda from harm’s way. Now is the time for you to get carried away and turn towards a new season of stargazing full celestial joy, awe, and wonder. It’s there, just waiting for you to harvest.
Clear skies to you!
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