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Night Sky for September 2022

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Visible planets and bright stars to see in the night sky!

Bob Berman
September 16, 2022
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Start watching Mars and Jupiter! On September 16 and 17, the Moon and Mars meet. And mark your calendars for September 26 when Jupiter is at its nearest and brightest of the year. All you have to do is look up! Here are viewing tips from Bob Berman.

Visible Planets of September 2022

by Bob Berman, as featured in The 2022 Old Farmer’s Almanac

Visible Planets at Night

Ah, September nights!  The planets’ long, predawn repertory performance is coming to a close, with Venus getting very low and finishing its run as a morning star. The scene shifts to the evening sky, with Jupiter and Saturn both up in the east after 9 P.M.!

  • Jupiter is brightest and out ALL night from sunset all the way until sunup
  • Saturn is up before sunset and also out all evening!
  • Mars rises later in the evening (nearer midnight) and can be seen until it’s nearing sunup.

Night Sky Tonight: Mark Your Calendars

Saturn Highlights

  • 7th: Saturn hovers to the left of the Moon.
  • 8th: That Saturn shifts to the right of the Moon.

Jupiter Highlights

  • 10th: Jupiter stands to the left of the Moon.
  • 11th: Jupiter is just above the Moon.
  • 26th: Jupiter reaches its annual opposition

Mars Highlights

Planet Mars isn’t always very visible. Start watching mid-month as it’s starting to get brighter and redder. The Moon is a great pointer on the 16th and 17th.

  • 16th:  Mars is now rising at 11:30 P.M. Look up on Friday night, September 16, for the Moon and red Mars appears to the lower left.  The Moon is near its Last Quarter. 
  • 17th: Mars now appears to the lower right of the Moon. It will stay out until dawn. 

Mars will rise around 10 p.m. local time by the end of this month, though it’s best in the hours after midnight when it’s darkest (2 AM).

Jupiter at Opposition

Mark your calendars! On the evening of Monday, September 26, Jupiter makes its closest, biggest, and brightest appearance of the year. The yearly “opposition” happens with Earth passes between the Sun and the Jupiter, so Earth is at its nearest point to the Giant Planet. 

Even better, this year, it’s a very close opposition—the nearest in 70 years. Here’s how to see Jupiter at its nearest, brightest, and best in your lifetime!

Autumnal Equinox

Thursday evening, September 22 brings the autumnal equinox—at 9:04 P.M. EDT. This marks the start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere, and the start of spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

The equinoxes occur twice per year when Earth’s tilt with respect to the Sun is the same for both hemispheres. Both north and south receive the same amount of sunlight, and day and night are, briefly, of nearly equal length. 

Learn more about the first day of fall!

Pegasus Shines in September

This month, watch for Pegasus, the Winged Horse in the southeastern sky! A useful guide to this asterism (unofficial star pattern) is the Great Square, which outlines Pegasus’ body. See our star chart and how to find Pegasus.

Moon
Sky Watch
Solstice
Stars
Planets
Venus
Saturn
Mars
Jupiter

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Comments

Bob S. (not verified)

2 years 4 months ago

Hi Neighbor, I have followed you for many, many years, and being a Greene County old timer, I wish too thank you for years of invaluable information, service to our community, and reading ?entertainment. I live not far from you, in Palenville, NY, the setting of Rip Van Winkles wandering up our cove, too go bowling with the crew of the Halfmoon and sleep. When I walk my best pal, at approximately, every evening before bed, between 10:30PM and 11:00PM, and then again every morning around 5:30-6:00 AM, and as I look at most of the wonderous and fantastical night and pre-dawn sky events, they are always at different compass positions, from your great articles of our beautiful nocturnal heavens. Take Jupiter, last night it was low in the SW sky, not South, and has been there for, pretty much, all summer long. Then in the morning it sits due East/South East, very bright in the dawn rising sun, again all summer long. Mars, has moved around a bit over the last few months, and has brightened and dimmed as it moved in the sky all summer. This morning, September 3rd, 2020, it was very bright, directly above my head, as bright and big as I have ever seen the red planet with my naked eye. And, last night at 11:00PM Mars was in the N/NW Sky, directly over Katterskill Cove notch. Saturn has not been as easy too see with the naked eye, but I have, about a couple/few weeks ago, Jupiter and Saturn were due west fairly high in the evening sky, not far from each other, just under the waxing, or was it waning, I forget, moon for several nights, moving a bit each night's bedtime walk. My view is limited living in a Cove, (bowl, notch, waterway), and surrounded by tall pines, oaks, hemlocks, and maples, making Venus, and Mercury sightings virtually impossible. All that being said, generally my veiw is always slightly skewed from your insightful points of veiw. And, I just have always wondered why? Again Bob, thank you for years of service too, not only the Almanac and local newspapers, but for your work connserving our beautiful home, here in Greene County New York.

mary beth (not verified)

2 years 4 months ago

This is a very exciting season! I am very much looking forward to all the events Bob has beautifully described. Thank you so much OFA and Bob for this column!