Saturn will shine brightly this month as it reaches opposition (opposite the sun in the sky) and its closest distance to earth - just 8.55 Astronomical Units or roughly 1.3 billion kilometers away. Because it's close, Saturn will appear a littler larger than usual, some 19 arc seconds in diameter.
Saturn will rise in the east as the Sun sets and rise higher in the sky as the evening progresses, setting in the west around dawn. Saturn lies in the direction of the relatively dim constellation Pisces, standing out to seem even brighter. Its rings are still nearly edge on to Earth observers, less than 2 degrees from our line of sight. Without the glare of the rings, spotting two of Saturn's fainter moons, icy Enceladus and Mimas (the Death Star moon), may be possible with modest telescopes.
Closer to home, the full moon falls on Sept. 7, along with a total lunar eclipse - unfortunately not visible from North America. Two weeks later, viewers in from Antarctica, New Zealand and the South Pacific will enjoy a partial solar eclipse during full moon.
On Sept. 10, the moon will be at perigee (smallest distance from Earth) just 226,660 miles (364,773 km) away.
The September equinox will occur on September 22, 2025, at 2:19 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) as the sun crosses the celestial equator from north to south. Both the southern and northern hemisphere receive equal amounts of sunlight, as autumn begins in the northern hemisphere and spring begins in the southern hemisphere.
Mercury will be hiding behind the Sun for much of September, but Venus will be very bright in the dawn sky. Mars will be visible low in the west in the evening sky but will be lost in the Sun's glare later in the month. Jupiter will rise after midnight in the east, and be visible until sunrise.
The College of Arts