On especially dark nights, you can see the Milky Way strip

In September, you can not only see the Milky Way in the sky, but you can also see many planets. One night is particularly suitable for observation.

FRANKFURT – If that’s not reason enough to look up at the starry sky: in September, the dark nights will be noticeably longer again, and you can see the stars in the sky earlier again because darkness falls faster. One night that might be worth looking at the stars is September 15th “Earth Night”. The initiative, launched by the non-profit organization “Godfathers of the Night,” calls for lights to be turned off throughout the night, starting at ten o’clock in the evening at the latest.

Earth Night always falls on the Friday in September closest to the new moon, and in 2023 it falls directly on the new moon. If too many lights are turned off, light pollution will significantly obscure the view of the stars. This is also the goal of the initiative, which aims to draw attention to the ever-increasing problem of light pollution.

Starry sky in September: dark nights and the Milky Way

Dark nights in September are also a good opportunity to observe the Milky Way. The milky band that gives our home galaxy its name stretches across the entire sky — from northeast to south, where the Milky Way’s center is in the constellation Sagittarius.

The summer constellations can still be seen, and the autumn constellations are emerging

The starry sky has changed little compared to August. Typical summer constellations such as the Swan, Lyre and Eagle, whose bright stars form the “Summer Triangle”, can still be seen in the sky, but the first autumn constellations are already appearing in the east. For example, the large Pegasus constellation can be seen in the east from the beginning of September. Three of Pegasus’ four main stars, along with the star Sera (the constellation Andromeda), form the Autumn Quadrantid – a striking square constellation of four bright stars.

The constellation Pisces lies beneath Pegasus – and is difficult to see due to its faint stars. The same applies to the autumn constellations Aquarius and Capricorn, both of which consist of many weak stars and do not rise very high above the horizon.

Starry sky in August: Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn can be seen

In terms of planets, not much has changed compared to the August sky: Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are still visible during August. Mars Currently not visible. Mercury joins for a few days and is visible for a short time before sunrise. “The best opportunity is from September 22 to 27, in the morning from 6 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. on the eastern horizon,” explains Sven Melchert of the Friends of the Stars (VdS) association. fr.de from IPPEN.MEDIA. Melchert also has a tip for finding Mercury: “At a slightly higher level, the brighter Venus shows the way.”