The Night Sky in September

Moon
The next Full Moon is on the 15th whilst the New Moon is on the 29th.

      Our nearest neighbour (Picture: NASA)

The Planets
On the 11th and 12th of month it may be possible to spot Venus, Mars and Mercury during broad daylight. On those days look due south and try to spot Venus about one third of the way between the horizon and the zenith. Very close by it should be possible to locate Mars and Mercury, the latter being noticeably brighter.

Mercury: Just visible early in the month after the Sun has set.
Venus: Close to Mercury and Mars it will not be easy to view despite magnitude of -3.8.
Mars: Not visible.
Jupiter: Appears low in the southern sky just after sunset. Unfortunately it never rises very high in the sky but its Great Red Spot and moons should be visible.
Saturn: Best viewed late in the month although its rings will appear very narrow.

        This could be a good month to view our secondmost distant planet (Picture: NASA)

Uranus: Reaches opposition on the 13th and with a magnitude of +5.8 it may even be visible with the naked eye on a very clear night. (Look for it near Capricornus.)
Neptune: Unless you have a 6-inch+ telescope, this is a planet best left to more experienced observers.

Constellations
The Summer Triangle (Deneb, Altair and Vega) are prominent in the southwestern sky. The asterism of the Great Square of Pegasus lies high in the southern sky. Below it two other asterisms are identifiable – the Circlet, immediately to the south and the Steering Wheel, just to the right.

Meteors
On the nights of the 8th and 21st look out for some enhanced meteor activity as the Piscid meteor shower peaks. The maximum ZHR is between 5 and 10.

Mount Tuffley Observatory: http://www.mtobsy.co.uk/