In this guide we'll reveal what you can see in the night sky tonight, and throughout the month.
Our guide is centred around what's visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.
September 2026 astronomy highlights
- 8 September: The Moon occults the Beehive Cluster from 04:00 BST (03:00 UT) until dawn
- 14 September: See a tricky lunar occultation reappearance of Venus (11:30 BST (10:30 UT))
- 23 September: The Northern Hemisphere’s autumn equinox
- 26 September: Neptune reaches opposition
- 26 September: 2026's Harvest Moon is tonight
In our guide, we use Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT.
We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’.
For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates.
If you're south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight.
Family stargazing tip for September 2026
The full Moon in September is known as the Harvest Moon. Around this time, the Moon rises at nearly the same time for several evenings in a row.
This gives youngsters the perfect opportunity to practice a bit of astrophotography – whether with a smartphone or a camera – at the same time over multiple evenings.
Set them a challenge to capture an interesting shot of the Moon rising.
On 26 September, moonrise is at about 18:40 BST (17:40 UT), the Moon appearing above the eastern horizon. Don’t forget to give lots of encouragement!
Planets
Read our month-by-month guide to visible planets for the whole year
- Mercury: Evening planet, but unlikely to be seen as it’s too low after sunset.
- Venus: Visible in the west-southwest in Virgo, 30 minutes after sunset. Best seen start of September.
- Mars: Visible in Cancer in the east-southeast from midnight onwards
- Jupiter: Visible in Leo in the east just before sunrise. Best seen, end of September
- Saturn: Visible in Cetus in the south around midnight. Best seen, end of September
- Uranus: Visible in Taurus in the south. Best seen, end of September
- Neptune: Visible in Pisces in the south around midnight. Best seen, end of September
Dark nights, the Milky Way on view
September is a transitional month for stargazing.
The Northern Hemisphere’s autumn equinox on 23 September, marks the time when night expands at its fastest rate for the year.
When darkness descends and the Moon is out of the way, there is time to enjoy the dramatic summer sky.
The persistence of summer provides excellent opportunities to observe the brighter sections of the Milky Way.
You’ll need good dark skies during the first half of September to see it at its best, the Moon moving in to spoil the view after this.
Constellations
The lead constellation of autumn is Pegasus, characterised by the Great Square of Pegasus asterism.
Despite its grand name, the Great Square is made up of middle brightness second and third magnitude stars. It is large though.
South and east of the pattern is a region made up of sprawling constellations, lacking in strong, bright patterns.
Many have connections with water, the overall name for this region being ‘The Sea’.
If you wait long enough, the stars of winter will also appear, Orion becoming quite well placed before dawn by the end of the month, the stars of spring also getting a brief look in at this time.
A faint constellation of spring is Cancer, the Crab. At the heart of its inverted ‘Y’ shaped pattern is an open cluster known as the Beehive or M44.
On the morning of 8 September through to dawn, a 10%-lit waning crescent Moon can be seen passing in front of its stars.
The event starts around 04:00 BST (03:00 UT) with the bright edge of the Moon doing the hiding.
The sky will become too bright around 05:40 BST (04:40 UT), so it’s just the disappearance that’s visible this time round. However, it should make for a good photo.
Lunar occultations
Later that day, around 18:30 BST (17:30 UT), the now 7%-lit waning crescent Moon approaches Jupiter prior to an occultation.
Unfortunately, from the UK, the occultation occurs after the pair have set.
But if you are able to locate the thin waning lunar crescent above the west-northwest horizon before moonset, it provides a good navigational aid to find mag. -1.7 Jupiter under daylight conditions. Both will be tricky to find though.
A sadly missed Jupiter occultation gives way to a tricky lunar occultation reappearance of Venus.
On 14 September, at around 11:30 BST (10:30 UT), Venus reappears from behind a 12%-lit waxing lunar crescent.
However, this is difficult to see, as the Moon will only be 3° above the southeast horizon at the time.
If you miss the actual reappearance, there’s the chance to track down this thin waxing Moon crescent and mag -4.4 Venus together in the daytime sky later in the day.
Best chance to see Neptune
Neptune reaches opposition on 26 September 2026. Although the difference between Neptune in opposition and non-opposition is subtle, the planet is visible all night long.
The Moon is at opposition on 26 September too, as it reaches its full phase.
This full Moon occurs just three days after the September equinox, defining it as the Harvest Moon for 2026.
The rise time difference from one day to the next, of the fuller Moon phases, are minimised for the year around the September equinox.
This means the bright Moon is present at similar times of night for a period of days, lighting the way for the farmers of old to bring in the harvest.
Night sky in September 2026, night-by-night
Tuesday 1 September
Incredibly low and poorly placed from the UK, if you can catch a view of Venus after sunset, you’ll find mag. +1.0 Spica (Alpha (α) Virginis) located 1.5° above it (north-northeast of the planet).
Thursday 3 September
This morning’s 63%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits around 5° east of the Pleiades open cluster in Taurus.
Friday 4 September
This evening, the 12th-magnitude comet 161P/Hartley–IRAS can be found approximately 0.25° north of mag. +4.0 Tau1 (τ1) Eridani.
Saturday 5 September
This evening is a good time for this month’s Moonwatch target (see page 52), the 28km-wide crater Euler.
Monday 7 September
In the early hours of this morning, mag. +1.2 Mars can be seen 5.2° west of the 19%-lit waning crescent Moon.
Tuesday 8 September
From 04:00 BST (03:00 UT), a 10%-lit crescent Moon occults M44, the Beehive Cluster in Cancer.
As the Moon is about to set at 18:20 BST (17:20 UT), mag. –1.7 Jupiter is just 1° to its west.
Wednesday 9 September
Explore the deep-sky objects around Capricornus and Aquarius, including the wonderful, large planetary nebula known as the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293).
Thursday 10 September
Around 03:00 BST (02:00 UT), mag. +1.2 Mars appears 52 arcminutes north of mag. +3.5 Wasat (Delta (δ) Geminorum).
Friday 11 September
As the Moon is new, try to find comet 10P/Tempel. It’s currently low in Piscis Austrinus, which reaches its highest position due south around midnight. Use mag. +1.2 Fomalhaut (Alpha (α) Piscis Austrini) as a guide.
Saturday 12 September
Due south around 03:30 BST (02:30 UT) today is the enigmatically sci-fi star Tau (τ) Ceti.
Monday 14 September
There’s another unfortunately timed lunar occultation today, when Venus emerges from the 12%-lit waxing crescent Moon’s bright edge after 11:30 BST (10:30 UT) under daylight conditions. The Moon will be 3° up at this time.
Wednesday 16 September
Having now brightened to 11th magnitude, comet 161P/Hartley–IRAS can be found approximately 0.3° south of mag. +3.5 Tau (τ) Ceti this evening.
Friday 18 September
Around 19:00 BST (18:00 UT), a view of the Moon will reveal the popular clair-obscur effects known as the Lunar X and V, the letters appearing among the shadows and highlights seen along the lunar terminator.
Wednesday 23 September
At 01:04 BST (00:04 UT), the centre of the Sun’s disc crosses the celestial equator, heading south. This marks the Northern Hemisphere’s autumn equinox and the spring equinox for the Southern Hemisphere.
Saturday 26 September
Neptune reaches opposition and is visible under full darkness all night long.
Today’s full Moon is the Harvest Moon for 2026.
Sunday 27 September
In the early hours around 05:00 BST (04:00 UT), the full Moon sits 6° to the northwest of mag. +0.2 Saturn.
Wednesday 30 September
Just after the Moon rises after 20:30 BST (19:30 UT), the 79%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits 1.4° west of the Pleiades open cluster in Taurus.
FAQs
What time is best for stargazing tonight?
It might sound obvious, but the best time for stargazing is when it's properly dark! That means when the Sun has truly set and the sky is at its darkest.
Having said that, not all objects visible in the sky tonight will be visible for the whole night. You might want to observe a planet that's visible at the moment, only to find it sets shortly after the Sun.
Or you might be looking for the Moon at a time when it's below the horizon.
A good stargazing app will help you decide what you want to observe in the night sky tonight, where and when to look.
Do I need a telescope?
You don't need a telescope to get a good view of the night sky, and this is especially the case for beginners. If you have a clear night and a dark sky free from light pollution, there's a lot you can see.
Bright stars and constellations, bright planets, meteor showers and even distant star clusters can be seen with the naked eye.
Binoculars will get you a closer look at these objects, and you'd be surprised at what even a modest pair can do for your view of the night sky.
A telescope, however, takes things to the next level, giving you amazing detail on the surface of the Solar System planets and the Moon, and revealing objects that would be invisible to the naked eye.
What if it's cloudy tonight?
Keep an eye on the weather forecast; it may be due to clear later on in the evening. If you really are facing a night of clouds, however, there's not much you can do.
You could stay indoors instead and plan for future stargazing sessions. Take a look at the weather forecast for the coming week. Work out when you've got the best chance of having a clear sky and plan what you might want to observe in advance.
That way, when a clear night rolls around, you'll have a plan of action and will be able to get your stargazing underway much more quickly.
Share your observations and images with us, or send us your astronomy questions to contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
