We have four planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus, at their near best in September! Jupiter is brilliant in the southern sky after sunset. Saturn is just to the left of Jupiter, but dimmer. These two gas giants are just left of the constellation Sagittarius, the teapot shape in the stars. Mars continues to brighten, rising two hours after sunset on September 1 and one hour after on September 30. By month-end, Mars will be slightly brighter than Jupiter. Dazzling Venus rises three hours before sunrise and passes two degrees south (lower right) of the Beehive star cluster on September 13.
Ful Moon occurs on September 2 but is not the Northern hemisphere Harvest Moon this year. The Full Moon on October 1 is closer to the equinox, so it becomes their Harvest Moon. Our first day of Spring is tomorrow Sept 1 here in Australia and the Spring or Vernal equinox occurs on September 22 at 11:30pm AEST. On September 24 and 25, the Moon will be nearby Jupiter and Saturn. The Crescent Moon and Venus will make a lovely pairing in the predawn sky, on September 14. Finally, the Moon and Mars share the sky, after midnight, on September 6.
