While I was driving to gas station last night, I noticed lots of stars above. I realized that we are already in September and the nights are getting darker. I have been working way too much because I haven’t even realized that stargazing season has already began. Anyhow, as soon as I noticed the stars and realized that the season has began, warm feeling went through my body. I knew that finally I can slow down my working pace and enjoy the long nights outside.. It’s going to be yet another fascinating stargazing season!

So, what can we see right now up on the sky? Which stars can be seen in northern hemisphere in September 2008? Let’s spend a moment and find out. This article provides you few skywatching tips for September 2008.

Before we go to my stargazing tips of September 2008, I would like to remind you that Homeboy’s Astronomy Blog will again write articles more frequently as the skywatching season has began. So, stay tuned and read our articles almost daily from now on. Notice also out RSS feed and automatic email updates.

Stars in northern hemisphere in September 2008

September is great time to observe the Milky Way. Try to find as dark place as possible, and watch directly upwards. Recognizing the Milky Way is not easy, but if you are lucky, you can see it in the direction of constellations Deneb and Cassiopeia.

In September you can also observe the stars of so called Summer Triangle, which can be seen shining bright on southern sky. On right side you can see Vega, while Deneb is located on left side. In between those two is Altair. Although this picture is from July, the sky looks much like this.

One very interesting star you can watch in September is pretty bright Arcturus. You can see Arcturus in West, while another interesting star Capella is located in North-East.

Moon and stars in northern hemisphere in September 2008

Moon and stars have few interesting “meetings” in September 2008. See the dates below.

20/21.9. - Moon close to Aldebaran
23/24.9. - Moon close to Castor ja Pollux
26.9. - Moon close to Regulus (almost morning)
20.9. - Pleiades covered by the Moon (almost morning)

Andromeda’s galaxy in September 2008

Probably the most interesting target for skywatching in September 2008 is the distant and beautiful galaxy of Andromeda. Although it is not easy to observe Andromeda, it is a fascinating target. If you are new to skywatching, please notice that Andromeda is not as visual target as planets, for example. Andromeda is very far from us, so we cannot see it that well. As you watch Andromeda, think about how far it is from us. The light you see when watching Andromeda, has started its journey 3 million years ago. In those days the very first humans watched the night sky somewhere deep in Africa. Isn’t it amazing? This is one of the reasons why I am so interested in astronomy. It’s awesome.