A blood moon, Venus vs Jupiter (Spherical Two), and a brand new season

If you’re not in North America, this month’s full moon will make for fairly compelling viewing: the complete moon coincides with one other full lunar eclipse! Why sure, which means it is usually a giant ol’ blood moon! But even when your eyes are shielded from that individual piece of cosmic horror, September has a few different celestial tidbits to supply persistent stargazers.

September 7: Full, Potentially Bloody, Corn Moon

September’s full moon is the Corn Moon, a quintessentially American identify if there ever was one. But because it occurs, the complete moon additionally coincides with the second full lunar eclipse of 2025—which signifies that it’s additionally a blood moon as a result of its signature rosy hue! This leaves us with… a bloody corn moon? A corny blood moon? An ‘80s slasher moon? Whatever you want to call it, some 6.1 billion people in Asia and the western part of Australia are about to see a decidedly sanguine full moon.

Unfortunately, those of us in North America aren’t amongst them. Unlike March’s lunar eclipse , the moon shall be under the horizon by the point it’s plunged into shadow. We’ll simply be left with the corn. Always with the corn.

If you’re questioning precisely why a lunar eclipse turns the moon crimson, as a substitute of hiding it utterly, the brief reply is that the earth’s environment refracts gentle onto the moon’s floor. Long-wavelength crimson gentle will get refracted essentially the most, so this rosy gentle hits the moon. The lengthy reply awaits you right here. And if you wish to see the complete moon in all its unstained glory, the indispensable Farmer’s Almanac informs us that our satellite tv for pc will attain peak illumination at 2:09 p.m. ET on September 7.

September 16: Venus Returns For Another Dose of Jupiter

Venus and Jupiter have been spending quite a lot of time collectively of late. Last month discovered them hanging out in the identical a part of the sky.The Goddess of Love clearly favored what she noticed, as a result of they’ll be noticed collectively once more this month.

The two planets will seem close to one another low within the east-northest of the sky, with Jupiter rising first, between 1:30 a.m. and three a.m., and Venus following between 4:30 a.m. and 5:45 a.m. Chicago’s Adler Planetarium suggests that one of the best time to see simply what they’re getting as much as shall be September 16, after they’ll have  a fragile crescent moon for firm.

September 22: Autumnal Equinox

You’re in all probability conversant in the summer season solstice (the longest day of the yr) and the winter equal (the shortest day). But there are additionally equinoxes that mark spring and autumn. On lately, night time and day are of roughly the identical size,therefore the identify “equinox.”, a kind of Latin portmanteau of the phrases for “equal” and “night”. The Northern Hemisphere’s autumnal equinox is the spring equinox within the Southern Hemisphere (or “vernal equinox,” to present it its correct identify), and vice versa.

One such occasion is going on on September 22 at 2:19 p.m. ET. In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the autumnal equinox. The occasion marks the beginning of fall from an astrological perspective. From right here, the times will get progressively shorter till the winter solstice (however extra darkness means extra time for stargazing!). Officially, meteorological fall begins on September 1 yearly, however the place’s the enjoyable in that?

Anyway, each time you end up staring skywards in September, keep in mind that you’ll get one of the best expertise when you get away from any sources of sunshine air pollution—and you take a look at our stargazing tips earlier than you head off into the night time.

Until subsequent month!