HEADLINES

What's Up for September? Your Personal NASA Guide to the Night Sky

The James Webb Space Telescope has begun the study of one of the most renowned supernovae, SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). Located 168,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, SN 1987A has been a target of intense observations at wavelengths ranging from gamma rays to radio for nearly 40 years, since its discovery in February 1987. New observations by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera provide a crucial clue to our understanding of how a supernova develops over time to shape its remnant.Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Matsuura (Cardiff University), R. Arendt (NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center & University of Maryland, Baltimore County), C. Fransson

What's up for September? Venus returns to the morning sky, the Harvest Moon, and dark sky observers can look for zodiacal light!
 
After brightening our evening skies for most of this year, Venus has now switched over to being a morning sky object. Look for the superheated, cloud-covered planet as a bright beacon in the eastern sky before sunrise throughout the month.
 
The full moon on Sept. 29, also known as the Harvest Moon, will be the fourth and final supermoon of the year. As we mentioned last month, supermoons are full moons that occur when the Moon is near the closest point in its orbit around Earth.
 
On cool, moonless September mornings before dawn, you might have an opportunity to search for the zodiacal light. It's a triangular or cone-shaped pillar of faint light that stretches upward from the horizon, and it's easiest to observe around the time of the equinoxes in March and September.
 

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