TRAC Action Plan: September 2025
- Category: Action Plans
- Author: JM
- Published: 01 Sep 2025
- Last updated: 30 Sep 2025
September 2025 Calendar
- Sun, 07 Sep Full Moon (Total Lunar Eclipse)
- Mon, 08 Sep Moon near Saturn and Neptune
- Fri, 12 Sep Moon occults the Pleiades (22:30)
- Sun, 14 Sep Last Quarter Moon
- Sun, 21 Sep New Moon
- Sun, 21 Sep Saturn at Opposition
- Mon, 22 Sep Autumn Equinox
- Mon, 22 Sep Neptune closest to Earth
- Tue, 23 Sep Neptune at Opposition
- Tue, 30 Sep First Quarter Moon
Stargazing
Summer/Autumn Constellations
Constellations to look out for this month include:
- Lyra (Vega)
- Aquila (Altair)
- Cygnus (Deneb)
- Hercules (The Keystone)
- Pisces
- Pegasus
- Andromeda
- Perseus
Image credit: Stellarium
Above image: The night sky in early autumn 2025.
Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
We can take a look at M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. It's the nearest major spiral galaxy to our own, the Milky Way. Some of us saw M31 last September, but the weather wasn't very good at the time. I think we can have another shot at it.
Image credit: Stellarium
Above image: A computer generated image of The Andromeda Galaxy (M31).
Total Lunar Eclipse
Another Exciting Eclipse!
The Moon will be totally eclipsed as it rises above the horizon on the evening of 07 Sep 2025.
Moonrise will be at 19:30. The Moon will be below the horizon for part of the eclipse. Once it rises, we should get a good view nearer 20:00, weather permitting.
Image credit: Stellarium
Above image: A simulated view of the lunar eclipse at 20:00 on 07 Sep 2025.
TRAC Observations
This promises to be an interesting event to observe. We have a fairly decent view to the east from the park. The Moon might appear red as it rises, and it might be possible to notice other differences in its appearance.
Predicting exactly what we'll be able to see is difficult. None of us have seen a total lunar eclipse before. The clarity of the effect will also depend on the weather and the amount of dust in the atmosphere.
Planets
Mercury
Mercury (mag. -1.6) will be very low in the early morning sky. At 06:00 on 03 Sep 2025, it will lie close to the bright star Regulus in Leo.
Venus
Venus (mag. -3.8) is visible shining brightly in the morning sky. Best seen at around 06:00.
On 19 Sep 2025, Venus will be occulted by a 5%-lit waning Moon between 12:48 and 14:07. This will be difficult to observe! Venus has a higher surface brightness than the Moon, so it will be the easier of the two to spot.
Mars
Not visible this month.
Jupiter
Jupiter (mag. -2.0) will appear bright, but it doesn't rise until around 01:00.
Saturn
Saturn (mag. +0.6) will reach opposition on 21 Sep in Pisces. Its rings now appear edge-on – the tilt angle is 1.8 degrees. We're now able to view more of the planet's southern hemisphere.
Image credit: Stellarium
Above image: Saturn's position on 21 Sep 2025.
Uranus
Uranus (mag. +5.7) enters retrograde motion in Taurus on 06 Sep. The planet is well-placed for us and reaches a peak altitude of 57 degrees on 22 Sep 2025 onwards. It is located just south of the Pleiades.
Image credit: Stellarium
Above image: Uranus's position on 28 Sep 2025.
Neptune
Neptune (mag. +7.7) reaches opposition on 23 Sep. It's positioned close to Saturn in Pisces, at an altitude of 36 degrees.
Image credit: Stellarium
Above image: Neptune's position on 23 Sep 2025.
Lunar Observations
September 2025 Lunar Calendar
- Full Moon Sun 07
- Last Quarter Sun 14
- New Moon Sun 21
- First Quarter Tue 30
Lunar Photography
We'll take photos of the total lunar eclipse on 07 Sep so we can compare the appearance of the Full Moon during this event to how in usually appears when it's not in the Earth's shadow.
Moon Conjunctions & Occultations
The Moon will occult the Pleiades star cluster at around 22:00 on 12 Sep 2025.
Image credit: Stellarium
Above image: A simulated view of the occultation at 22:00 on 12 Sep 2025.
Admin Tasks
- Check our plans for the lunar eclipse at the start of the month.
- Plan how we're going to run our event for the "NASA International Observe the Moon Night 2025" which takes place on 04 Oct 2025.
- Add avatars to the website and design some stationary items.
Summary
Top Priorities for September 2025
In descending order of importance:
- Total Lunar Eclipse (07 Sep)
- Locating Neptune with the telescope (very difficult)
- Observing Saturn at Opposition
- Summer Stargazing
September Astrophotography
Photography opportunities this month include:
- Full Moon during the Total Lunar Eclipse
- Moon–Planet Conjunctions/Occultations
See You Out There
The main event in September will be observing our first total lunar eclipse. The conditions aren't ideal, so it'll be interesting to see if we can notice any difference in the appearance of the Moon.
While there aren't any major meteor showers this month, September has the highest occurrence of sporadic meteors.
Autumn arrives in September. This year, the autumn equinox falls on 22 Sep and marks the start of astronomical autumn.
James M
TRAC Team Leader
01 Sep 2025 – Rainham, Kent
TRAC is an amateur astronomy group based in Rainham (Kent) in the United Kingdom.
On clear nights, you'll find us outside, observing stars, planets, moons, galaxies, satellites, meteors, and comets.
This action plan is specifically tailored for our location (Rainham, Kent), schedules, optical equipment, level of experience, personal interests, and local sky conditions.
Unless stated otherwise, magnitude values refer to apparent magnitude and have usually been rounded to one decimal place; photos of deep-sky objects credited to TRAC were taken using a Seestar S50 smart telescope; our observations were made from Rainham, Kent; and times and dates are in the UK's local time zone (GMT or BST, depending on the time of year).
We welcome any questions, feedback, or suggestions you may have. Please let us know if anything is unclear or if you notice an error, inaccuracy, or typo. Contact us via email.
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