• Rare Meteor Shower Peaks: A little-known meteor shower – the Chi Cygnids – is reaching its once-in-5-years peak on Sept. 13–14, sending a few slow “shooting stars” through evening skies earthsky.org.
• Aurora Alert This Weekend: A colossal “butterfly” hole in the sun’s atmosphere is blasting Earth with solar wind, sparking geomagnetic storm watches (G1–G2 level) for Sept. 13–14 – meaning Northern Lights might dance unusually far south space.com.
• Planets on Parade: Saturn rises at sunset and shines all night as it nears opposition, while brilliant Jupiter (−2.1 mag) and dazzling Venus (−3.9 mag) dominate the pre-dawn sky. Rusty Mars makes a low appearance after sunset near the star Spica space.com space.com.
• Moon & Dark Skies: The moon reaches last quarter on Sept. 14, rising around midnight space.com. That means dark evening skies for stargazers – perfect for spotting faint phenomena like the Milky Way and even the ghostly zodiacal light before dawn space.com.
• New Comets Visible: Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is inbound and brightening – it may become barely naked-eye in October – but this weekend it’s still a binocular/telescope object (about 9th magnitude) in the constellation Lynx space.com space.com. Plus, a newly discovered Comet SWAN25B is already around magnitude 7 with a striking tail, though it’s lurking low near the sun in Virgo (best seen from the Southern Hemisphere with binoculars) earthsky.org.
• Rocket Launches & Satellites: SpaceX is busy – on Sept. 13 a Falcon 9 launched new Starlink satellites from California, and on Sept. 14 another Falcon 9 will loft a Cygnus cargo ship (NG-23) toward the ISS space.com space.com. The freshly launched Starlink cluster could create a visible “train” of lights in the sky. Meanwhile, the International Space Station itself continues to make bright passes overhead at dawn/dusk (check local timings), as it awaits Sunday’s supply run.

Meteor Watch: Chi Cygnids & September “Shooting Stars”

If you’re scanning for meteors this weekend, temper your expectations – but a rare treat is on the menu. The Chi Cygnid meteor shower is peaking around the night of September 13–14. Unlike prolific showers (e.g. August’s Perseids), the Chi Cygnids are a mystery shower that flares up only every five years, and 2025 is one of those special years earthsky.org. Even at peak, they are subtle: perhaps ~1–2 meteors per hour at best under dark skies earthsky.org. What makes them noteworthy is their character – these meteors are unusually slow-moving, creeping across the sky at “only” ~15 km/s (33,500 mph), which makes them easier to catch with the naked eye earthsky.org. They radiate from the constellation Cygnus (high overhead in early evening), meaning you don’t have to wait until midnight – you can start watching soon after darkness falls. Veteran meteor observer Robert Lunsford notes that patience is key for minor showers; if you snag even one Chi Cygnid, you’ve got “bragging rights” for witnessing this oddball event earthsky.org earthsky.org!

In addition to the Chi Cygnids, the September Epsilon Perseid meteor shower is winding down. Active from Sept. 5–21, it peaked earlier this week (around Sept. 9) with at most ~5 meteors per hour space.com. Only a few of these minor Perseids may still streak by each hour now. Overall, sporadic meteors (random “shooting stars” not from a major shower) continue at around 5–10 per hour on moonless nights imo.net. The good news: with the bright moon out of the way early in the night, your chances to spot any meteor improve. Find a dark location, give your eyes 20–30 minutes to adjust, and scan the sky casually. Even a handful of meteors can make for an exciting night under the stars.

(Note: We’re coming off the Perseid meteor season in August, and the next major shower will be the Orionids in late October. So early autumn is a quiet period for meteors – making any unusual shower like the Chi Cygnids a fun target for dedicated skywatchers.)

Aurora Alert: Geomagnetic Storm Could Paint the Sky

High-latitude skywatchers, get your cameras ready – and even those at lower latitudes should keep an eye on the northern horizon. Space weather forecasters warn that this weekend could bring auroras, thanks to a gigantic coronal hole on the sun shaped like a butterfly. This gaping dark region in the sun’s atmosphere is blasting out a high-speed stream of solar wind aimed at Earth space.com. The ETA is around Sept. 14, when the charged particles are expected to buffet Earth’s magnetic field space.com.

Both the UK Met Office and NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center have issued geomagnetic storm watches. They predict active conditions with the potential for a G1 to G2 geomagnetic storm (minor to moderate strength) between Sept. 13 and 14 space.com. In practical terms, a G2 storm means auroral displays could extend beyond the usual polar regions. Northern Lights might be visible farther south than usual – possibly dipping into the northern-tier U.S. states, the UK, Germany, Poland, etc., if the storm materializes strongly. How vibrant and far-reaching the aurora gets will depend on the precise orientation of the solar wind’s magnetic field when it arrives space.com. It’s not a guaranteed show, but the aurora odds are elevated this weekend, which is exciting news for aurora chasers.

SpaceWeather.com reports that this coronal hole’s solar wind spans a whopping 500,000 km across the sun – a truly vast structure space.com. “Solar wind flowing from this large equatorial coronal hole could reach Earth on Sept. 14,” the site notes spaceweather.com. If it hits as expected, watch for an ethereal green or reddish glow low on the horizon after nightfall, especially in areas with dark skies and a clear view to the north. Even if you’re not in aurora territory, this heightened solar activity can cause minor disturbances: high-frequency radio communications and GPS errors might occur, and satellite operators keep an eye out for increased atmospheric drag.

For the best chance at auroras, get away from city lights and look north during the late evening and early morning hours. Sometimes auroras start as diffuse whitish clouds or pulses before developing color, so use a camera with a long exposure to check for any faint glow. And if you’re really lucky, you might just catch the sky rippling with the ghostly curtains of light – a memorable “nature’s light show” brought to you by the sun’s latest hiccup.

(Fun fact: We’re approaching the peak of the 11-year solar cycle (Solar Cycle 25), so solar storms and auroras are on the upswing. In fact, 2025–2026 are expected to be great years for aurora activity, so stay tuned for more celestial fireworks in the sky!)

Planets & Moon: Saturn Shines, Jupiter & Venus at Dawn, Mars at Dusk

The planets are putting on a parade of their own across the September sky. Leading the pack is Saturn, currently at its biggest and brightest of the year. Saturn will reach official opposition (when it lies opposite the sun in our sky) on Sept. 20–21, but even now (just a week before) the ringed planet is dazzling all night long space.com. Look for a steady, golden “star” rising in the east around sunset. That’s Saturn in the constellation Pisces (near the Aquarius border). At magnitude ~0.6 it’s not as brilliant as Jupiter or Venus, but it’s bright enough to spot easily with the naked eye. In a telescope, Saturn is a show-stopper – its icy rings are currently tilted at a narrow angle but still visible, and several of its moons (like Titan) can be spotted. This month Saturn is only ~8.5 AU from Earth (about 794 million miles), so it’s relatively close and bright space.com. Fun tip: Around opposition, Saturn’s rings get a bit brighter due to the “Seeliger effect,” where the sun’s light backscatters off the ring particles – so Saturn may appear extra jewel-like in the days around opposition space.com.

Keeping Saturn company (though much later at night) is Jupiter. The king of planets rises in the east around midnight and dominates the pre-dawn sky with its intense glow (about −2.1 magnitude right now) space.com. By the early morning hours, Jupiter is high in the southeast, outshining every star. If you’re up at 4–5 AM local time, you can’t miss it. Through binoculars, you can usually spot Jupiter’s four Galilean moons lined up around it space.com. A small telescope will reveal the planet’s cloud bands and perhaps even the Great Red Spot during its rotations. Jupiter is currently trekking through the constellation Gemini. In fact, mark your calendar: on the mornings of Sept. 16–17, a pretty celestial gathering occurs as the waning crescent Moon will glide near Jupiter in the dawn sky, with the twin stars Castor and Pollux nearby space.com space.com – a lovely tableau for early risers (though this happens just after our weekend).

Joining Jupiter in the pre-dawn east is the “Morning Star” Venus. Venus has been shining brilliantly before sunrise for months, and it continues to do so this month – blazing at magnitude –3.9, the brightest point of light in the sky space.com. Look for Venus low on the eastern horizon about 1–2 hours before sunrise. It’s currently moving from Cancer into Leo, gradually sinking a bit lower each week. In a telescope, Venus appears as a tiny gibbous disk (about 85% illuminated) this month space.com. Interestingly, at the start of September, Venus passed by the Beehive star cluster, and later on September 19 it will have a very close conjunction with the star Regulus in Leo along with a slender crescent moon – another treat on the way space.com. For now, just enjoy Venus’s diamond-like sparkle. Tip: If you have clear morning darkness, look for a vague pillar of light extending up from the horizon above Venus – that could be the zodiacal light (sunlight reflecting off interplanetary dust), which is best seen on moonless mornings in September space.com.

What about Mars? The Red Planet is still hanging around, but it’s a far cry from its glory days of late 2022 (when it was at opposition). In September 2025, Mars is on the other side of its orbit – small and distant. It sets shortly after the Sun. Still, you can attempt to spot Mars very low in the west after sunset. Around Sept. 13–14, Mars is gliding just above the bright star Spica in Virgo. In fact, on the evenings around Saturday Sept. 13, Mars passes about 2° (two finger-widths at arm’s length) north of Spica space.com. Mars will appear as a tiny amber-hued point, a bit dimmer than blue-white Spica (Mars is about magnitude +1.7, Spica about +1.0) space.com. This duo is deep in twilight – visible maybe 30–45 minutes after sunset if you have an unobstructed view and perhaps binoculars. Observers in tropical latitudes will have an easier time since Mars and Spica set a little later in a darker sky space.com. If you manage to catch it, you’re essentially seeing Mars at its faintest. It’s on the far side of the Sun from us, so not a telescope target now. But take heart: Mars will be coming back to prominence in late 2025 (it reaches a great opposition in December 2025). For now, consider any sighting of Mars this weekend as a little bonus challenge.

And what of Mercury? Unfortunately, Mercury is a no-show at the moment. It reaches superior conjunction (passing behind the Sun from Earth’s perspective) on Sept. 13 space.com, so it’s lost in the Sun’s glare all month. Mercury will reappear in the evening sky by October, but for this weekend you won’t be able to see the speedy planet.

Moon Phase and Night Sky Conditions

The Moon plays a big role in how good the sky looks for stargazing, and this weekend we’re in luck. On Sunday, Sept. 14 at 10:33 GMT, the Moon hits its Third Quarter phase space.com. Essentially, the Moon is half-illuminated (the left half lit up for Northern Hemisphere viewers) and rising around midnight. Practically, this means the evenings of Sept. 13 and 14 will be free of bright moonlight until the Moon comes up very late. With the Moon absent from early night hours, the sky will be nice and dark, enhancing visibility of faint stars, the Milky Way, and any auroras or meteors that might occur.

After moonrise (near midnight), the Last Quarter Moon will be high in the morning sky. Even then, a half-moon isn’t overly bright, so it won’t ruin pre-dawn planet viewing too much. In fact, the dim light of a last quarter moon can create a beautiful scene with the Moon and stars together. On Sept. 13 before dawn, you would have seen the Moon close to the Pleiades star cluster space.com. On Sept. 14 before dawn, the Moon is roughly in between Taurus and Gemini. As mentioned, it will pair with Jupiter in a few days. After that, the Moon will wane to a slender crescent and approach Venus on Sept. 19.

One more treat for those with very dark skies: This is the time of year to look for the zodiacal light in the eastern pre-dawn sky. Around an hour before morning twilight, on moonless mornings, a huge soft wedge of light can sometimes be seen extending upwards from the horizon along the path of the ecliptic. This is sunlight scattered by trillions of dust grains in the inner solar system. With the Moon out of the way and the ecliptic angle high in September, mid-northern latitude observers have a chance to spot this elusive “false dawn” glow space.com. You’ll need to be far from light pollution and have a clear view east. If you see a pyramid of faint light, you’re witnessing the same dust that causes meteor showers – just on a broad, subtle scale. It’s a bucket-list observation for avid skywatchers!

(And speaking of the Moon: we just had a spectacular Total Lunar Eclipse on the night of Sept. 7–8, the “Harvest Moon” eclipse that was visible across Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia timeanddate.com. If you managed to catch that blood-red Moon, you’re probably still buzzing! If not, don’t worry – another eclipse (a partial solar) comes on Sept. 21, though that one will be visible mainly in the Southern Hemisphere timeanddate.com.)

Comet Corner: Bright Tail of New Comet & Faint Lemmon on the Rise

Comet lovers have a couple of intriguing targets to learn about this month. First up is a brand-new comet discovery that’s creating buzz: an object informally dubbed Comet SWAN25B. Just discovered via the SWAN instrument on the SOHO spacecraft, this comet is already fairly bright – around magnitude 7.4 as of September 12 earthsky.org. That’s bright enough to be in binocular range! The catch? It’s situated very close to the Sun in the sky, making it a challenging observation. Comet SWAN25B currently lies in the constellation Virgo, not far from where the Sun set. Essentially, right after sunset the comet is lurking low on the western horizon – practically in the Sun’s afterglow. It’s currently best seen from the Southern Hemisphere (observers in Australia have picked it up) because from down south the comet is a bit higher in a darkening sky earthsky.org. One observer, Martin Mašek, who caught the comet from Chile, remarked on its unexpected brilliance: “I was very pleasantly surprised by such a bright comet with a long tail. I originally expected to be searching for a small, faint patch,” he said earthsky.org. Indeed, photos show Comet SWAN25B sporting a long ion tail, suggesting it recently swooped by the Sun and is now heading back out. As of now, it’s still unconfirmed and unofficially named (SWAN25B is a provisional moniker). If you want to try spotting it, use binoculars a few minutes after sunset and look just below where Mars is (Mars itself is low west after sunset). Extreme caution: only attempt when the Sun is fully below the horizon. This comet might fade or could surprise us further – comets are notoriously unpredictable. Keep an eye on astronomy news for updates on whether Comet SWAN25B holds its brightness or disintegrates (as some sun-grazing comets do). For most casual stargazers, this one will be a tidbit to read about rather than see – but it’s exciting to know there’s a new visitor in the inner solar system right now earthsky.org earthsky.org!

Meanwhile, a more gradual comet show is brewing with Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon). Discovered earlier this year by the Mount Lemmon Survey in Arizona, Comet Lemmon is currently trekking through space and slowly brightening as it heads toward a close approach next month. Right now, in mid-September 2025, Comet Lemmon is about magnitude +9 or 10 – that means you’d need binoculars or a small telescope to spot it space.com. It’s located against the backdrop of the constellation Lynx (between Ursa Major and Gemini in the northern sky). The comet isn’t much to look at yet for casual observers – just a dim fuzzy “star” – but it’s notable because it could become an easy binocular object or even barely naked-eye under dark skies in a few weeks. Astronomers forecast that Comet Lemmon may brighten to around magnitude +4 to +5 at peak space.com. That’s faint naked-eye territory (if you’re away from city lights, you might glimpse it without optics). Its closest approach to Earth will be on October 20, 2025, so late September into October will be the best time to hunt it space.com. There is some uncertainty: some predictions are more conservative (only magnitude 7, which would require binoculars) space.com space.com. It’s always wise to keep expectations modest with comets. But optimism is building that Lemmon could put on a decent show for comet enthusiasts next month. For now, those with telescopes can start following it each week as it brightens and moves across the sky. By early October it will shift into the evening sky (northwest after sunset) which will make it more convenient to see space.com. We’ll have more guidance on that as the time comes – but it’s exciting to have a potential “fall comet” on the way. If you’ve never seen a comet, Comet Lemmon might become a great opportunity.

Aside from those two, no major comets are currently naked-eye. There is an interesting interstellar visitor in our solar system – Comet 3I/ATLAS, the third ever known comet from outside our solar system – which astronomers are busily observing with big telescopes space.com. However, 3I/ATLAS is far too dim (magnitude 16+) for amateur observers, so it’s more of a science headline than a skywatching target. Another periodic comet, 12P/Pons-Brooks, made some news earlier in 2024 with outbursts, but it’s not doing anything notable now for visual observers. And one more to mention: Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś) is currently in the northern sky as well – but at roughly 14th magnitude it requires at least an 8-inch telescope to detect astronomy.com. (It’s expected to brighten significantly by early 2026, possibly up to mag 5, so keep it on the back burner for the futureaerith.net.)

The bottom line: comet fans should keep tabs on Comet Lemmon in the coming weeks, and if you’re an avid astrophotographer in the Southern Hemisphere, see if you can snag a shot of the new Comet SWAN25B while it lasts. The average backyard stargazer won’t notice anything comet-wise with just their eyes this weekend, but knowing these icy wanderers are out there adds a layer of appreciation to the night.

Space Station & Satellites: ISS Flyovers, Starlink “Train” & Rocket Launch Highlights

Man-made celestial “stars” are also part of this weekend’s sky show. The most prominent is the International Space Station (ISS) – essentially the brightest satellite in the night sky. The ISS orbits Earth every ~90 minutes and often makes visible passes at dawn or dusk when the station is sunlit against a dark sky. This weekend, many locations (including much of Europe and North America) have ISS passes in the early morning hours. For example, in Warsaw the ISS is visible before 5 AM, appearing as a fast-moving bright point sailing west to east. Check NASA’s “Spot the Station” tool for exact timings for your city. It’s always a delight to see this artificial moving star, knowing that astronauts are on board cruising 250 miles above us.

Excitingly, the ISS is about to receive a delivery: Northrop Grumman’s CRS-23 resupply mission is scheduled for launch Sunday evening, Sept. 14 at 6:11 PM EDT (22:11 GMT) space.com. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will carry a Cygnus cargo spacecraft (NG-23, named the S.S. William “Willie” McCool in honor of the Columbia astronaut) loaded with supplies and experiments for the station space.com. This launch will lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. If you live along Florida’s Space Coast or nearby, you might even see the rocket’s flame in the sky after sunset. For others, the launch will be webcast by NASA. The Cygnus will rendezvous with the ISS a couple of days later. While the launch itself won’t be widely visible aside from near the pad, the ISS will brighten slightly after Sept. 14 as the cargo craft approaches (often, folks notice a “double star” when a Dragon or Cygnus is nearby, but that might be tough to discern without optics).

Another SpaceX launch took place on Saturday, Sept. 13 (11:41 AM EDT) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California – this one deploying a batch of Starlink internet satellites to orbit space.com. Though that was a daytime launch, the effects will be seen in the night sky over coming days. Shortly after launch, the dozens of Starlink minisatellites travel together in a tight formation. This can produce the famous “Starlink train” – a line of bright pinpoints moving one after another across the sky like a celestial string of pearls. People around the world have been startled by these in the past, sometimes mistaking them for UFOs! If you’re in mid-northern latitudes, keep an eye out about 1–2 days post-launch during the hour or two after sunset (or before sunrise) – you might catch the newly deployed Starlink group gliding by. They often appear as a sequence of star-like dots moving in unison. However, note that Starlinks quickly raise their orbits and spread out, so the “train” effect fades after a couple of days. By this weekend’s nights, the satellites will be a bit more dispersed and perhaps dimmer, but still possibly noticeable if one passes overhead. You can use tracking apps (like Heavens-Above or FindStarlink) to see if any Starlink passes are predicted for your location. Currently, there are over 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit space.com, so chances are good you’ll see a few satellites drifting by on any clear night – the sky is getting quite crowded!

Other satellites to watch for: If you’re out stargazing, you might see the occasional bright flares or moving lights from various spacecraft. Iridium satellites used to create famous flares, but most of those have been deorbited. Still, flashers and tumblers (spent rocket stages or old satellites) can produce brief glints. One particularly bright satellite these days is BlueWalker 3, a prototype communications array, which can shine nearly as bright as Jupiter at times – if it passes over, it’s hard to miss. China’s Tiangong space station is another bright satellite (not as bright as ISS, but visible) that can be seen from many parts of the world at certain times. It’s in a lower inclination orbit (around 41.5°), so it’s visible mainly to observers below about 45° N latitude. If you’re in southern Europe, the southern U.S., etc., you might catch Tiangong moving across the sky in the evening.

On the rocket launch front, aside from the SpaceX missions, there was also a Russian Soyuz launch on Sept. 12 carrying a GLONASS navigation satellite space.com, and China is poised to launch a Long March 2C from Jiuquan on Sept. 14 (with a cluster of experimental satellites) space.com. Those events aren’t directly visible unless you live near the launch sites, but they highlight how busy space activity is this month. Even NASA’s next big science mission is on deck: the IMAP probe (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) is set for launch later in September, aiming to study the heliosphere. And in the crewed spaceflight realm, SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission to the ISS is upcoming in October, and Boeing’s Starliner might fly soon after, so a lot is happening above us.

For skywatchers, the bottom line is: don’t forget to look for the ISS – it’s a thrill to see with the naked eye. And if you notice an odd train of lights (Starlinks) or any other moving “stars,” you very well may be witnessing humanity’s satellites going about their business in orbit. It’s a reminder that not all lights in the night come from nature – some are our own creations joining the cosmic dance.

Enjoy the celestial showcase this weekend! From the subtle slow streaks of a rare meteor, to the ethereal glow of a possible aurora, to the bright planets and hidden comets, the night sky of Sept. 13–14, 2025, has a little something for everyone. As NASA’s skywatching ambassador Preston Dyches often says in the monthly “What’s Up” briefing: “Look up and enjoy the sky – you never know what surprises you’ll find.” Clear skies and happy stargazing!

Sources:

• Space.com – September Epsilon Perseids meteor shower overview space.com; EarthSky – Chi Cygnids rare meteor shower info earthsky.org earthsky.org.
• SpaceWeather.com – Solar wind forecast from coronal hole arriving ~Sept. 14 spaceweather.com; Space.com – Aurora alert geomagnetic storm watch (UK Met Office/NOAA G2 forecast) space.com.
• Space.com – Night sky guide for September 2025 (Mars-Spica conjunction, Moon phase, zodiacal light) space.com space.com space.com; Space.com – Visible planets (Jupiter, Venus, Saturn details) space.com space.com space.com.
• EarthSky – New comet SWAN25B discovery and observation reports earthsky.org earthsky.org; Space.com – Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) predictions (closest Oct. 20, possible mag 4–5) space.com space.com.
• Space.com – Space Calendar (rocket launches on Sept. 13 and 14, Starlink 17-10 and NG-23 Cygnus) space.com space.com; Space.com – Starlink constellation size space.com; IMO/AMS – Meteor activity outlook (general rates) imo.net.
• TimeandDate.com – Eclipse calendar 2025 (Total lunar Sept 7–8, Partial solar Sept 21) timeanddate.com timeanddate.com.
• NASA/ESA official sources and observatories – general skywatching guidance and verifications (NASA JPL “What’s Up” September 2025, etc.).