Skywatchers Rejoice: Blood Moon, Auroras & Rocket Launches Dazzle on Sept 8

Rare “Blood Moon” Eclipse: A total lunar eclipse on Sept 7–8 turned the full Corn Moon crimson for over 80 minutes, the longest totality in 3 years ^[1] ^[2]. Visible across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia (about 85% of the world’s population), this spectacular “Blood Moon” wowed billions of onlookers ^[3].
Aurora Alerts Issued: Geomagnetic storm watches were in effect as the Sun’s activity sparked Northern Lights displays unusually far south ^[4] ^[5]. NOAA forecasters warned that auroras could dance over parts of the U.S. and Europe on the weekend of Sept 6–7, possibly coinciding with the eclipse ^[6].
Meteor Shower Peak: The minor September Epsilon Perseids meteor shower peaked on Sept 9, but bright moonlight from the recent full Moon washed out all but the brightest “shooting stars” ^[7]. Skywatchers were lucky to catch even a few meteors per hour under these conditions.
Planets on Parade:Saturn dominated the evening sky, shining at its brightest of the year in September ^[8]. On the night of Sept 7–8, the nearly full Moon sat close to Saturn (with distant Neptune nearby), making for a beautiful celestial grouping visible all night ^[9]. Early risers enjoyed Venus and Jupiter gleaming in the pre-dawn east, though no major planetary conjunctions occurred on these dates.
Rocket Launch Double-Feature: Human-made spectacles joined the show as SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets. On Sept 8, a Falcon 9 blasted off from Florida at 7:52 pm EDT carrying Indonesia’s Satelit Nusantara Lima telecom satellite to orbit ^[10]. Just hours later, in the predawn of Sept 9 UTC, China’s maritime Jielong-3 rocket lifted 11 satellites from a platform in the Yellow Sea ^[11]. (SpaceX also prepared a West Coast launch for a batch of military satellites around Sept 9–10 ^[12].) Each launch briefly created a bright streak in the sky – a modern “shooting star” for those watching near the launch sites.
Space Station Flyovers: Meanwhile, the International Space Station (ISS) continued its routine 16 orbits per day and was spotable after sunset in many locations. Around Sept 8–9, lucky observers could catch the ISS gliding overhead like a fast-moving star in the twilight, as the station’s solar panels reflected sunlight against the darkening sky ^[13]. NASA’s “Spot the Station” program offered alerts to help enthusiasts time these flyovers ^[14].

Total Lunar Eclipse Paints the Moon Red (Sept 7–8)

Skywatchers kicked off the week with a must-see celestial event: a total lunar eclipse on Sunday, Sept 7, 2025 (with effects lingering into the early hours of Sept 8 in some regions). For 83 minutes of totality, Earth’s shadow completely engulfed the full Moon, which took on an eerie reddish hue – hence the popular nickname “Blood Moon” ^[15]. This was the longest total lunar eclipse since 2022, and its timing and wide visibility made it truly exceptional ^[16].

“For more than an hour on Sept. 7th, the full Moon will pass through Earth’s shadow, turning the lunar disk blood red,” reported Spaceweather.com in a weekend alert ^[17]. In fact, the September full moon (the Corn Moon) rose in the constellation Aquarius that night, positioned strikingly close to Saturn in the sky ^[18]. During totality, the Moon’s glare dimmed enough that Saturn and even some stars (like Fomalhaut) popped into view right next to the ghostly red Moon ^[19] ^[20] – a surreal sight for those in dark enough locations.

Who could see it? Almost everyone except observers in the Americas had at least a partial view of this eclipse ^[21]. The zone of visibility covered Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific – by one estimate, about 85% of Earth’s population had a chance to witness some stage of the eclipse ^[22]. In Europe and western Africa, the Moon actually rose already eclipsed (emerging as a dim amber orb on the horizon at dusk), whereas skywatchers in Eastern Europe, Asia and Australia saw the entire eclipse high in the sky ^[23]. The moment of greatest eclipse occurred at 18:11 UTC on Sept 7 ^[24], which was 8:11 pm CEST in Central Europe and past midnight (early Sept 8) for parts of Asia. No matter the locale, those who caught this event were treated to one of nature’s most dramatic sky shows – no telescope required. (Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are perfectly safe to view with the naked eye, though binoculars can enhance the colorful details on the darkened Moon’s surface ^[25] ^[26].)

Many enthusiasts and observatories live-streamed the eclipse for those outside the viewing zone. If you missed it, mark your calendars: the next total lunar eclipse won’t be until 2028, making this September’s “blood Moon” a highlight of the decade for eclipse chasers ^[27].

Auroras Reach Unusual Latitudes

Hot on the heels of the eclipse, skywatch alerts were issued for the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) due to an upswing in solar activity. In early September 2025, our Sun was near the peak of its 11-year cycle, and it didn’t disappoint – sending streams of energized particles toward Earth that lit up the upper atmosphere in shimmering colors.

On Sept 5, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) put out a Geomagnetic Storm Watch for the coming weekend. A large “positive polarity” coronal hole on the Sun had hurled a high-speed solar wind stream toward Earth, expected to buffet our planet’s magnetic field on Sept 6–7 ^[28]. Forecasters anticipated a G1-class geomagnetic storm (Kp index ~5) from this solar wind surge, meaning auroras could dip much farther south than usual ^[29] ^[30]. “Heads up for aurora hunters. Clear skies and good luck!” the EarthSky team advised as NOAA announced the storm watch ^[31].

Then, on Sept 4, the Sun delivered an extra surprise: an eruption from an S-shaped filament in the solar corona (a textbook sigmoid eruption). This blast launched a coronal mass ejection (CME) directly toward Earth ^[32] ^[33]. Both NOAA and NASA modeling showed the plasma cloud would arrive by Sept 7, just in time to potentially boost the geomagnetic unrest to G2 (Moderate) levels ^[34]. In other words, the stage was set for a stronger auroral display right as the eclipse was happening on Sunday night. Spaceweather scientists noted the chance for “high-latitude auroras visible during the lunar eclipse” – a rare two-for-one celestial spectacle ^[35].

Sure enough, by Sept 7–8 many skywatchers at mid- to high latitudes reported glowing auroral skies. The Northern Lights painted overhead skies green, purple, and red across the usual aurora zones in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Siberia, and even as low as Scotland, Germany, and some northern U.S. states on the horizon ^[36] ^[37]. In North America, observers from Washington and Montana to Michigan, New York and New England caught geomagnetic “aurora storms” rippling low in the northern sky ^[38]. One NOAA aurora forecast map suggested that places as far south as Iowa or Ohio might glimpse a faint aurora glow if conditions were right ^[39]. Across Europe, northern countries like Scotland and Norway saw vivid auroral curtains, while more southern locales (e.g. Poland or Germany) needed dark rural skies to see any faint green glimmer ^[40].

These auroras were a direct result of the Sun’s intensified activity. Scientists point out that Solar Cycle 25 is nearing its maximum (expected around 2025–2026), and indeed geomagnetic storms have been more frequent and intense recently ^[41]. Even a “minor” G1 storm can surprise skywatchers – the atmosphere sometimes over-achieves, as it did with a once-in-a-lifetime aurora visible as far south as Florida and Texas in 2024 ^[42]. With that in mind, enthusiasts were out in force on Sept 8–9, watching and waiting.

To maximize their chances, aurora watchers followed expert tips: get away from city lights, look northward (or southward if in the Southern Hemisphere) between roughly 10 pm and 2 am local time, and be patient ^[43]. Many used real-time aurora alert apps and NOAA’s online Aurora Dashboard to know when geomagnetic activity spiked overhead ^[44]. Those who caught both the red Moon and the aurora on the night of Sept 7–8 truly hit the cosmic jackpot – a pairing that one space weather outlet gushed was “jam-packed with skywatching thrills” for the first weekend of September ^[45].

(Fun fact: The Southern Hemisphere got its share of lights, too – the aurora australis was reported in southern Australia and New Zealand during this disturbance ^[46]. Wherever you were, this weekend offered a vivid reminder of the Sun-Earth connection lighting up our skies.)

Minor Meteor Shower Under a Bright Moon

Meteor lovers had a shower on the calendar for this period as well: the September Epsilon Perseids were set to peak on Sept 9. Normally peaking at a modest zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of around 5 meteors per hour ^[47], this minor shower originates from the constellation Perseus and is active in early-to-mid September. Unfortunately for 2025, its peak fell just two days after the full Moon – meaning moonlight interfered severely with meteor spotting ^[48]. The waning gibbous Moon (still ~97% illuminated) rose early in the night and gleamed all through the prime meteor-watching hours, washing out all but the very brightest fireballs.

According to the International Meteor Organization, observers at mid-northern latitudes could only expect at best ~7 meteors per hour before dawn in the days around Sept 8–9, given the glare of the Moon ^[49] ^[50]. Under less-than-ideal suburban skies, the rates would have been even lower (just a few per hour). In essence, casual stargazers likely saw very few “shooting stars” on these nights unless they took pains to block the Moon’s light (for instance, positioning themselves in the shadow of a building or hill while watching the sky).

The September ε-Perseids are a minor shower in any case – nothing like the famous August Perseids. (Despite the similar name, the epsilon Perseids are a different swarm of particles and not related to comet Swift–Tuttle ^[51].) These meteors are swift, slicing into Earth’s atmosphere at about 64 km/s, and they radiate from a point near the star Epsilon Persei in Perseus ^[52]. Only a long-exposure camera or the most vigilant human eyes would have caught a few streaks through the bright sky on the peak night.

Aside from the epsilon Perseids, early September doesn’t bring any major meteor showers. The next significant meteor display will be the Draconids in early October, followed by the Orionids later in October – both of which will peak under much darker (new moon) skies ^[53]. So, meteor enthusiasts can consider Sept 8–9 a quiet interval and look forward to better meteor hunting later in the fall.

(On a related note, all was not entirely quiet on the meteoric front: the NASA All-Sky Fireball Network did capture sporadic fireballs on recent nights. Dozens of bright meteors (fireballs) are reported worldwide each day ^[54] – a reminder that even outside of major showers, the random cosmic debris never stops skimming through our atmosphere.)

Planetary Highlights: Saturn Steals the Show

If meteors were a dud, planets certainly were not! Saturn took center stage in September 2025’s night sky, and around Sept 8–9 it was putting on a real show in the evenings. Saturn was nearing its opposition later in the month (on Sept 21), meaning it was almost directly opposite the Sun as seen from Earth – essentially at its closest and brightest for the year ^[55]. Throughout early September, the ringed planet could be found rising in the east around sunset and staying visible all night long. NASA noted that “Saturn will be putting on an out-of-this-world performance this month,” shining prominently and even revealing its glorious rings to anyone pointing a small telescope its way ^[56] ^[57].

On the night of Sept 7–8 specifically, skywatchers had an easy reference point: the nearly full Moon was positioned right next to Saturn in the sky ^[58]. As dusk fell on Sept 7, the bright Corn Moon and Saturn rose together in Aquarius, only a few degrees apart. They traversed the night sky as a striking pair until dawn. The Adler Planetarium noted that Saturn appeared near a large Moon, barely a day past full on that night ^[59] – a beautiful sight even from light-polluted city skies. During the height of the lunar eclipse (discussed above), Saturn was particularly special: with the Moon darkened to reddish hues, Saturn’s steady golden glow stood out clearly just a short hop away from the Moon. Once the Moon’s bright face returned after the eclipse, Saturn was somewhat washed out, but still visible to the naked eye as the bright “star” close to the Moon.

And what about Neptune? The distant blue planet (magnitude ~7.8, requiring binoculars or a telescope) was lurking in the same general area of sky as Saturn. In fact, Neptune was also approaching its opposition (due later in September) and sat in Aquarius not far from Saturn. On Sept 8, the Moon, Saturn, and Neptune formed a loose trio, though Neptune was invisible without optical aid ^[60]. For dedicated observers, the Moon’s proximity to Saturn provided a convenient guidepost – by aiming a telescope at Saturn that night, one could also attempt to find Neptune as a tiny bluish “star” in the field of view. It’s a rare opportunity to see two planets at once in a telescope eyepiece, and September 8 offered exactly that chance for those equipped to seize it.

Meanwhile, in the pre-dawn hours of Sept 8–9, Venus and Jupiter were the headliner planets. After spending August out of view (following its inferior conjunction), dazzling Venus had re-emerged as the “Morning Star” in the east. By early September, Venus was rising around 4:30–5:00 am local time, shining at a brilliant magnitude –4, and was accompanied by Jupiter higher up in the eastern sky ^[61] ^[62]. The two brightest planets were roughly 30° apart in early September mornings, forming a lovely sight before dawn broke. Although Sept 8–9 didn’t feature any special conjunctions between them, just seeing Venus blazing low on the horizon and Jupiter high among the stars of Taurus was a treat for early risers. (By mid-month, the waning Moon would swing by Venus and even occult it for some observers on Sept 19, but that was still a week away ^[63] ^[64].)

In summary, around September 8–9 the planetary lineup was as follows: Saturn shining all night in the south/east (just past a full Moon meet-up), Jupiter rising after midnight and high by dawn, Venus brilliant at dawn in the east, and the fainter outer planets Neptune and Uranus accessible with telescopes (Neptune near Saturn in Aquarius, Uranus in Aries/Pisces). Mars and Mercury were out of view (Mars was behind the Sun from Earth’s perspective, and Mercury was near superior conjunction on Sept 13, lost in the Sun’s glare ^[65]). This meant no dramatic multi-planet conjunctions on the exact dates of Sept 8–9, but plenty of individual planetary eye-candy for observers – from Saturn’s rings to Venus’s glow. As NASA’s September sky guide put it, “Venus and Jupiter shine in the morning sky, while Saturn is incredibly bright all month in the evening sky” ^[66]. With clear skies, anyone stepping out on these nights had no trouble picking out Saturn next to the Moon or Venus lighting up the dawn – easy and rewarding targets for newcomers and veteran stargazers alike.

Man-Made Marvels: Rocket Launches and Satellite Sights

Celestial phenomena weren’t the only things happening overhead on September 8–9 – human activity in space also made headlines. In particular, two high-profile rocket launches took place, adding bright flares and moving lights to the sky for those near the launch corridors:

SpaceX Falcon 9 – Nusantara Lima (Sept 8): On the evening of September 8, SpaceX conducted a textbook Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Liftoff occurred at 7:52 pm EDT (23:52 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40, carrying the Satelit Nusantara Lima communications satellite for Indonesia ^[67]. This 5-ton telecom satellite was successfully boosted toward geostationary orbit, where it will provide broadband coverage for the Southeast Asia region. Impressively, the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster was on its 23rd flight – a milestone in reusability, as SpaceX continues to push the envelope with its frequently flown rockets ^[68]. Local skywatchers along Florida’s Space Coast were treated to a spectacular sight: a radiant column of fire at launch, followed by the streak of the ascending rocket. About 8 minutes later, a sonic boom (and a flash from the returning booster) marked the landing of the first stage on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” downrange in the Atlantic ^[69]. For a few lucky spectators in the southeastern U.S., the timing just after sunset meant the Falcon 9’s plume was illuminated high in the atmosphere, creating a brief “jellyfish” nebula effect in the twilight sky – a now-familiar but always stunning visual from these evening launches.
China’s Jielong-3 Sea Launch (Sept 8): Earlier that same day (Sept 8), on the other side of the world, China conducted a notable launch of its own. A Jielong-3 (Smart Dragon 3) rocket lifted off at 18:30 UTC from a mobile sea platform in the Yellow Sea ^[70]. This solid-fueled rocket carried a cluster of 11 small GeeSAT satellites for the Geespace constellation (part of China’s burgeoning commercial space sector) ^[71]. The sea launch allowed a high-inclination orbit to be reached efficiently, and by all reports the mission succeeded – adding more satellites to China’s growing network. While this launch did not get as much global media attention, it’s a reminder that multiple spacefaring nations had missions in early September. Any ships or planes in the vicinity of the Yellow Sea would have seen a fiery streak arcing into the sky as the Jielong-3 roared upward.
(Planned) SpaceX Falcon 9 – SDA Tranche 1 (around Sept 9): SpaceX had another Falcon 9 on standby in California, aiming to launch a batch of Space Development Agency (SDA) satellites for the U.S. military’s new orbital network. The mission, slated for Vandenberg Space Force Base, was initially targeted for around Sept 9 ^[72]. In the end, this launch took place on Sept 10, sending up 21 Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites – the first of a series of flights to build a modern defense communications constellation ^[73] ^[74]. Although it slipped just outside our date range, it’s worth noting as part of the week’s space activity. Had you been near California’s Central Coast in the predawn hours, you might have caught the flash of Falcon 9 engines and a trail of satellites rising toward polar orbit.

These launches underscore that early September 2025 was a busy time in spaceflight. In fact, by this date SpaceX was on pace to exceed 100 launches in the year – a cadence once unimaginable. And they weren’t alone: China’s space program was similarly active, with another launch (a Long March 7A) from Wenchang on Sept 9 carrying a satellite toward geosynchronous orbit ^[75]. Even Russia and Europe had missions on the docket later in the month. For skywatchers, rocket launches can be exciting events – they create temporary celestial phenomena of our own making. Bright flame, smoke contrails at sunset, and the movement of a rocket across the stars link our technology with the natural sky.

Finally, not to be forgotten among man-made sights: the International Space Station. Circling ~250 miles above Earth, the ISS completes 16 orbits per day and often passes overhead at dawn or dusk when it catches sunlight. Around September 8–9, the ISS had a series of evening flyovers for mid-northern latitudes (including parts of the continental U.S. and Europe). Many enthusiasts received “Spot the Station” alerts from NASA, letting them know when to look up for a bright, fast-moving star-like point gliding silently across the twilight sky ^[76] ^[77]. These ISS passes last only a few minutes, but they’re easily visible if you know when to look – typically appearing a couple hours after sunset or before sunrise, starting as a faint light on one horizon and moving across to disappear on the opposite horizon. During Sept 8–9, observers in cities from London to New York to Tokyo reported clear sightings of the ISS, thanks to mostly cooperative weather. It’s a subtle reminder of humanity’s continuous presence in space: while we gaze at eclipses and planets, there are people orbiting above who often look back down at us (and likely enjoyed a great view of that red lunar eclipse from orbit!).

In summary, September 8–9, 2025, offered a feast of skywatching delights. A dramatic lunar eclipse, enhanced by potential auroral glow, captured global attention. Planets and the Moon made graceful dances in the night and morning sky. And even our own rockets and spacecraft added to the show, proving that the excitement of space is both natural and human-made. Whether you were an avid astronomer or a casual admirer of the night sky, these dates provided plenty of reasons to step outside, look up, and marvel at the wonders above.

Sources:

NASA – What’s Up: September 2025 Skywatching (NASA Science, Sep 2025) – Saturn’s brilliance at opposition and all-month visibility ^[78] ^[79].
Spaceweather.com – Archive Sep 6, 2025 – NOAA/NASA forecasted CME impact on Sept 7 with G1–G2 storm expected; auroras possibly coinciding with eclipse ^[80].
EarthSky.org – Total Lunar Eclipse Sept 7, 2025 (Marcy Curran) – Eclipse timing, global visibility map (“full Corn Moon will sweep across… Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa…”) ^[81] ^[82].
TimeandDate.com – Eclipse Information – Longest total lunar eclipse since 2022; ~85% of world population in view; totality duration ~83 min ^[83] ^[84].
TS2 Tech Skywatch Alert (Sept 6–7, 2025) – Geomagnetic storm watch details (NOAA G1 watch due to coronal hole; CME arriving Sep 7); expert commentary on concurrent aurora + “Blood Moon” ^[85] ^[86].
Daily Galaxy – Northern Lights Alert (Sept 5, 2025) – Explanation of coronal hole high-speed stream causing G1 storm, Kp 5 expected, aurora visible beyond usual Arctic range ^[87] ^[88].
International Meteor Organization – Meteor Outlook (Sep 6–12, 2025) (R. Lunsford) – Moonlight impact on meteor rates; epsilon Perseids peak ~Sep 9 with hourly rates under 5 ^[89] ^[90].
StarWalk (Vito Technology) – September Meteor Showers 2025 – Notes on Aurigids & ε-Perseids; Sep 9 peak of ε-Perseids and full Moon interference ^[91] ^[92].
Adler Planetarium – Skywatch September 2025 (K. Donnelly) – Saturn near the Moon on night of Sep 7/8; Venus & Jupiter in morning sky; upcoming Moon-Venus occultation Sep 19 ^[93] ^[94].
Space.com – Space Calendar Sep 2025 – Entries for Sep 7 (total lunar eclipse) ^[95], Sep 8 (Falcon 9 Nusantara Lima launch) ^[96], Sep 9 (Falcon 9 SDA launch planned) ^[97].
Spaceflight Now – Launch Schedule (retrieved Sep 8, 2025) – Falcon 9 Nusantara Lima launch details (time, booster reuse count) ^[98] ^[99]; Falcon 9 SDA Tranche 1 launch timing ^[100].
Wikipedia – List of Spaceflight Launches Q3 2025 – Log of launches on Sep 8–9: Jielong-3 sea launch (Sept 8) ^[101]; SpaceX Nusantara-5 (Sept 8) ^[102]; Long March 7A (Sept 9) ^[103].
NASA – Spot the Station (ISS viewing guide) – ISS makes several passes daily, visible near sunrise/sunset when sunlit against dark sky ^[104] ^[105].