Night sky September 2027 UK: planets, Moon and meteor showers
What to see from Britain in September 2027, with times worked out for UK skies rather than copied from American guides.
September has the autumn equinox, longer nights, and the Summer Triangle still high as the autumn stars rise. Saturn is in the evening sky in mid-September 2027. Uranus and Neptune are also up for anyone with binoculars or a telescope. The full Moon, the Harvest Moon, is on Thursday 16 September 2027. No major meteor shower peaks in September, though the Southern Taurids is active.
September 2027 night sky: key dates
| Date | What's happening |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 7 September | First Quarter at about 19:35 BST |
| Thursday 16 September | Full Moon, the Harvest Moon at about 00:05 BST |
| Thursday 23 September | Last Quarter at about 11:25 BST |
| Thursday 23 September | September equinox: the start of astronomical autumn (about 06:55 BST) |
| Friday 24 September | Mercury at greatest eastern elongation, 26° from the Sun in the evening sky, but too low in the twilight to see well from the UK |
| Tuesday 28 September | Neptune at opposition: opposite the Sun, up all night and at its brightest |
| Thursday 30 September | New Moon at about 03:40 BST |
Times are UK local time, rounded to five minutes. For what's up on a particular night, see the UK night sky this week and the 7-night astronomy weather forecast.
When does it get dark in September in the UK?
On 15 September the Sun sets at about 19:25 BST in central England and the sky is dark enough for stargazing from about 20:40 until 05:25. True astronomical darkness, which faint galaxies and the Milky Way need, lasts from about 21:25 to 04:45.
| Date | Sunset | Dark enough to stargaze | Astronomical darkness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 September | 19:55 BST | 21:15 to 05:00 | 22:05 to 04:10 |
| 15 September | 19:25 BST | 20:40 to 05:25 | 21:25 to 04:45 |
| 30 September | 18:50 BST | 20:00 to 05:55 | 20:40 to 05:15 |
For Birmingham. "Dark enough" means the Sun is 12° below the horizon; astronomical darkness means 18°. Around midsummer it never gets that dark in Edinburgh or anywhere further north. In midwinter Edinburgh is dark about 5 minutes earlier than Birmingham and Plymouth about 15 minutes later; in spring and autumn the whole country is within about 15 minutes of these times.
Planets visible in September 2027
Saturn is in the evening sky in mid-September 2027. Uranus and Neptune are also up for anyone with binoculars or a telescope. The details below are for 15 September from central England; times move by a few minutes from night to night.
Not well placed this month: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter.
Moon phases September 2027
| Phase | Date and time |
|---|---|
| First Quarter | Tuesday 7 September, about 19:35 BST |
| Full Moon | Thursday 16 September, about 00:05 BST |
| Last Quarter | Thursday 23 September, about 11:25 BST |
| New Moon | Thursday 30 September, about 03:40 BST |
The best evenings for faint targets this month are 1 to 6 and 22 to 30 September, when the Moon is out of the sky for at least the first hour after dark. The full Moon is the Harvest Moon; our moon phase tonight page shows the Moon for any night.
Meteor showers in September 2027
No major meteor shower peaks in September. The Southern Taurids is active, so a few meteors an hour is normal on any dark night.
For a quick verdict on any night, see is there a meteor shower tonight, and the UK meteor shower calendar for the year ahead.
Constellations and deep-sky objects in September
The Summer Triangle is high in the south-west, the Square of Pegasus is in the south-east, and Andromeda and Cassiopeia climb high in the north-east.
- The Andromeda Galaxy (M31), a long oval glow visible to the naked eye from a dark site
- The Double Cluster in Perseus, two clusters in one binocular view
- The Milky Way through Cygnus, still well placed early in the evening
To find your way around, our constellation guides show each star pattern, and binocular astronomy explains how to star-hop to clusters like these. For the darkest skies near you, try the UK dark sky sites map.
Kit for a month of stargazing
Kit we've reviewed in full
Nothing on this page needs more than your eyes, but a star chart and a red light make finding things far easier, and binoculars show the Moon's craters, Jupiter's moons and the best star clusters.
Philip's Planisphere (latitude 51.5° North)
Turn the wheel to the date and time and it shows exactly which constellations are up. Made for 51.5° north, so it matches the sky over Britain.
Lepro Rechargeable Head Torch with Red Light (2 pack)
Red light lets you read a chart without undoing the 20 minutes your eyes need to adapt to the dark.
The UK astronomy forums' standard first pair: waterproof, bright and the right size for clusters, the Moon and the Milky Way.
Our best binoculars for stargazing
Honest, research-based recommendations for every budget.
Browse all →Affiliate links: you pay the same price, we earn a small commission that helps keep WatchTheStars free.
Every figure on this page is calculated for central England (52.5° north) when the site rebuilds each night, using the same methods as our stargazing tonight tool, checked against the JPL ephemeris. Each month's page moves on to the following year once the month ends.