THE 68% ILLUMINATED WANING GIBBOUS MOON OCCULTS THE PLEIADES TONIGHT! PLUS A GREAT CHANCE TO OBSERVE URANUS! - 12/09/2025
Hi Everyone! Just a quick post to let you know about a special celestial treat that can be observed this evening! 😊
Tonight, on the evening of the 12th of September, the 68% illuminated waning gibbous Moon will travel in front of the Pleiades star cluster (which is also known as the Seven Sisters) and block some of its stars from view during an event known as an occultation!
This occultation will begin shortly after the Moon has risen, so a clear view toward the North-Eastern horizon will be required to view this event from start to finish, and a pair of binoculars or a telescope will help you observe the Pleiades in more detail too.
This evening will also be a great chance to observe the faint and distant planet Uranus too!
WHEN AND WHERE TO LOOK
Look towards the North-East at around 20:37 BST to see the Moon rise above the horizon alongside the Pleiades. The occultation will begin at around 21:20 BST when the Moon will begin to cover the bright star known as Electra. From here the Moon and the Pleiades will rise higher in the sky travelling towards the South, and the Moon will appear to slowly move across the stars of the Seven Sisters. The Moon will continue to move across the stars of the Pleiades until around 23:30 BST when the occultation will end.
For those of you with a pair of binoculars or a telescope, tonight will be a great chance to try and find the faint and distant planet Uranus. Scan the area of sky around 4 degrees below the Moon and Pleiades and you may be able to see a faint blue-green coloured point of light, if you can – that’s Uranus!
OTHER CELESTIAL TREATS
There are a number of other celestial treats about at this moment in time too. Here is a small selection of celestial treats to look out for:
- We have a number of meteor showers active at this moment in time. Although the moonlight will drown out all but the brightest of these meteors, it is still worth keeping an eye out for those beautiful streaks of light known as shooting stars.
- The asterism known as the Summer Triangle is a prominent asterism in our current night time skies and can help you find where to view our home galaxy the Milky Way. The brightest stars of the constellations Cygnus, Lyra and Aquila – the stars Deneb, Vega and Altair respectively, create a huge triangle in the night sky known as the Summer Triangle. They are located in a bright section of the Milky Way known as the Cygnus region. The body of the swan Cygnus also creates a cross like shape known as the Northern Cross. If you follow the length of the cross and continue tracing along the direction of this line, this can show you where the rest of the Milky Way stretches across the sky.
- The great Hercules globular star cluster M13 in the constellation of Hercules is an awe-inspiring sight when viewed through binoculars or a telescope and is also visible to the naked eye under favourable conditions. The glow from this Summer time treat (created from a super dense concentration of stars) is fairly easy to see in our night time skies and we recommend you try to find it with your binoculars or telescope.
- Our closest galactical neighbour, the amazing Andromeda Galaxy can be spotted to the eye as a small, faint and fuzzy elliptical shape in the constellation of Andromeda.
- We are now truly within what many people consider the Aurora season! Due to the skies becoming darker, chances of viewing the Aurora are now much higher and the Aurora may now be seen dancing on our Northern horizons on nights of strong auroral activity. Typically the bright Moon tends to wash the aurora out, however occasionally there are displays that are so strong they are visible despite the moonlight.
This September is also a fairly good time to spot some bright planets…
- For the early birds or all night stargazers, the brilliantly bright planet Venus can currently be fairly easily seen shining brightly at an impressive magnitude of -3.9 towards the East in the early morning just before sunrise.
- The amazing ringed planet Saturn is now very easy to spot riding high in the night sky. Saturn can currently be observed in the constellation of Pisces just below the great square of Pegasus.
- The gas giant Jupiter is also now fairly easy to spot located in the constellation of Gemini during the early morning skies. Look to the East during the early morning hours and you will be able to spot the bright planet Jupiter.
GET A CLOSER LOOK
If you own a pair of binoculars or a telescope, you can get an even closer look at the Moon, stars and other celestial treats, revealing fantastic details. The Moon with its mares and craters, the planets and the radiant Andromeda Galaxy, Pleiades star cluster and the Hercules cluster are all amazing to view using binoculars or a telescope.
WHAT ELSE IS IN THE NIGHT SKY THROUGHOUT SEPTEMBER?
If you would like to know more about the rest of the celestial treats that can be seen in the skies throughout September, please head to our YouTube channel to watch our Night Sky Guide video for September 2025.
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES!
We always love hearing about your celestial adventures! If you head out to witness this special celestial event or any other sights in the night sky, please feel free to share your stories in the comments below. 😊
GOOD LUCK AND CLEAR SKIES
This lunar occultation of the Pleiades will be a beautiful sight in our night skies and if you are able to, we recommend you head out to witness this event.
Good luck if you head out folks. Wrap up warm if you do. Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Clear skies 💖
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