Derekscope

September Equinox at 18:19 / 6.19pm (BST)

Autumn Equinox
It marks a moment of cosmic balance:
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– when the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading southward.
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– day and night are nearly equal across the globe.
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– marks the start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.
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How to sign equinox in BSL?

Saturn reaches opposition.

A celestial alignment where Earth passes directly between the Sun and Saturn.
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Saturn rises at sunset, peaks at midnight, and sets at sunrise so it’s visible all night long.

This places Saturn opposite the Sun in our sky, making it closest, brightest, and largest for the year.
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How to sign Saturn in BSL?

Saturn is in opposition
Saturn is on the ‘opposite’ side of the sky to the Sun – when the Sun sets in the west, Saturn appears in the east.

Saturn is approaching opposition on 21 September 2025, which is the best time to see the planet, when it will be its biggest and brightest.
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Over the coming weeks, as the Moon begins to wane and moves out of the way, there’ll be a great opportunity to get out your binoculars or telescope and see Saturn at its best.
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DON’T MISS IT

Occultation of Venus by the Moon

The Moon occults the planet Venus on 19 September,
this will be under full daylight, but
magnitude –3.8 Venus will still be visible.

(Click below for enlarge)

The Moon’s position in the sky changes depending on where you are on Earth. An occultation is a very localised event, meaning it can only be seen from a certain path or region on Earth where the Moon happens to block Venus for the observer.
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See my below previous photo – Moon occultation of Venus;

How to sign occultation in BSL?

Northern Lights over looking the Norfolk coast this morning at 4am.
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Mercury will reach its superior conjunction, meaning it will be on the far side of the Sun from earth and therefore cannot seen.
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 At this point, Mercury will move from the morning sky to the evening sky, but it will remain hidden in the Sun’s glare for the rest of the month, making it invisible to observers in the UK – next visible in October in the evening sky.
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The Moon occulting The Pleiades Cluster (M45)

Moon occults the Pleiades shortly after they rises together along the Northeast-East horizon that already in the process of eclipsing M45.
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How to sign occultation in BSL?
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Tonight’s sky over the UK is serving up a great pairing of bright Moon & Saturn, both visible all the night sky.

From 22:00 / 10pm onwards, when they are high enough for clear viewing – this alignment is perfect for outreach and bright enough for binoculars.
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