After a cloudless sky had been forecast for the entire evening, clouds nevertheless blocked the view of the completely eclipsed Earth satellite during the total phase of the lunar eclipse.
Only after the moon had moved out of the Earth's shadow for two minutes did the sky open up. This was an impressive sight. Over the course of the evening, an estimated 150 visitors observed the moon through our telescopes with a focal length of 3.9 m and 0.9 m and magnifications of approx. 100 and 20 respectively.
Here are some photos taken next to the observatory with a reflecting telescope of our NAWI member M. Heims with 200 mm aperture and 1 m focal length:
20:56 - Three minutes after totality
21:33 - 40 minutes after totality
21:04 - 11 minutes after totality
22:00 - Three minutes after leaving the umbra
Furthermore, images were taken by NAWI member T. Lutz about 50 km north of the observatory with a Seestar S50 telescope:
After the bright summer nights, it gets dark much earlier again in September. Most of the constellations can already be seen at around 21:30. First to fall vertically above us is the bright star Away up. If you look there again later, when it has become completely dark, you will also see the small diamond-shaped constellation Lyre in which Vega is the brightest star. If you do not see Lyra, you may not have seen Vega, but perhaps the star Atair (constellation Eagle) or Deneb (constellation Swan) in their sights. Vega, Atair and Deneb together form a large triangle called the "summer triangle". In the middle of the summer triangle and slightly to the left of it are the small constellations Arrow and Dolphin. Neither of them have any bright stars, but because they are so small, their figures stand out at first glance. Now the Milky Way as a pale, shimmering band high above our heads. Both the western part of the sky with the setting early summer constellations and the eastern sky with the rising autumn constellations are poor in bright stars. In the constellation of Pisces Saturn and right next door you can Neptune observe.
On September 7, a total Lunar eclipse takes place. The moon is already eclipsed above the eastern horizon in Central Europe. By the end of totality at 20:53, it is just under ten degrees above the horizon. At 21:57, the moon leaves the Earth's umbra again. See also the point Events on our homepage.
The moon phases in September 2025
The planets in September 2025
Mercury is not observable in September.
Venus is on its way south along the ecliptic. It runs from the constellation of Cancer to the constellation of Leo. We can still see Venus as a bright morning star. On 19.9. it is directly next to the main star Regulus and the crescent moon is just in front of Venus. In the afternoon of September 19, the moon will cover Venus in the daytime sky.
Mars passes through the constellation of Virgo, but this remains hidden in the bright sunshine.
Jupiter in the constellation of Gemini rises at midnight. On 16.9. the waning moon is close to Jupiter.
Saturn reaches its opposition this year on 21.9. It rises in the evening, is in the south at midnight and sets in the morning. On September 8/9, the full moon will pass Saturn. We are currently looking almost exactly at the edge of Saturn's rings. There will also be interesting events involving Saturn's moons with transits in front of the planet's disk and shadows cast.
Uranus in the constellation of Taurus now rises in the early evening hours, and it is worth observing it with binoculars from around midnight.
Neptune reaches this year's opposition to the sun on September 23. The distant planet is currently in the constellation of Pisces. To see it, you need good binoculars or a telescope.
On August 25, 2025 between 10:34 pm and 10:45 pm, the all-sky camera of a member of our observatory captured a bright object moving across the night sky from the west across the zenith to the east.
The ISS and Starlink satellites were quickly ruled out, as was supporting space debris or a shooting star. After some research, the object was identified as a Chinese Long March 8 rocket ejecting fuel. Source
The weather forecast promised a clear night sky for this year's maximum of the Perseids, which actually happened.
As a result, we were able to open the observatory at around 9:00 pm. At 10:30 pm, it was finally dark enough to see the first shooting stars dart across the sky. May the observers' personal wishes come true.
At around 10 p.m., the moon was still quite full, which limited the visibility of the shooting stars to the brighter ones. However, we were able to offer our visitors an interesting view of the Earth's satellite. Saturn, the ring nebula in Lyra and other space objects could also be observed with our telescopes.
We estimate around 150 visitors, including many families with very interested children.
Photograph of a Perseids meteor from August 11, 2023:
Small Perseid on the night of 11.02.2023 (click to enlarge)
After 10 pm, the first stars can be observed due to the darkness that sets in. If you look steeply upwards at around 11 pm, you will see the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyre can be seen. Together with Vega, two other bright stars form the "summer triangle": to the left of Vega is the star Deneb in the constellation Swan and a good distance towards the horizon the star Atair in the constellation Eagle. As soon as it gets really dark again at night in mid-August, you can sense how the ribbon of the Milky Way draws. In the east Pegasus and Andromeda the first pictures of fall. Deep in the south-east, the Saturn in Pisces can now be seen over the horizon. Not far away from it is the faint Neptune to find.
The moon phases in August 2025
The planets in August 2025
Mercury can be seen in the morning sky after mid-August.
Venus is still a "morning star". It passes through Gemini and therefore rises far to the north-east. On 12.8. it appears to pass the orbit of Jupiter and passes the gas giant at a distance of just under one degree.
Mars passes through the constellation of Virgo and is then no longer visible in the evening sky.
Jupiter in Gemini is an object in the morning sky and passes Venus on August 12, see above. On 20.8. the waning crescent moon joins the planetary duo. A great motif that is definitely worth getting up early for!
Saturn moves retrograde through the constellation of Pisces. The ringed planet is clearly visible from around midnight. The second of three conjunctions with Neptune this year occurs on August 6.
The Uranus can be observed in the morning sky in August.
Neptune like Saturn, is retrograde through the constellation of Pisces. At the conjunction of the two on 6 August, their mutual separation is just over one degree.
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