If you’re the kind of person who looks up at night just in case something magical’s happening, September is about to be your month. For seasoned stargazers, casual phone photographers, and everyone who’s just curious about what’s actually up there, here’s your guide to the most unmissable celestial events in September 2025.

Let’s face it: after a wild summer, we could all use a reason to stand outside at midnight and remember how cool the universe really is.

September’s Top Sky Events (Mark Your Calendar!)

Total Lunar Eclipse — September 7

Call your friends, grab your favorite snacks—this is the big one. On the 7th, India and much of Asia will get a front-row seat to a total lunar eclipse. The best part? It’s happening at a comfortable evening hour for most of us. The moon will turn that classic coppery “blood moon” red, and you don’t need any fancy gear—just clear skies and maybe a pair of binoculars to see craters in vivid detail. Don’t forget to make a wish. (I always do. Can’t prove it works, but hey—what if?)

• Peak Time (India): Around 8:45 PM IST
• How to Watch: Find a dark spot, give yourself about 30 minutes to adjust your eyes, and look up!
• Photographer Tip: Set your phone on Night Mode, brace against a wall, and you’ll get surprisingly good shots.

The Pleiades & A Rare Lunar Occultation — September 12

Star lore fans and night owls, this one’s for you. The Pleiades, often called the Seven Sisters, are a beautiful open star cluster in Taurus. On the night of the 12th, the moon will pass directly in front of (or “occult”) them. It’s a subtle, magical event that looks stunning through binoculars.

• Peak Time: Roughly 10-11 PM IST
• Where to Look: Towards the eastern sky, after moonrise
• Why It Matters: Lunar occultations of the Pleiades are rare and mesmerizing, like the universe is showing off just for you.

Saturn at Opposition — September 21

Saturn lovers, this is your night. When a planet’s at “opposition,” it’s closest to Earth and shines brightest for the year. Saturn will rise with the sun setting and is visible all night long—big, bright, and ringed. Even a small telescope or powerful binoculars should let you glimpse the rings, which never gets old.

• Pro Tip: Point your phone camera through the telescope eyepiece for easy astro-photography.
• Bonus: Look for Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, as a small pinprick of light nearby.

Equinox & Changing Seasons — September 23

Not as “wow” visually, but astronomically important. The autumnal equinox is when day and night are (basically) equal length all over the world. In India, this means the end of the rainy season and slightly cooler nights. The Milky Way is still visible overhead in the early evening, especially if you can get away from city lights.

Other Stealthy Sky Attractions

• Pre-dawn Venus: The “Morning Star” will be dazzling before sunrise all month.
• Orionids Meteor Shower (Early Preview): The real peak is in October, but you might spot a few early stragglers after midnight in the last week of September.
• ISS Flyovers: Check an app like Heavens-Above for when the International Space Station passes overhead—it moves fast and looks like a bright, steady “star” gliding by.

Pro Tips for First-Time Skywatchers

• App Up: Download a free sky map app (like Stellarium or SkySafari) and point your phone at the sky to ID stars and planets instantly.
• Red Flashlight: Use red cellophane on your torch if you’re night-watching; red light won’t wreck your night vision.
• Safety First: If you’re heading outside late, go with a friend and tell someone where you’re going. Snacks are highly recommended. 😉
• Photo Challenge: Tag your best snaps #SeptemberSkyWatch—there’s always a community eager to geek out with you.

Why September 2025 Is Special

Celestial events come in cycles, but combos like a total lunar eclipse and a rare star occultation in the same month? That’s a treat. Whether you’re making it a solo adventure, a family activity, or a date, September’s sky show has a little something for everyone.

In a world full of distractions, looking up is still the best kind of reset.

Let me know if you catch something amazing—or if you just want to share a blurry moon photo (we’ve all been there). Clear skies!

In a groundbreaking achievement, scientists have launched the world’s first wooden satellite into space to explore the material’s suitability for orbit. Named LignoSat, derived from the Latin for “wood,” the satellite was sent into space on a SpaceX mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday. It will later be deployed into orbit, where researchers will observe how the wood withstands the extreme conditions of space over a period of six months.

The initiative, a collaboration between Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, began in 2020. In 2022, they conducted exposure tests aboard the ISS for over 240 days, ultimately selecting Hoonoki, a type of Magnolia wood known for its strength, stability, and workability. This wood is traditionally used in Japan for crafting sword sheaths due to its shatter-resistant properties, according to Reuters.

Since space is devoid of water and oxygen, the wood is shielded from fire and decay, Kyoto University scientists explain. Additionally, they will evaluate the wood’s potential to protect semiconductors from space radiation, Reuters reports.

“If our wooden satellite succeeds, we plan to propose it to Elon Musk’s SpaceX,” said Takao Doi, an astronaut and professor at Kyoto University. The team envisions that wooden satellites could reduce space pollution, as they would not emit aluminum oxide when burning up upon re-entry, unlike traditional metal satellites. Over the next 50 years, Doi’s team envisions growing wood for timber-based habitats on the Moon and Mars. “With timber, a material we can cultivate ourselves, we could construct homes and sustain life in space indefinitely,” Doi told Reuters.

Geoffrey Hinton, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, and John Hopfield, professor at Princeton University, were honored with the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering contributions that laid the “foundation of today’s powerful machine learning.”

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences highlighted their work from the 1980s, which led to the development of artificial neural networks—computer systems inspired by the brain’s structure. These neural networks, which enable AI to “learn by example,” have been instrumental in advances like language processing and image recognition.

Hinton, often called the “Godfather of AI,” expressed his surprise at the award, stating, “I had no expectations of this. I am extremely surprised and I’m honoured.” His key contribution, the development of the Boltzmann machine, a generative model, played a significant role in modern AI.

Despite his monumental achievements, Hinton has raised concerns about the potential misuse of AI. In a 2023 New York Times interview, he expressed regret over his life’s work, noting, “It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things.” He left his position at Google in 2023 to more openly discuss the dangers AI might pose.

The Nobel committee also acknowledged the work of John Hopfield, whose Hopfield network provided early insights into how artificial neural networks can replicate brain patterns. Both scientists’ discoveries have been crucial in shaping today’s AI technologies.

Hinton used tools from statistical physics, the science of systems built from many similar components. The machine is trained by feeding it examples that are very likely to arise when the machine is run. The Boltzmann machine can be used to classify images or create new examples of the type of pattern on which it was trained. Hinton has built upon this work, helping initiate the current explosive development of machine learning.

Hinton’s contributions build on the work of fellow Nobel laureate John Hopfield, who developed the Hopfield network, an artificial neural network designed to recreate patterns and store memory. This type of network, introduced in the 1980s, models how neurons in the brain interact, using a system that can “remember” and retrieve stored information. Hopfield’s work provided early insight into how artificial neural networks could replicate brain-like processes, paving the way for the more advanced machine learning and neural network models that Hinton and others would later develop.

The Hopfield network utilises physics that describes a material’s characteristics due to its atomic spin – a property that makes each atom a tiny magnet. The network as a whole is described in a manner equivalent to the energy in the spin system found in physics, and is trained by finding values for the connections between the nodes so that the saved images have low energy. When the Hopfield network is fed a distorted or incomplete image, it methodically works through the nodes and updates their values so the network’s energy falls. The network thus works stepwise to find the saved image that is most like the imperfect one it was fed with.

Hinton continues to express his concerns about the future of AI, reiterating these in a recent call with reporters. He noted, “We have no experience of what it’s like to have things smarter than us. And it’s going to be wonderful in many respects.” However, he also cautioned about the potential dangers, emphasizing the need to remain vigilant about “a number of possible bad consequences, particularly the threat of these things getting out of control.” Hinton’s remarks reflect his growing unease about the rapid development of AI technologies and their potential misuse.