What skywatchers in Bangladesh can expect to see until 15 September

The evening and midnight skies often offer a host of spectacular sights. Even amid the pressures of modern life, the night sky continues to captivate us.

Until 15 September, skywatchers in Bangladesh will have several striking and significant celestial events to look forward to, with a number of fascinating sights visible after sunset.

Throughout the first half of September, Venus will be the brightest object in the evening western sky. About 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, look towards the western horizon and Venus should appear to shine brilliantly, resembling a sparkling diamond.

Through binoculars or a telescope, Venus will appear as a slender crescent, as the planet is moving towards a position between the Sun and Earth.

The New Moon will occur on 11 September. With the Moon absent from the sky that night, conditions will be favourable for observing stars and distant galaxies.

After the New Moon, a thin crescent Moon will begin appearing in the western sky. On the evenings of 14 and 15 September in particular, the slender crescent and brilliant Venus will appear close together, creating a striking celestial spectacle. The pairing on 14 September is expected to be especially close.

At this time, the Andromeda Galaxy, one of the closest major galaxies to the Milky Way, can also be observed in the north-eastern sky with binoculars under sufficiently dark conditions.

After sunset, the famous Summer Triangle will be clearly visible almost overhead, formed by three bright stars—Vega, Altair and Deneb.

Meanwhile, in the south-western sky, the constellation Scorpius, including the reddish star Antares, will remain visible in the evening as it approaches its seasonal departure from the night sky.

During the first half of September, Jupiter will mainly be a pre-dawn object, rising in the early hours of the morning. It therefore will not be visible in the evening sky.

Saturn, however, will be visible throughout much of the night. With the planet approaching its favourable observing season, this is also a good time to view its rings through binoculars or a small telescope.

The Moon will come close to Venus on 14 September, while Saturn will have a separate close encounter with the Moon later in the month.

Sources: SkyMap, Time and Date, Sky & Telescope, Astronomy.com and SciTech