As Northern Hemisphere nights begin to lengthen in September, sky watchers will get great views of our neighboring worlds from dusk to dawn. Venus will sink closer to the sun but grow even brighter, while the brilliant gas giants Jupiter and Saturn will dominate the southern skies. And both hemispheres will be heralding a change of seasons with the arrival of the equinox.

So dust off those binoculars, and get set to explore the night this month.

A half hour after local sunset, look toward the low western sky for a strikingly close pairing of two brilliant points of light, Venus and Spica. The second-closest planet to the sun and the brightest star of the constellation Virgo will appear