Summer stargazing can be so comfortable! However, for many folks with Monday through Friday jobs, the wake-up call for work restricts extended nights under the stars to the weekend.

In September, though, nightfall begins much earlier, especially later in the month. That’s extra good news because Saturn returns in glory to the early evening sky this September.

This coming Thursday we have a rare blue moon, the second full moon this month over Butler. The next full moon, on Sept. 29, will be considered the full harvest moon of 2023 since it’s within 10 days of the Autumnal Equinox, the astronomical beginning of autumn. This year the equinox is on Sept. 22 when the northern and southern hemispheres will experience nearly equal amounts of daylight and darkness. From then until Dec. 21, the sun’s daily path across the sky will get progressively lower around here as days get shorter as nights get longer.

Putting on a big show this month is the planet Saturn. Look for it in the low southeastern sky just after evening twilight. It’ll be easy to spot since it’s the brightest star-like object in that vicinity of the sky.

This weekend Saturn and Earth reach what’s referred to as opposition, their closest approach to each other in their respective orbits around the sun. Both planets are still relatively close to each other. On Sept. 1, Saturn will be just 815 million miles away, and at month’s end, a little farther away at just over 831 million miles.

Saturn’s also available nearly all night long, not setting in the southwest until just before morning twilight kicks in. I’ll have much more about Saturn in next week’s Starwatch column.

The summer constellations still dominate much of the sky, with the “Summer Triangle” dazzling near the zenith as soon as evening twilight ends. Just look for the three brightest stars nearly overhead, and that’s it.

It’s one of the best tools for helping you navigate that part of the sky because the three stars you see, Vega, Altair and Deneb, are all the brightest stars in their respective constellations: Lyra the Harp, Aquila the Eagle and Cygnus the Swan.

Another great summer constellation, Boötes the Herdsman, is perched in the early evening Western sky. It looks just like a kite with the super bright star Arcturus marking its tail. Arcturus is the brightest actual star seen in the summer skies.

Another summer classic is Sagittarius the Archer. According to Greek mythology, Sagittarius is allegedly a centaur — a half-man, half-horse — shooting an arrow. What it really resembles is a teapot that’s really easy to see!

If you’re lucky enough to be stargazing in the countryside, you can’t help but notice that ghostly ribbon of light that bisects the sky from north-northeast to south-southwest just above the spout of the teapot in the constellation Sagittarius. You’re enjoying what’s known as the Milky Way band, the thickest part of the disc-shaped plane of our home Milky Way Galaxy. The center of our home galaxy lies in the general direction of the teapot spout in Sagittarius.

Also look for the Big Dipper proudly hanging by its handle in the northwest. The Big Dipper itself isn’t an official constellation, but it does outline the rear end and tail of the great constellation Ursa Major, the Big Bear.

The fainter Little Dipper, otherwise known as Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, is standing on its handle to the right of the Big Dipper with Polaris, the North Star, at the end of its handle. Everything in our celestial dome rotates around Polaris every 24 hours.

For early morning stargazers, you can see some of the bright constellations of winter, like Orion the Hunter. As our world continues its circuit around our home star, Orion and the rest of his posse will take over our evening skies toward the end of the year, but let’s not rush things.

Enjoy the September star splendor!

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of "Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations," published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.