Astrophotography in September 2023: what to shoot in the night sky this month

Milky Way over the desert
September is perfect for capturing the Milky Way. Shot with a Canon EOS 6D with Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art lens. 15secs at f/2.2, ISO3200. (Image credit: Jamie Carter)

For astrophotographers in the northern hemisphere, September is the best month of the year. Significant darkness has returned at night, it’s still warm in the evening and, as we approach the fall equinox later in the month, that all-important darkness begins to dominate. 

It’s a great month for night-scapers to be outside with a wide-angle camera, with the bright core of the Milky Way galaxy hanging around and slowly sinking towards the western horizon after sunset. It’s also a popular time for star parties, which are increasingly frequented not only by amateur astronomers, but also by astrophotographers crowdsourcing a deep-sky target or two. 

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Jamie Carter
Astrophotography expert

Jamie has been writing about all aspects of technology for over 14 years, producing content for sites like TechRadar, T3, Forbes, Mashable, MSN, South China Morning Post, and BBC Wildlife, BBC Focus and BBC Sky At Night magazines. 

As the editor for www.WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com, he has a wealth of enthusiasm and expertise for all things astrophotography, from capturing the Perseid Meteor Shower, lunar eclipses and ring of fire eclipses, photographing the moon and blood moon and more.

He also brings a great deal of knowledge on action cameras, 360 cameras, AI cameras, camera backpacks, telescopes, gimbals, tripods and all manner of photography equipment.