See Jupiter and the moon join the Gemini twins in the predawn sky on Sept. 16

Turn your eyes to the east in the early morning hours of Sept. 16 to see the moon conspire with Jupiter and the bright stars of the Gemini constellation to create a lopsided rectangular formation in the late summer sky.

Jupiter will rise above the eastern horizon roughly an hour-and-a-half after midnight on Sept. 16, with the slender crescent moon shining roughly five degrees above it and the twinkling forms of the bright stars Castor and Pollux close to its left. Remember, 10 degrees is approximately the same width as your clenched fist when held out against the night sky!

The moon, Jupiter, Castor and Pollux come together to form an irregular slanted rectangle in Earth's predawn sky, one that helps highlight the spectacular diversity of objects that are visible to the naked eye above us.

Viewing this scene with a telescope with an aperture of 4-inches or greater will allow you to resolve spectacular features in Jupiter's ever shifting cloud bands, along with its four large Galilean moons — Europa, Io, Ganymede and Callisto. The moon will afford an equally spectacular sight predawn on Sept. 16, with the brooding expanse of the 57-mile-wide (93 kilometer) Copernicus crater lying on the shadowy line separating night from day on the lunar surface, known as the terminator.

The stars of the constellation Orion will be visible to the right of Gemini in the hours following midnight, with the Hyades and Pleiades open star clusters visible above.

Saturn, meanwhile, will shine above the southwestern horizon as dawn approaches. Its sweeping ring system is currently oriented edge-on to Earth, making it appear as little more than a thin line bisecting the bright amber orb of the gas giant's atmosphere through the eyepiece of a telescope.

Photographers interested in capturing the majesty of the night sky should read our roundup of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography. Those new to navigating the stars should also check out our guide to the top smartphone astronomy apps available in 2025.

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.