There are some visible planets in the night sky in September to enjoy for keen stargazers.

Mercury may be visible between the 6th and 24th of September very low in the east about an hour before sunrise.

Venus rises around 3:30am at the start of September, 4:30am by month end and will be low in the east at sunrise.

Saturn will be in the south at sunset throughout the month, setting around 11pm at the start of the month and 9.30pm by the end of September.

Friday 15 September will see the curtain fall on one of the most successful missions of recent times, when the Cassini mission comes to a spectacular end as the spacecraft plunges to its doom through the atmosphere of Saturn. For the past 13 years the Cassini spacecraft has been studying the Saturn system, revealing more about the ringed-world and its moons than ever before and even launching the probe Huygens onto Titan.

To celebrate these achievements the Coats Observatory in Paisley will be open on Friday 15 September from 8pm to 9pm for an evening of Saturn observing. Admission free and no need to book.

And it looks like a big solar storm on the way Wednesday evening. Keep an eye on the usual aurora forecast sites for updates.