Astronomically speaking, October will bring the opposition of yet another planet as well as a meteor shower that may be decent if you are willing to be out late or get up early. You will also be able to see all 8 planets during the beginning of the month if you are willing to stay up all night (or get up early), have a telescope, and know where to look.
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| Mercury |
Mercury will be found in the western sky just after sunset. It will be hard to spot since it will lie so low on the horizon, but your best chance will be around the 27th when you can use Jupiter to help guide you to the innermost planet. When you find Jupiter, Mercury will be located directly below, towards the horizon. It will be shining at magnitude -0.2 which is only a quarter of the brightness of Jupiter on this evening. To increase your chance of seeing the smallest planet in our solar system, get to a high location with an unobstructed view of the western horizon. You will also want to use this location for viewing Venus this month.
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| Venus |
Venus will disappear from our skies this month after the first week or so. If you want to catch all eight planets in one night, it will have to be during this time. Venus will be only 2° above our western horizon, so as mentioned, be sure to get to a high location with an unobstructed view to observe Venus. While Venus is away for much of October, get geared up for its return to the morning sky in early November, when it will be frequently referred to as the "morning star".
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| Mars |
Mars can easily be found after sunset throughout the month. Just look to the south and you should see a bright red "star" that is not twinkling. In fact, it will be the brightest planet in the sky after Venus and Jupiter have slid below the horizon shortly after the Sun. The red planet will be in a great location in the sky for viewing through a telescope. You should still be able to make out some surface details if you get the chance to lock this planet into your telescope eyepiece. During May, there was a planet wide dust storm which obscured much of the surface detail that we could see from Earth. This dust storm has mostly cleared away so the surface details should be a little more prominent in your field of view. I likely won't get the opportunity to take out the telescope again this year for a chance to see the surface of Mars, but if you or anyone you know are able to, please let me know what you see!
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| Jupiter |
Like Mercury and Venus, Jupiter will be easiest to view in early October, especially if you want to use a telescope or binoculars. Earlier in the month, Jupiter will be high enough above the horizon after sunset to view the cloud bands without much atmospheric distortion. Jupiter starts the month off shining at a magnitude of -1.8 and can be found just about 15° to the upper left of Venus. With each passing week, this gas giant will lose about 3° of altitude, meaning it will set sooner in the evening. If you get the chance, be sure to check out Jupiter before it lies too close to the Sun, from our vantage point, to be seen.
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| Saturn |
Saturn will again be a great target this month. It won't fall below the western horizon until around 11 p.m. local time and can be found in the southern sky riding along the ecliptic, at 25° after sunset. If you have a telescope, be sure to check out our ringed world. It is truly a majestic sight to see with your own eyes, instead of looking at a picture online, in a magazine, or in a book.
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| Uranus |
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| Neptune |
The outer ice giants will require a telescope for the best possible views from Earth. Uranus will reach opposition on the 23rd this month, making it possible to view throughout the night. During the opposition, it will lie closest to Earth and will also reach an altitude of just over 60°. This is the highest Uranus has been in our sky since the 1960's. This means that it will be a great target for a telescope because the viewer won't have as much atmospheric disturbance as they would if it was closer to the horizon. Neptune was at opposition last month, so it will also be in a great place in the sky to be viewed through a telescope. It can be found about halfway between the eastern horizon and the southern sky just after sunset.
Meteor Shower
October's meteor shower will peak on the 21st but unfortunately, a waxing gibbous moon will be in the sky until around 4:00 a.m. local time. This means that if you would like to maximize the number of meteors you see, you will have to wait until about this time to get up and watch. This shower will appear to radiate from the constellation of Orion, which is how it received its name, the Orionid Meteor Shower. During the peak date, and with the moon out of the sky, you should be able to see up to around 20 meteors per hour.
There will also be another meteor shower this month, the Draconids, although it is usually a minor one. In previous years, this shower has had outbursts of activity and may do so again this year. This shower will peak on the 8th and will appear to radiate from Draco the Dragon. During the peak, you may be able to see more than 10 meteors per hour, which doesn't sound like much, but that's pretty good for a minor meteor shower.
Monthly Breakdown
October 02: Last Quarter Moon 🌗
October 05: Mercury and Spica pass within 2°
October 08: New Moon 🌑
October 08: Draconid Meteor Shower peaks
October 10: Moon and Venus pass within 13°
October 11: Moon and Jupiter pass within 4°
October 14: Mercury and Venus pass within 7°
October 14: Moon and Saturn pass within 2°
October 16: First Quarter Moon 🌓
October 18: Moon and Mars pass within 2°
October 20: Moon and Neptune pass within 3°
October 21: Orionid Meteor Shower peaks
October 23: Uranus at opposition
October 24: Full Moon 🌕
October 24: Moon and Uranus pass within 5°
October 29: Mercury and Jupiter pass within 3°
October 31: Last Quarter Moon 🌗
Think About This....💡
There are all types of pollution, but since this blog is all about astronomy, I would like for you to think about light pollution and the ways you can help reduce it. I recently attended an event presented by Science Friday, a group of people interested in everything science related such as, dinosaurs, plants, birds, biology, chemistry, and of course, astronomy. Science Friday creates podcasts talking with different scientists about different topics, such as those listed above. They have a website which features past talks, future talks and events, and much, much more. You can get to their website by clicking HERE, if you are interested in giving it a look and even listening to the archived content.
Ever since early man created fire, they felt safe by having more light around them at night. Today, there is light nearly everywhere you look at night, especially since the majority of Earth dwellers live in cities. This light that helps people feel safe, might actually be making them less safe. There was a study done in Chicago that was referenced in the lecture I attended that found when a poorly lit alley had more lights installed, the crime rate went up. This could possibly be because the brighter lights actually caused more shadows. This gives crooks more places to hide. Since the human eye is drawn to brighter objects, this makes it ideal for these people.
There was also a study performed on people that work night-shift hours and it was found that they were more depressed, less healthy, and even were more likely to get cancer. It was concluded that since these people were working nights and sleeping during the day, they weren't able to get a restful sleep because of the Sun's light. This also applies to people that live in the city, watch TV, or even play on their mobile devices at night. The light sources are keeping people awake and not letting their brains and bodies get the rest that is needed.
The effects that light plays in human health and crime & safety are worthwhile issues. The focus, in my opinion, should be placed on reducing light pollution as much as possible near our cities to preserve the wonders of our night sky. How many people are missing out on the experience of seeing the milky way, planets, or even some of the brightest constellations?
Below are a few pictures that I took at the same time of night but from different locations (and a one night difference). The first few are from about 30 miles west of Salt Lake City in a semi-dark area, while the last few are from the city. These look best on a computer or TV.
Now imagine what these pictures would look like from a completely dark sky area. One of my favorite dark sky areas, which was recently classified as an International Dark Sky Park, is Cedar Breaks National Monument. At an altitude of about 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) and around 20 miles east of Cedar City, Cedar Breaks is the 16th National Park Service (NPS) unit to be designated as an International Dark Sky Park and the first in southwestern Utah. There are currently 417 NPS units in the nation. Wouldn't it be nice if all of the national parks were dark sky preserves?
If you would like to check out a video from the lecture I attended about light pollution and preserving our night sky, here is the link from Science Friday's website: Save the night!
Ever since early man created fire, they felt safe by having more light around them at night. Today, there is light nearly everywhere you look at night, especially since the majority of Earth dwellers live in cities. This light that helps people feel safe, might actually be making them less safe. There was a study done in Chicago that was referenced in the lecture I attended that found when a poorly lit alley had more lights installed, the crime rate went up. This could possibly be because the brighter lights actually caused more shadows. This gives crooks more places to hide. Since the human eye is drawn to brighter objects, this makes it ideal for these people.
There was also a study performed on people that work night-shift hours and it was found that they were more depressed, less healthy, and even were more likely to get cancer. It was concluded that since these people were working nights and sleeping during the day, they weren't able to get a restful sleep because of the Sun's light. This also applies to people that live in the city, watch TV, or even play on their mobile devices at night. The light sources are keeping people awake and not letting their brains and bodies get the rest that is needed.
The effects that light plays in human health and crime & safety are worthwhile issues. The focus, in my opinion, should be placed on reducing light pollution as much as possible near our cities to preserve the wonders of our night sky. How many people are missing out on the experience of seeing the milky way, planets, or even some of the brightest constellations?
Below are a few pictures that I took at the same time of night but from different locations (and a one night difference). The first few are from about 30 miles west of Salt Lake City in a semi-dark area, while the last few are from the city. These look best on a computer or TV.
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| Mars from Area 62 |
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| Big Dipper from Area 62 |
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| Milky Way from Area 62 |
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| Mars from light polluted sky |
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| Big Dipper from light polluted sky (sorry for the house) |
Now imagine what these pictures would look like from a completely dark sky area. One of my favorite dark sky areas, which was recently classified as an International Dark Sky Park, is Cedar Breaks National Monument. At an altitude of about 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) and around 20 miles east of Cedar City, Cedar Breaks is the 16th National Park Service (NPS) unit to be designated as an International Dark Sky Park and the first in southwestern Utah. There are currently 417 NPS units in the nation. Wouldn't it be nice if all of the national parks were dark sky preserves?
If you would like to check out a video from the lecture I attended about light pollution and preserving our night sky, here is the link from Science Friday's website: Save the night!
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| Now get outside and look up! |
Planet images taken by NASA.
Andrew vs. the Cosmos taken by Jeff Greenland.
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