October's nights will continue to grow longer and cooler, hopefully increasing your time under the stars if your schedule allows. This month will also bring the opposition of Uranus, the Orionid Meteor Shower, the return of Venus to the evening sky, and the return of Mars to the morning sky.
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| Mercury |
Throughout the month, Mercury can be found in our western sky just after sunset. While it is visible all month, your best chance to view the innermost planet will come towards the end of the month when it will be a little further from the Sun, making it easier to see from our perspective. Venus will be found in Mercury's proximity and will be easier to spot. Using Venus as a guide, throughout most of the month, Mercury can be found to the left of the brighter planet. As the month comes to a close, the remaining couple of days these two planets will have moved with Mercury now below Venus. On the 28th, the thin crescent Moon can be found near the pair but may be lost in the brightness of the Sun. On the following evening, the Moon will be above the pair and should be easier to see. Mercury goes through phases just like the Moon and Venus, but are harder to see since the planet is much smaller, closer to the Sun, and does not reflect as much sunlight as Venus. You might be able to see these phases with a pair of binoculars but will likely need a larger instrument. As always, when using an optical device and looking in the direction of the Sun, be careful! Don't look directly at the Sun without the correct filters installed properly on your device.
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| Venus |
As mentioned, Venus can be found in the western sky after sunset near Mercury. It should be easy to spot since it shines so brightly, but if you are having trouble, towards the end of the month Venus will be a little further from the Sun and easier to spot. Also as mentioned, the crescent Moon will join the innermost planets on the 28th and 29th, with the 29th being an easier evening to spot the Moon. Don't forget that you can use a pair of binoculars or larger instrument to view the phases of Venus. As it changes position in its orbit around the Sun, more or less of its surface will be hit by sunlight from our vantage point.
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| Mars |
Mars returns to our sky this month! However, it will now rise before the Sun throughout October. It will likely be hard to spot at the beginning of the month. Mars will rise earlier and earlier with each passing day which will allow this planet to get away from the Sun's glow, making it easier to spot. The red planet is in a place in its orbit which takes it far from the Earth so using a telescope won't reveal any surface detail. On the morning of the 26th, the Moon can be found to the upper left of Mars which might help you spot this planet a little easier.
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| Jupiter |
As in the previous months, Jupiter will again be easy to spot in the southern sky after sunset. Jupiter will likely be the first "star" that you see since it shines brighter than anything else in the sky other than the Sun, Moon, and Venus right now. As with any other time Jupiter is in the sky, you can use a pair of binoculars to spot the 4 Galilean Moons. Using a larger instrument will also easily show the Galilean Moons as well as revealing the cloud bands on this giant planet and possibly seeing the Great Red Spot and even the shadow of one of the moons as it transits Jupiter. Our nearest neighbor, the Moon, will join Jupiter in the evening sky on the 3rd creating quite the pairing. The 31st will bring a similar pairing. Don't forget that if you want to see the Milky Way, you can use Jupiter and Saturn as a guide once you are at a dark sky location. It will be sandwiched between these two planets.
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| Saturn |
To the East (left) of Jupiter, you should easily be able to spot the next planet in our solar system, Saturn. I have been able to use a pair of binoculars to reveal the rings, although it is much easier to see them with a telescope. You will also be able to see Titan, Saturn's largest moon in your field of view with a telescope. I have enjoyed going out in the evenings and viewing both Jupiter and Saturn since they are so easy to find in the sky right now. After the Moon has its rendezvous with Jupiter on the 3rd, it will slide eastward towards Saturn creating a similar pairing on the 5th. By the 31st, the Moon will return to this region of the sky and can be found between Jupiter and Saturn, but will lie closer to Jupiter. As mentioned above, you can use Jupiter and Saturn to locate the Milky Way once you are in a dark sky location.
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| Uranus |
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| Neptune |
The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars. Uranus will rise over our Utah mountains around 9 PM at the start of the month and by the end of the month, it will be over the mountains before the Sun sets. Uranus reaches opposition on the 28th. On the 14th, Uranus can be found to the upper left of the Moon.
Neptune reached opposition last month, so it will be above the eastern horizon during sunset. Our most distant planet will be found in the constellation of Aquarius all month. On the 10th, the Moon will join Neptune in the sky.
Meteor Shower
This month will bring the Orionid Meteor Shower. As you can probably guess, these meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation of Orion. The peak date of this shower is the night of the 21st/morning of the 22nd. Orion won't rise above our mountains until after midnight (morning of 22nd), but the best time to view meteors is when the radiant point is high in the sky. This will mean around 2 in the morning (or later) for us in Utah. On this date, the crescent Moon will be rising over the mountains at this time so that may wash out most of the dim meteors. The active dates of this shower are between October 2 and November 7. This means that you may still see some meteors from this shower between these dates so if you can't make it to a dark sky location on the peak date, try a day or two around that. On the peak date, you may see up to 20 meteors per hour, but with the Moon in the sky, that number will likely be less.
Spot Me....🕵️
So far, I've had you try and spot M44 - Beehive Cluster, M13 - Hercules Cluster, M19 - Globular Cluster, and the Galilean moons of Jupiter as well as some surface details of this giant planet. I also had you look at the rings of Saturn, a comet, the double cluster (NGC 896 and NGC 884), and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Last month I had you try to spot the comet Africano. I hope that you have been able to view a few of these awesome sights. If not, please try to do so!
Since the nights are getting cooler and many of us have busy schedules that don't allow us to spend long hours under the stars, I will continue with just one target this month. Since October in Utah typically still has clear skies, I want you to try and watch the meteor shower, or at least see some meteors this month. As mentioned above, the peak date of the Orionid Meteors is the night of the 21st/morning of the 22nd. You can still see these meteors for two weeks before and after the peak date. All you need is a dark sky location and patience to spot meteors. Be sure to look in the direction of Orion, even if it hasn't cleared the eastern horizon yet. Good luck!
As always, let me know what you see!
Monthly Breakdown
October 05: First Quarter Moon 🌓
October 05: Moon and Saturn pass within 0.5°
October 10: Moon and Neptune pass within 4°
October 13: Full Moon 🌕
October 14: Moon and Uranus pass within 4°
October 21: Last Quarter Moon 🌗
October 21/22: Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks
October 26: Moon and Mars pass within 5°
October 27: New Moon 🌑
October 28: Uranus reaches opposition
October 29: Moon, Mercury, and Venus found close together
October 30: Venus and Mercury within 3°
October 31: Moon and Jupiter pass within 2°
Think About This....💡
As promised, here are a few astrophotography pictures that were taken during the first part of June at a new location (to me) in the Utah west desert. None of these images have been edited in anyway except for their size so they fit on my blog! I hope you find them enjoyable and will encourage you to do some stargazing!
This first image is of Jupiter rising in the east. If you look closely, you should be able to make out the constellation of Scorpio to the right of Jupiter.
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| Jupiter and constellation of Scorpio |
This image is similar to the first but it's later in the night so Jupiter is higher in the sky and it's darker out.
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| Jupiter, Scorpio, and stars! |
This image shows Jupiter and the Milky Way band rising over the snow capped mountains.
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| Jupiter and Milky Way |
This image might be best viewed on a computer or something with a large screen. Near the top, just left of center is an Iridium Flare. Just below that is a light trail from a satellite. You might be able to zoom in with your phone to see them as well.
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| Satellite trail, Iridium Flare, and stars |
I liked this image because of the clouds mixed with the stars. This is looking north. The Big and Little Dippers should be in this image.
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| Clouds, stars, terrestrial lights |
I just thought this was a cool picture.
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| Jupiter, Scorpio, and Milky Way behind the sign |
This is another image of Jupiter, the Milky Way, and snow capped mountains. It was taken later in the night so the stars are a little higher than previous pictures.
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| Jupiter and Milky Way above snow capped mountains |
Stay tuned for more exciting news and events!
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| Now get outside and look up! |
Planet images taken by NASA.
Andrew vs. the Cosmos taken by Jeff Greenland.
