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Rise with Naked-Eye Planets
MOON PHASES
Last quarter: Oct. 11, 2:56 a.m.
New: Oct. 17, 11:33 p.m.
First quarter: Oct. 25, 6:42 p.m.
*This year October’s full moon falls nearer to the autumnal equinox than September’s, making it the “Harvest Moon.”
IN HISTORY
Oct. 1, 1897 – The world’s largest refracting telescope (40-inch diameter) was dedicated at Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin.
I don't know about you, but I was disappointed by the Perseid meteor shower in August. The moon was up during the peak hours and washed out the fainter "shooting stars."
I predict we'll see a better show during the predawn hours of Oct. 21, when the Orionid meteor shower peaks. The 3-day-old waxing crescent moon won't be around to interfere.
Typical Orionids produce 15 to 25 meteors per hour around the peak (from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m.). On a clear night from a dark-sky site, that total could top 30.
Fed by debris from Halley's Comet, the "shooting stars" are unusually fast, hitting the atmosphere at nearly 150,000 mph. The radiant point is about 10 degrees northeast of the red giant star Betelgeuse, near the handle of Orion's sword.
The waning gibbous moon will interfere with the more modest Draconid meteor shower, which peaks on Oct. 9. The radiant point in Draco is low in the north, further limiting the number of potential meteors visible to hopeful viewers. Best to stick with the Orionids or wait for November's promising Leonids.
The morning sky is well populated with naked-eye planets. Four of the five rise after midnight. Only Jupiter looms high in the evening sky to delight viewers. Early birds can take in the others.
Jupiter, in Capricornus, is well up in the southern sky after dark and is always a joy to observe, especially in a small scope, which will reveal its main cloud bands and four Galilean moons. It fades slightly during the month, but that will matter little as it still shines at magnitude minus 2.4 at month's end. Our moon will appear nearby on the night of the 26th.
Mars rises a little before 1 a.m. at the beginning of October and just after midnight at month's end. It moves a little closer to Earth and brightens slightly during the month, ending the month at magnitude 0.45. It moves from Gemini into Cancer midmonth. Early in the month it forms a line with Gemini's twin stars Castor and Pollux. By the 17th, it's in a line with bright stars Procyon and Sirius. The moon is nearby on Oct. 11 and 12.
Mars will be adjacent to the Beehive star cluster (M44) at month's end.
The remaining trio of planets, Venus, Saturn and Mercury will be well worth watching beginning with the second week of October. They will be tightly grouped near the eastern horizon about an hour before sunrise.
Venus rises first early in the month, a little after 5 a.m., followed by Mercury about 40 minutes later, and Saturn about 6 a.m.
Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation on the 5th. This is the best opportunity to view the innermost planet this year. After that, it begins to drop back toward the sun, passing Saturn in the process. The two will be less than half a degree apart on the 8th.
Like Mercury, Venus is dropping toward the sun and will pass Saturn on the 13th, when the two will be about half a degree apart.
Look for a thin crescent moon on the mornings of the 15th and 16th. Binoculars will help as the sky lightens.
Eris and Earth are closest this year on Oct. 14 when the dwarf planet will be only 8.9 billion miles away. Eris is the most distant and is thought to be the largest of the dwarf planets thus far discovered. No reason to look for Eris. It's far beyond the reach of the most advanced amateur telescope.
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