Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events. All times and dates are given in Universal Time (UT). Nightly darkness estimates are calculated for Greenwich, London (51.5° N, 0° W).
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun | |
| 2 | Mon | |
| 3 | Tue | |
| 4 | Wed | |
| 5 | Thu | Moon occults Uranus: visible from about 0 UT from the southernmost tip of South America, the south Atlantic Ocean and the west coast of the southern parts of Africa. |
| 6 | Fri | Because perigee occurs so close to the Full Moon, very high tides are expected. |
| 7 | Sat | This Full Moon is the one closest to last month's equinox and is known as the "Harvest Moon". |
| 8 | Sun | Yesterday's Full Moon obliterates the usually faint Draconids meteor shower. |
| 9 | Mon | |
| 10 | Tue | |
| 11 | Wed | |
| 12 | Thu | |
| 13 | Fri | |
| 14 | Sat | Last Quarter Moon |
| 15 | Sun | |
| 16 | Mon | |
| 17 | Tue | Mercury at greatest elongation east |
| 18 | Wed | |
| 19 | Thu | Moon at apogee |
| 20 | Fri | |
| 21 | Sat | The nearly New Moon gives perfect conditions for viewing the Orionids meteor shower. |
| Moon occults Spica | ||
| 22 | Sun | New Moon |
| 23 | Mon | Mars at conjunction |
| 24 | Tue | |
| 25 | Wed | Moon occults Antares |
| 26 | Thu | |
| 27 | Fri | Venus at superior conjunction |
| 28 | Sat | |
| 29 | Sun | First Quarter Moon |
| 30 | Mon | |
| 31 | Tue | |
The word planet is derived from the Greek word for "wanderer." Unlike the background stars, planets seem to move around the sky, keeping mostly to a narrow track called the ecliptic, the path of the Sun across the stars.
| Object | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | Virgo -> Libra |
|
| Mercury | Virgo -> Libra |
The closest planet to the Sun is at greatest elongation east on 17 October. It rises high above the western horizon after sunset as seen from the southern hemisphere but remains stubbornly low in the sky when viewed from the northern half of Earth. |
| Venus | Virgo -> Libra |
The "morning star" vanishes this month as Venus reaches superior conjunction on 27 October. Northern hemisphere observers may see it near the eastern horizon early in the month but it soon disappears from view. It will reappear in the evening sky next month. |
| Mars | Virgo | The red planet reaches conjunction on 23 October, making it too near to the Sun to be visible this month. |
| Jupiter | Libra | The largest planet in the solar system is heading towards conjunction with the Sun next month, making it increasingly difficult to see in the west at sunset. |
| Saturn | Leo | The ringed planet is a morning sky object, not rising until after midnight. |
| Uranus | Aquarius | Barely visible to the naked eye, this gas giant is up most of the night, setting in the early morning hours. |
| Neptune | Capricornus | The outermost planet in the solar system sets by midnight. A small telescope is necessary to see this distant object. |
Constellations are patterns of stars in the sky. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognises 88 different constellations. The brightest stars as seen from the Earth are easy to spot but do you know their proper names? With a set of binoculars you can look for fainter objects such as nebulae and galaxies or some of the closest stars to the Sun.
Descriptions of the sky for observers in both the northern and southern hemispheres are available for the following times this month. Subtract one hour from your local time if summer (daylight savings) time is in effect.
| Local Time | Northern Hemisphere | Southern Hemisphere |
|---|---|---|
| 1730 hours (1830 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 1930 hours (2030 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 2130 hours (2230 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 2330 hours (0030 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 0130 hours (0230 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 0330 hours (0430 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 0530 hours (0630 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
Much of this information can be found in this month's issue of your favourite amateur astronomy magazine available in your local bookshop. Another excellent source is the current edition of the Astronomical Calendar by Guy Ottewell and published by the Universal Workshop at Furman University.
The image of the Sun in the SkyEye banner is courtesy of the SOHO/EIT consortium. The composite image from May 1998 combines EIT images from three wavelengths (171Å, 195Å and 284Å) into one that reveals solar features unique to each wavelength. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.
Copyright © 1995-2006 by David Harper and L.M. Stockman