The moon is at last quarter Oct. 2, a little bit west of M44, the Beehive Cluster. The two share the same space Oct. 4, and Regulus, the bright star in Leo, joins up Oct. 5. Jupiter is four degrees south of a thin sliver of moon, just two days past new. Oct. 14, Saturn is a mere 1.8 degrees south of the moon, while Mars meets up with Luna Oct. 18. The moon is full Oct. 24, and by Oct. 31, is again close by the Beehive Cluster.
Mercury is coming out from behind the sun’s glare, but poorly placed for Northern Hemisphere viewers, as it hugs the horizon at sunset. It’s an excellent apparition for those people south of the Equator.
Venus rounds toward inferior conjunction Oct. 26, when it passes between the sun and Earth. Careful telescopic setup will allow observers the chance to see Venus in the daylight as it skirts by a little over six degrees south of the sun. Great care must be taken to avoid looking directly at the sun, especially so through a telescope.
Mars loses brightness as Earth rapidly pulls away. Last month’s magnitude reduced from -2.1 to -1.3; this month it again halves from -1.2 to -0.6. Watch for the first-quarter moon nearby Oct. 17 and 18.
Jupiter is a tough observation as it hugs the horizon at sunset. The slender sliver of a moon glides by Oct. 11.
Saturn is in Sagittarius, visible in the early evening western sky, setting by 9 p.m.
Uranus, on the Pisces-Aries border, reaches opposition Oct. 24. This is the first time since 1963 that the blue-green planet has been more than 10 degrees north of the celestial equator at opposition. This northward trend continues until reaching maximum in 2032. The full moon is right below Uranus at opposition (midnight, with the sun directly behind a viewer).
Neptune is just past opposition and visible throughout most of the night, with optical aid.
The zodiacal light is visible in the east before morning twilight for the first two weeks of the month.
— James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000 and is now the society’s past-president, editor of the Observer’s Handbook and production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal. The IAU named asteroid 1995 XC5 “(22421) Jamesedgar” in his honour.
