What’s Up in the October Sky
October’s Evening Planets: Bright Venus will be moving between Libra the Scales and Sagittarius the Archer for about 2 hours after sunset. Jupiter and Saturn will be in Capricornus the Sea-goat all night. Neptune is in Aquarius the Water bearer, and Uranus will be between Cetus the Sea-monster and Aries the Ram all night. Dwarf Pluto is in Sagittarius the Archer for a couple of hours after sunset.
October’s Evening Stars: Spot the Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle. Spot Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion, and spot Arcturus in Boötes the Herdsman until around 8 PM in the first week of the month. Bright Capella is in Auriga the Charioteer and Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull. Spot the stars of constellations Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Draco, Sagittarius, Pegasus, Hercules, Aquarius, Aries, Cetus, Capricornus and the two Dippers (the Big and Little Dippers).
October’s Morning Planets: Mercury will be around 5 AM close to the horizon in Virgo the Maiden in the second half of October. Jupiter will be in Capricornus the Sea-goat until 3 AM and setting earlier every night. Neptune will be in Aquarius the Water bearer until 6 AM and setting earlier every morning. Uranus will be between Cetus the Sea-monster and Aries the Ram until the morning.
October’s Morning Stars: The Winter Triangle of Sirius (the brightest star viewed from Earth) in Canis Major the Great Dog, Betelgeuse in Orion the Hunter, and Procyon in Canis Minor the Small Dog will be up as of 2M until sunrise. Spot Capella in Auriga the charioteer, Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull, Betelgeuse and Rigel in Orion the Hunter, and the stars of Aries, Gemini, Orion, Pisces, Cepheus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cetus, Draco, Perseus, Leo, and the two Dippers (the Big and Little Dippers).
October Skylight
- Oct 6 New Moon at 7:05 AM
- Oct 8 Moon at perigee (225,800 miles away)
- Oct 10 Jupiter, Saturn, Moon, Venus line up – sunset
- Oct 12 First Quarter Moon at 11:25 PM
- Oct 14 Jupiter, Saturn, and Moon triangle – dusk
- Oct 15 Moon is 4° under Jupiter, dawn
- Oct 20 Full Moon at 10:55 PM
- Oct 21 Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks, Pre-dawn
- Oct 24 Moon at perigee (252,000 miles away)
- Oct 28 Last Quarter Moon at 4:05 PM
