At the onset of October, Mercury, Mars & Jupiter are traveling too close to the Sun to be visible. Before mid-month, Jupiter & Mars will return to view in our pre-dawn skies. The Solar Eclipse of October 13th is visible in Alaska, Hawaii, Japan and northeast Asia. The Lunar Eclipse of October 27th is visible in both North & South America and Europe. The Orionid meteor shower peaks on October 21st.
Saturn travels our late night skies:
We begin the month with Saturn rising around 1:30 a.m. in the northern hemisphere. By month's end he will rise around 11:45 p.m. Saturn is getting ready for his retrograde station next month and is slowing down. He only moves two degrees this month compared to two and one-half degrees last month, and three and one-half in August. Being that he is situated between the constellations of Gemini & Cancer and not near enough to a bright fixed star, we are not likely to notice any movement by Saturn at all. If you are having trouble locating Saturn, the Moon joins him on the 7th. Facing NNE at 2:00 a.m., The Moon lies just below Pollux of Gemini. The star below the Moon and slightly east (right) is Saturn. Being that this is an area populated by very dim fifth magnitude stars, Saturn should be easy to spot. The bright star you'll notice low along the eastern horizon (lower and right of Saturn) at this time is Procyon of Canis Minor.
In the southern hemisphere, Saturn rises around 4:00 a.m. at the beginning of the month, and 2:00 a.m. by month's end. The moon joins Saturn in the southern hemisphere skies on the 7th. The pair will rise around 3:30 a.m. in the NE with Saturn to the east (right) of the moon. Procyon of Canis Minor is situated above and to the east (right) of Saturn.
Jupiter returns to view in the east:
Jupiter becomes visible in the morning sky around the 5th where observers in the northern hemisphere can catch a glimpse of him in the pre-dawn sky from about 6:45 a.m. until sunrise. By month's end Jupiter will rise around 5:30 a.m. This month we will notice Venus gain on Jupiter in the morning sky as the pair prepare for their conjunction next month.
Due to the slanted orientation of the ecliptic, southern hemisphere observers will not see Jupiter climb out of the sunrise to be visible in the pre-dawn skies until about the 20th. He rises at 5:45 a.m. this day with the Sun following quickly. By the 31st, he will rise around 5:15 a.m. soon after Venus.
Mars returns to view in the east:
Mars becomes visible in the pre-dawn sky around the 10th. Northern hemisphere observers can look for him along the eastern horizon from about 7:00 a.m. until sunrise. By month's end he rises around 6:45 a.m.
Southern hemisphere observers will notice Mars rising below the alpha star of Virgo, Spica, on the 29th around 5:45 a.m. with the sunrise quickly encroaching.
Venus passes Regulus and finishes her trek through the constellation Leo:
Northern hemisphere observers will find Venus rising around 4:15 a.m. on the 1st. She lies just above the Regulus, the alpha star of Leo. By the morning of the 4th she will have passed up Regulus on her eastern trek through the constellation. On the 20th, she will rise around 4:45 a.m. with Denebola. Venus will be to the east (right) of the tail of the Lion. By the 23rd she will be traveling among the dimmer stars of the Virgin's head as she gains noticeably on Jupiter.
Southern hemisphere observers will find Venus rising around 5:30 a.m. and Regulus is quick to follow. On the morning of the 5th, Regulus will rise first. The sideways orientation of the ecliptic will enable the head of Virgo to rise before the tail of Leo. By month's end, Venus rises around 5:00 a.m. with Jupiter soon to follow. Denebola, the Lion's tail does not clear the NNE horizon until 5:30 a.m. At this same time, Spica of Virgo will rise in the ESE.
Mercury reaches superior conjunction:
Mercury reaches superior conjunction to the Sun on the 5th. This means that the Sun is between Earth & Mercury and it accounts for why Mercury is not visible this month. We only see him when he is in inferior conjunction, between the Sun & Earth, which is during his retrograde passage.
The dance of the morning planets:
The morning activity heats up after the 10th when Mars becomes visible in the northern hemisphere. On this morning, the Moon is above Venus and joins the three planets in the dance. On the mornings of the 11th and 12th, the Moon lies between Venus and Jupiter. On the 13th, the Moon rises just below Mars around 7:00 a.m. Later this day we have a solar eclipse, so this is occurring just before sunrise. Look for Mars sitting almost on top of the Moon. The morning of the 20th at 7:00 a.m. provides a nice view of all three planets. Venus is the brightest and highest in the sky, lying east of Denebola. Jupiter is near the shoulders of Virgo, and Mars is low along the eastern horizon. A sky map of the morning of the October 20th is available in the OCA public library . By month's end, Venus will gain noticeably on Jupiter. The fixed star in Virgo that lies below Jupiter is Porrima. Watch for the two to pass this fixed star next month.
On the morning of the 10th, Venus rises to the east (right) of the Moon in the southern hemisphere skies. The conjunction of the Moon with Jupiter & Mars will be lost in the glow of dawn. Southern hemisphere observers will find all three planets above the eastern horizon on the 28th around 5:45 a.m. The fixed star near Mars is Spica. A sky map of the morning of the 28th is available in the OCA public library .
Moon Data:
The Moon reaches apogee on the 5th at 6:10 p.m. EDT. Her furthest distance from Earth this month is 251,237 miles. The Moon perfects waning square to the Sun on the 6th at 6:12 a.m. EDT, resulting in a Third Quarter Moon. The Moon conjuncts Saturn on the 7th at 8:13 a.m. EDT. The Moon conjuncts Venus on the 10th at 5:52 p.m. EDT. The Moon conjuncts Jupiter on the 12th at 4:21 p.m. EDT. The Moon conjuncts Mars on the 13th at 5:10 a.m. EDT. The Moon conjuncts the Sun on the 13th resulting in a New Moon at 10:48 p.m. EDT. Due to the proximity of the Moon's nodes, this is a partial solar eclipse. The Moon conjuncts Mercury on the 14th at 10:22 a.m. EDT. The Moon reaches perigee on the 17th at 7:53 p.m. EDT. Her closest distance to Earth this month is 228,514 miles. On the 20th the Moon perfects her waxing square to the Sun at 5:59 p.m. EDT resulting in the First Quarter Moon. The Full Moon occurs on the 27th at 11:07 p.m. EDT when the Moon opposes the Sun. The close proximity of the Moon's nodes results in a total lunar eclipse.
Solar Eclipse of October 13th:
In order for a total solar eclipse to occur, the New Moon must occur within 10 degrees of the Moon's nodes. (Technically 9*55' will always be a total eclipse and between 9*55' - 11*15' it could be total or partial.) In order for a partial eclipse to occur, the New Moon must be within 18*31' of the Moon's nodal axis. At the time of the New Moon, the Sun and Moon are at tropical 21Libra06. The South Node of the Moon is at tropical 02Scorpio07. This is an angular separation of 11 degrees. The result is a partial solar eclipse that is visible over Alaska, Hawaii, Japan and North East Asia.
Observers in Alaska can begin to watch the eclipse (with proper eye protection of course) around 6:00 p.m. Alaska Local Time. Around 7:00 p.m. Alaska time the eclipse will reach its maximum and 93% of the Sun will be eclipsed by the Moon. A crescent Sun will set over Alaska.
For observers in Hawaii, the eclipse begins at 5:15 p.m. Local Hawaii Time. Maximum will occur after the Sun has set over the Hawaiian horizon. The Moon will cover half of the Sun as it sets over Hawaii.
Total Lunar Eclipse of October 27th:
In order for a total lunar eclipse to occur, the Full Moon should occur within 6 degrees of the Moon's nodes. (Technically within 3*45 is a guaranteed total lunar eclipse, up to 6* it can go either way, and from 6* to 9*30 a partial lunar eclipse is guaranteed. A partial lunar eclipse is possible up to 12*15 degrees between the Full Moon and Nodes, but is not always guaranteed.) The Full Moon occurs at tropical 05Taurus02. The North Node of the Moon is at 02Taurus08, which is definitely in the range where a Total Lunar Eclipse is guaranteed. This eclipse is visible in North America, South America & Europe.
Over the western hemisphere, the eclipse begins when the Moon enters the penumbral shadow at 8:06 p.m. EDT. The partial phase of the eclipse will not begin to become visible until about 9:15 p.m. when the Moon enters the darker portion of this shadow. Totality will occur at 10:23 p.m. EDT and the Moon will remain fully eclipsed until 11:45 p.m. EDT. The Moon begins to become visible again as it leaves the darker portion of the shadow. The second partial phase lasts until about 12:55 a.m. It finally leaves the penumbral shadow completely at 2:03 a.m. EDT ending the eclipse. Observers in Europe will witness the eclipse on the morning of the 28th.
The Orionids:
The meteor shower radiating from the constellation Orion is complements of parent comet Halley. Earth passes through the debris left by Halley's Comet from October 2nd - November 7th. We will have a chance to catch some shooting stars all month long. The peak activity occurs on October 21st. The expected rate of Orionid activity is 15 - 20 meteors per hour.
Happy Star gazing! Feel free to pass this month's edition along to your star gazing friends or local astronomy club. Please remember to protect your eyes when observing an eclipse.
Julene M. Johnson, NCGR-III
Media Director, OCA
Instructor, OCA
ONLINE College of Astrology www.astrocollege.com FIRST in Online Astrological Education
