Astronomy Tip of the Month (October)
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To help you find the planets this month, watch the moon. The moon will be near each of these planets on the following days:
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New Moon is at 1:01 a.m. EDT on October 11th. The Full Moon is on October 26th at 12:52 a.m. EDT. At 8:00 a.m. on the 26th the moon reaches perigee, closest approach of the year, at 221,676 miles. |
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Watch Mars as it rises in the east approximately 4 hours after the sunset. It will brighten significatly over the next several months as the earth overtakes it in our orbit. |
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Watch the heavens near Orion on the early morning hours of October 21 and 22. The Orionid Meteor Shower will be at its peak on those mornings. The debris making up that shower is leftover from a previous passing of Halley's Comet. Not a great show, but look if you are awake. |
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There are only six objects in the sky that are first magnitude or brighter at mid-month at 9:00 p.m. In order of brightness, they are: Vega, Capella, Altair, Aldebaran, Fomalhaut and Deneb. |
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Coming Up:
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