BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Saturn will be well placed for viewing each evening in October, especially for observers with telescopes. The ringed planet will be high in the southern sky well before midnight. It won't set until 4 a.m. early in the month and two hours earlier on Halloween. Titan, Saturn's largest moon, will be north of the planet on the mornings of Oct. 9 and 25 and south on Oct. 1 and 17. Titan will be a good target for small telescopes.
Jupiter will be in the constellation Aries as October begins, rising around 8 p.m. local daylight time. Jupiter has a lot of detail when seen through a telescope. Its two equatorial belts are the darkest features, along with the Great Red Spot when it is visible. The four moons first noted by Galileo orbit the planet every two to 17 days.
Venus will be a brilliant morning star in October, starting the month 7 degrees west of Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo. Venus will be visible in the eastern sky soon after rising around 3:30 a.m. local daylight time.
Mars and Mercury will be too close to the sun for observation in October.
Meteor showerThe Orionid meteor shower will peak on Oct. 21. Moonlight will not interfere. Observers may see as many as 20 Orionid meteors per hour in a clear dark sky. The Orionids appear to originate from the constellation Orion, which will rise before midnight in the east-southeast. The number of meteors will increase as Orion gets higher. The shower will be active for most of October, with meteors gradually increasing from the start and declining after the peak. The Orionid meteors are caused by dust particles from Halley's Comet, left behind in the comet's orbit.
Moon phasesThe moon will be at last quarter on Oct. 6, new on Oct. 14, at first quarter on Oct. 21, and full on Oct. 28.
Author: Hal Kibbey Email: hkibbey [at] gmail.com