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MOON:
Full Moon:
Oct 10
New Moon:
Oct 25
STAR GAZE (Oct 24):
Sun: Sets at 6:43pm, astronomical twilight ends at 8:14pm.
Sun rises on Oct 25 at 7:44am.
Moon: (illuminated 1%) The New Moon is on the night after our Star Gaze.
Jupiter & it's moons: Jupiter rises at 3:50am, about 2 hours before
the Sun, so will not be high enough to observe well.
Saturn: Rises at 11:08pm. Culminates (highest in
the sky) at 6:18am, so good views in the morning hours.
Asteroid: Ceres (in Gemini) rises at
11:44pm on the night of the gaze. You can see it in binoculars as a star-like
object at magnitude 8.4.
PLANETS:
Mercury: Too close to the Sun to observe
most of the month, but might can catch it in the dawn sky early in the month.
It rises 1:18 before the Sun on Oct 1.
Venus: Can be seen at the end of the
month, but still too close to the horizon to see detail, such as it's phase,
thru a telescope.
Mars!: Closest approach to Earth was on August 27th.
It's diameter is 21" (arc seconds) on Oct 1, and decreases to 15"
on the Oct 30. This month it appears about as large as during a typical opposition.
By the end of October, Mars is 43 degrees above the horizon when it crosses
the meridian, which is a bit higher than the 38 degrees in August. Still a good
view!
Saturn: Rises at 12:36 am on Oct 1, 9:40pm on Oct
31. By month's end, it transits at 4:50am. Good views to be had in early morning
hours, especially near the end of the month. Quadrature is on Oct 6. Saturn
begins retrograde motion on Oct 25.
Jupiter: Rises 2.5 hours before the sun on
Oct 1, 4.5 hours before the sun on Oct 31. It will be high enough to observe
before sunrise by the end of the month, but will be better (higher) in the coming
months.
Uranus: Was at opposition in August, so is a good time to find it. At magnitude 5.8 it can be seen without optical aid from a dark site. Culminates (highest in the sky) at about 10:00pm during the middle of October.
Neptune: Was at opposition in August, so
is a good time to find it thru a telescope at magnitude 7.8. Culminates
at about 9:00pm during the middle of October, so catch it early in the night.
Asteroids: Pallas (in Cetus) is at opposition
on Oct 13 at magnitude 8.3, but is low to the south (about 30 degrees above
the horizon).
DEEP SKY OBJECTS (DSO's):
RING NEBULA (M57)
DUMBBELL NEBULA (M27)
VEIL NEBULA (NGC6960-6992)
ALBERIO (Double Star)
(These 4 objects above are in west at nightfall, so catch them early
in night before they get low in western sky.)
ANDROMEDA GALAXY (M31)
PINWHEEL GALAXY (M33)
DOUBLE CLUSTER (NGC869-884)
HIGHLIGHTS:
Oct 10: Hunter's Moon. This is the full
moon following the Harvest Moon.
Oct 22: Moon is within about 8 degrees of Jupiter just before
sunrise. They are almost close enough to be viewed simultaneously thru a pair
of binoculars (many 7x50 binoculars have about a 6 degree field of view). In
the binoculars you should be able to see the Jovian moons, which show you (roughly)
the plane of the solar system. Then notice the crescent moon: the shape of the
crescent shows you where the sun is, still beneath the horizon. Now visualize
yourself standing on the surface of the Earth, in the midst of all this !
Oct 26: Set clocks back 1 hour at 3:00am.
Oct 27: First day of Ramadan begins at sunset on Oct 26.
The Geminid meteor shower peaks October 18th. A minor shower, ruined
this year by a last quarter moon..
The Orionid meteor shower peaks on October 21st. The radiant in Orion's
club rises about 9:30pm and a 17% illuminated waning crescent moon rises about
3:00am, so between these two times would be a good time to watch (especially
after midnight). These meteors are notoriously fast (66km/sec), sometimes bright,
and often leave a trail.
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THE BIG PICTURE:
Each chart below covers a very wide area of sky, roughly from eastern horizon
to western horizon. Constellations are green stick figures. The dividing line
between constellations are dashed blue lines. The purpose is to show the large
scale structure of the night sky: why certain types of objects are visible in
certain areas of the sky.
1.
Above: 6 hr R.A. (passes overhead on winter evenings; rises about midnight
in October): OPEN CLUSTERS in the sky north to south (Perseus to Pupis).
Open Clusters are generally within the arms of the galaxy and are roughly co-located
with the Milky Way. They are plotted as gray circles above. You are looking
away from the center of the galaxy. (Note: all types of objects are labeled,
not just open clusters.)
2.
Above: 12 hr R.A. (passes overhead on spring evenings; not visible in
October): GALAXIES in the sky north to south (Ursa Major to Virgo). They
are plotted as blue ovals in the chart above. At 9:00pm during mid-June, the
Milky Way is rising in the east. Just to the west of the zenith is the North
Galactic Pole, in the constellation Coma Berenices. In southwest Coma Berenices
happens to be the heart of the Local Supercluster of galaxies. Many of these
galaxies are visible in medium-sized telescopes.
3.
Above: 18 hr R.A. (passes overhead on summer evenings, in the west at
nightfall in October): GLOBULAR CLUSTERS (yellow cross inside a circle)
& PLANETARY NEBULAE (purple circle in a cross) in the sky north to
south (Cygnus to Sagittarius). The lower-middle of this chart is towards the
center of the Milky Way galaxy.
Charts created using Megastar
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CLUB STARGAZE:
The October stargaze is Friday the 24th, 2003. You can check the Yahoo group for
AstroAsheville (or call Tim @ 251-0040
or John @ 251-1933 x17 (before 5:00) or 667-9268 (after 5:00)) for a go/no-go
decision and to verify location.
CLUB MEETING:
The club meeting is the first Thursday of every month, at
6 p.m. at Sim’s
Group located at 230 Short Coxe Ave., Asheville, NC.
Happy Starwatching! Dress Warm!
Blue Ridge Parkway Information
Line is 828-298-0398
(Much of the above info derived from Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines,
Ottewell's Astronomical Calendar, The Night Sky Observer's Guide, Megastar 5.0,
Planets202, the ol' Miller Planesphere, and a little (very little) common sense.)
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Archived Monthly Sky 2002: Feb Mar
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July Oct Nov
Dec
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Aug Sep