October brings forth a celestial extravaganza, showcasing a surprising array of astronomical wonders. From planetary alignments to meteor showers and eclipses, the month provides a stunning show for stargazers. This information supplies an outline of the month’s key occasions, highlighting their significance and optimum viewing situations. Whether or not you’re a seasoned stargazer or an informal observer, October’s celestial lineup guarantees a fascinating expertise that may go away you marveling at the fantastic thing about our universe!
Abstract of Meteor Showers in October 2023
- Ν Eridanids: Begin on September 1; peak on September 6; finish on October 29.
- Daytime Sextantids: Begin on September 9; peak on September 27; finish on October 9.
- October Camelopardalids: Begin on October 5; peak on on October 6; finish on October 6.
- Draconids: Begin on October 6; peak on October 8; finish on October 10.
- Southern Taurids: Begin on September 10; peak on October 10; finish on November 20.
- δ-Aurigids: Begin on October 10; peak on October 11; finish on October 18.
- ε-Geminids: Begin on October 14; peak on October 18; finish on October 27.
- Orionids: Begin on October 2; peak on October 22; finish on November 07.
- Leonis Minorids: Begin on October 19; peak on October 24; finish on October 27.
- Northern Taurids: Begin on October 20; peak on November 12; finish on December 10.
Abstract of Eclipses in October 2023
- Annular photo voltaic eclipse on October 14.
- Partial lunar eclipse on October 28.
Abstract of Conjunctions in October 2023
- Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter in Aries on October 1.
- Conjunction of the Moon and Venus in Leo on October 10.
- Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn in Aquarius on October 24.
- Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter in Aries on October 29.
October 1: Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter
The Moon and Jupiter will likely be at conjunction by sharing the identical proper ascension and passing inside 3°23′ of one another.
At almost the identical time the 2 our bodies may even make a detailed strategy (appulse) reaching 3°08′ from one another, however now not sharing the identical proper ascension.
Each celestial our bodies will likely be seen within the constellation of Aries with obvious magnitudes of -12.6 for the Moon and -2.8 for Jupiter. The Moon will likely be 16 days previous or waning gibbous.
October 2: Asteroid 29 Amphitrite at opposition
Asteroid 29 Amphitrite will attain opposition, when it lies reverse to the Solar within the sky, reaching the very best level within the sky round midnight native time, no matter the place on this planet you might be positioned.
This asteroid will come inside 1.426 AU of us, reaching a peak brightness of magnitude 8.8. Sadly it’s a lot too dim to be seen to the bare eye, so a telescope of reasonable aperture will likely be wanted. Level it on the constellation of Pisces. The brilliant Moon will intervene as it will likely be waning gibbous at 17 days previous.
Amphitrite was found in 1854 by Albert Marth and named after a sea goddess, consort of Poseidon and symbolic illustration of the ocean in Greek mythology.
It’s an S-type asteroid, with a imply diameter of simply over 200 km, which might make it the fifth largest asteroid within the belt.
October 2: The Andromeda Galaxy at its highest level within the sky
The most important galaxy within the native group, Andromeda (Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224), will attain its highest level within the sky at round midnight native time.
It’s going to attain obvious magnitude 3.4, however sadly the Moon will likely be interfering with commentary as a result of it will likely be waning gibbous at 17 days previous. It could be very tough to identify with the bare eye, however fairly straightforward with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope. Look within the constellation of Andromeda, after which the galaxy was named.
The Andromeda Galaxy appears like such a small pinprick of sunshine when noticed from Earth, however in actuality you’re one trillion stars there!
October 6: October Camelopardalid meteor bathe peak
The October Camelopardalids are a small variable meteor bathe that may peak on October 6. It is without doubt one of the shortest meteor showers with solely two days in whole. It’s going to begin on October 5 and finish on October 6.
The meteors will seem to radiate from some extent between the constellations of Camelopardalis and Draco at a mean pace of 46 km/s. The Moon will likely be a waning crescent at 21 days previous.
October 8: Draconid meteor bathe peak
The Draconids will peak on October 8 with a variable fee of meteors. Some meteors may even be seen from October 6 to October 10 and they’re going to seem to radiate from the constellation of Draco at a mean pace of 20 km/s. They originate from particles left by the comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner. The Moon will likely be a waning crescent at 24 days previous.
October 10: Conjunction of the Moon and Venus
The Moon and Venus will likely be in conjunction as a result of they may have the identical proper ascension and can move inside 6°29′ of one another.
Across the identical time, the 2 our bodies will make a detailed strategy (appulse), reaching 5°54′ from one another however now not sharing the identical proper ascension.
Each celestial our bodies will likely be seen within the constellation of Leo with obvious magnitudes of -10.6 for the Moon and -4.5 for Venus. The Moon will likely be a waning crescent at 25 days previous.
October 10: Southern Taurid meteor bathe peak
The Southern Taurids are a small meteor bathe with a mean of 5 meteors per hour through the peak if situations are best. Nonetheless small it’s through the peak, this meteor bathe could be very lengthy lasting: from September 10 all the way in which to November 20.
Meteors will seem to radiate from the constellation of Taurus at a mean pace of 27 km/s. They originate from particles of the comet Encke. Through the peak, the Moon will likely be a waning crescent at 25 days previous.
October 11: δ-Aurigid meteor bathe peak
The Delta Aurigids are one other small meteor bathe with a peak of solely 2 meteors per hour on common, assuming best situations. Through the peak the Moon will likely be a waning crescent at 26 days previous.
Some meteors may be seen between October 10 and 18. They may seem to radiate from the constellation of Auriga on the quick pace of 64 km/s on common.
October 14: Annular photo voltaic eclipse
An annular photo voltaic eclipse occurs when the Moon is just too distant from the Earth to fully cowl the Solar. This creates a hoop of sunshine across the darkened Moon. The corona just isn’t seen throughout an annular eclipse.
The eclipse will start within the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Canada and proceed throughout the southwestern United States, Central America, Columbia, and Brazil. A partial eclipse may even be seen throughout a lot of North and South America.
Watch out to not look instantly on the Solar and particularly to not level a telescope at it. That is very harmful to your eyes.
October 15: The Triangulum Galaxy at its highest level within the sky
The Triangulum Galaxy (Messier 33, M33, or NGC 598) will attain its highest level within the sky at round midnight native time. It may be discovered within the Triangulum constellation, not removed from its neighbor the Andromeda Galaxy.
It’s going to attain obvious magnitude 5.8 with virtually no interference from the Moon, which will likely be solely sooner or later previous or a really skinny waxing crescent. Even so, it could be extraordinarily tough to identify with the bare eye, so a pair of binoculars or a small telescope could be advisable.
The Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest galaxy within the Native Group, after Andromeda and Milky Method. It’s 3.2 million light-years away from us and incorporates an estimated 40 billion stars.
October 18: ε-Geminid meteor bathe peak
The Epsilon Geminids are a small meteor bathe with solely 3 meteors on common through the peak if situations are good. Though the height is on October 18, some meteors may be noticed between October 14 and 27.
The meteors will seem to radiate from the constellation of Gemini on the quick common pace of 70 km/s. They originate from particles of the comet C/1964 N1 (Ikeya).
October 18: Dwarf planet Eris at opposition
On the night time of October 18, the dwarf planet 136199 Eris will attain some extent reverse to the Solar within the sky, referred to as an opposition. This may occur round midnight native time, no matter the place on this planet you might be.
With an obvious magnitude of 18.6, you’ll most undoubtedly want a robust telescope. You probably have entry to at least one, look within the constellation of Cetus. The Moon received’t be interfering a lot as a result of it will likely be a skinny waxing crescent at 4 days previous.
At about the identical time, Eris may even make its closest strategy to the Earth (perigee) at a distance of 94.75 AU, making this one of the best time to watch the dwarf planet.
Eris was found in 2005 by the group of Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David Rabinowitz and named after the Greek goddess of strife and discord. It has an estimated imply diameter of 2326 and an equatorial floor gravity of 0.084. It is just barely smaller in diameter, but rather more large than Pluto.
A big moon has additionally been found across the dwarf planet and named Dysnomia after the daughter of the Greek goddess Eris. It has a imply diameter of about 615 km.
ESO/L. Calçada and Nick Risinger. License: CC BY 4.0.
October 22: Orionid meteor bathe peak
The Orionids are a medium sized meteor bathe with a mean of 15 meteors through the peak if situations are optimum. Though the height of this meteor bathe is October 22, some meteors can be seen between October 2 and November 7.
The meteors will seem to radiate from the constellation of Orion on the quick pace of 66 km/s on common. They originate from particles left behind by the well-known Halley’s Comet. The Moon will likely be waxing gibbous at 8 days previous.
October 22: Comet 2P/Encke at perihelion
The comet Encke (official designation: 2P/Encke) will make its closest strategy to the Solar (referred to as perihelion) on October 22, at a distance of 0.34 AU. Will probably be positioned within the constellation of Virgo at an obvious magnitude of 6.2. As talked about earlier, the Moon will likely be waxing gibbous at 8 days previous.
Comet Encke was found in 1786 by Pierre Méchain, who didn’t understand it was a periodic comet. This truth was solely found in 1819 by Johann Franz Encke when he calculated the orbit of the comet.
Encke is a periodic comet that completes an orbit of the Solar as soon as each 3.3 years. Such a brief orbital interval implies that this comet spends most of its time within the asteroid belt, by no means crossing Jupiter’s orbit, and periodically dipping sunward into the inside photo voltaic system.
October 24: Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn
The Moon and Saturn will likely be at conjunction by reaching 2°46′ from one another whereas sharing the identical proper ascension. The pair will likely be too distant to be seen utilizing a telescope, however they are going to be viewable with the bare eye or a pair of binoculars.
Shortly after the conjunction, the Moon and Saturn will get even nearer to one another at 2°32′ through the appulse, however now not sharing the identical proper ascension.
The 2 our bodies will be seen within the constellation of Aquarius with an obvious magnitude of -12.4 for the Moon and 0.5 for Saturn. The Moon will likely be waxing gibbous at 10 days previous.
October 24: Leonis Minorid meteor bathe peak
The Leonis Minorids are the ultimate meteor bathe to peak this month of October. It’s a small one with solely 2 meteors per hour on common through the peak, with best viewing situations. Sadly the viewing situations is not going to be best due to the Moon’s interference. Will probably be waxing gibbous at 11 days previous.
Some meteors can be seen between October 19 and 27, radiating from the constellation of Leo Minor on the excessive common pace of 62 km/s. The originate from particles of the comet C/1739 K1.
October 28: Partial lunar eclipse
A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes by way of the Earth’s partial shadow, or penumbra, however solely part of it passes by way of the darkest shade, or umbra. Throughout the sort of eclipse, a bit of the Moon will darken because it passes into the Earth’s shadow.
The eclipse will likely be seen all through Europe, Asia, Africa, and western Australia, however sadly to not us right here in North America.
October 29: Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter
The Moon and Jupiter will likely be at conjunction once more this month of October by sharing the identical proper ascension and passing inside 3°08′ of one another.
At across the identical time the 2 our bodies may even make a detailed strategy (appulse) reaching 2°53′ from one another, however not sharing the identical proper ascension.
Each our bodies will likely be seen within the constellation Aries with the Moon at obvious magnitude of -12.7 and Jupiter at -2.9. The Moon will likely be 15 days previous or waning gibbous.
Moon Phases in October 2023
As , the Moon has a huge impact on the visibility of celestial our bodies within the night time sky. So listed here are the Moon’s phases for this month:
Positions of the Planets in October 2023
Mercury: The closest planet to the Solar will be seen at daybreak and nightfall travelling throughout the constellation of Leo. This planet, being the closest to the Solar, will seem to maneuver shortly within the night time sky and its place will change within the following weeks.
Venus: The sister planet will be seen travelling throughout the constellation of Leo. Similar to Mercury, Venus can solely be seen at daybreak and nightfall.
Mars: The crimson planet will be seen within the constellation of Virgo.
Jupiter: The fuel big is seen within the constellation of Aries. Jupiter can simply be noticed with the bare eye, even in extremely illuminated cities.
Saturn: The ringed big will be seen with the bare eye within the constellation of Aquarius.
Uranus: The fuel big will be seen within the constellation of Aries with the usage of a telescope.
Neptune: The blue big requires a telescope pointed within the constellation of Pisces so as to be seen.
Positions of Dwarf Planets and Giant Asteroids in October 2023
Ceres: The asteroid belt’s lone dwarf planet will be seen within the constellation of Virgo with the assistance of a telescope.
Vesta: This huge asteroid will be seen within the constellation of Orion with a telescope.
Pallas: The asteroid will be noticed with a telescope within the constellation of Virgo.
Pluto: This distant dwarf planet will be discovered within the constellation of Sagittarius with the assistance of a giant telescope.
Main astronomical occasions subsequent month – November 2023
- November 1 – Jupiter at perigee.
- November 3 – Jupiter at opposition.
- November 5 – Asteroid 18 Melpomene at opposition.
- November 12 – Northern Taurid meteor bathe peak.
- November 13 – Uranus at opposition.
- November 17 – Leonid meteor bathe peak.
- November 21 – α-Monocerotid meteor bathe peak.
- November 28 – November Orionid meteor bathe peak.
Conclusion
As October attracts to a detailed, we mirror on the awe-inspiring celestial spectacles that graced the night time sky. From planetary rendezvous to meteor showers and eclipses, this month’s astronomical occasions supplied a fascinating journey by way of the cosmos. Every occasion introduced its personal distinctive attraction, reminding us of the boundless wonders that lie past our earthly realm. As we eagerly anticipate the celestial wonders of the approaching months, allow us to carry with us the sense of marvel and curiosity kindled by October’s dazzling shows. Till subsequent time, maintain wanting up!
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