A monthly roundup of upcoming astronomy events viewable in MA/RI…
Dated events
Oct 10-12: Young moon passes by Jupiter, southwest, twilight
Oct 14-17: Waxing moon moves between Saturn and Mars, evening, SSW
Oct 19-21: Orionid meteor shower, pre-dawn (best after moon sets, 3-4 hrs before sunrise)
Oct 23: Uranus at opposition: brightest and closest to the Earth this year
Oct 23: Algol minimum 8:19 pm
Oct 31: Moon at perigee (most distant of the year) and close approach to M44
Where to find the planets
• Mercury: Not observable
• Venus: Not observable
• Mars: Evenings, moving east through Capricornus, low in south
• Jupiter: Early evenings, moving east through Libra, low in southwest
• Saturn: Evenings, above Sagittarius, south
• Uranus: Evenings, in Aries, brightest at mag 5.7
• Neptune: Evenings, in Aquarius, mag 7.8
Notable comets
• 64P/Swift-Gehrels: around 11 pm mid-month in Andromeda, brightening from 11.6 mag, with 1.5′ coma: Finder chart
• See additional comets for larger scopes and mornings here
Observable dwarf planets/asteroids up to mag 10
Approx. observing window as of Oct. 12. Click here for your current date & finder chart for exact times.
• 3 Juno, in Sagittarius, mag 8.0, 11 pm to 6 am
• 6 Hebe, in Monoceros, mag 9.5, 1:30-6 am
Selected deep sky objects
Well placed for evening observing with binos/small scopes. Does not include circumpolar! Set your exact date/location here (and see additional DSO’s)
• Open clusters: IC4665, NGC6633, IC4756
• Globular clusters: M2, M10, M12, M13, M15, M92
• Galaxies: M31, M32, M33, M51, M110