OCTOBER

OBSERVING HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

EARTH SATELLITES:

 

Moon ---Last Quarter Moon occurs October 3 at 6:06 AM EDT

               New Moon occurs October 11 at 1:01 AM EDT

               First Quarter Moon occurs October 19 at 4:33 AM EDT

               Full Moon occurs October 26 at 12:52 AM EDT

 

Artificial Satellites --- Reference the following web site for information on observing

                artificial satellites: http:www.calsky.com/cs.cgi

 

PLANETS:

 

Mercury will be difficult to see; it will be extremely low to the horizon after sundown.

 

Mars will pass about 1 degree south of M35 in Gemini during October 3 and 4 --- a binocular opportunity.

 

Venus will be visible in the early morning hours and will be closest to Saturn and the star Regulus October 9 through 13.

 

Jupiter at about -2.0 magnitude will be low in the southwest after nightfall.  

 

Saturn can be found near Venus at dawn near Venus and the star Regulus

 

Neptune is in the constellation Capricornus will be low and fading fast in the southwest. Pluto (the “no-longer-planet”) in the constellation Sagittarius will likely be to low to the horizon in the southwest for ample telescopic viewing. Uranus is in the constellation Aquarius.

 

 

DEEP SKY:

 

Summer Triangle comprised of the stars Deneb in Cygnus, Vega in Lyra and Altair in Aquila overhead sinks fast toward the west. The Great Square of the constellation Pegasus along with the constellations Pisces, Aquarius and Capricornus will dominate the night sky.

 

Nebula

 

Veil Nebula (NGC 6960, NGC 6992 and NGC 6995) --- This supernova remnant is in the constellation Cygnus is comprised of three arc-shaped filaments forming what is known as the Cygnus Loop. It has an apparent size of 3 degrees and an actual size of 3 light-years. At least a six-inch telescope will be required for best viewing this apparent magnitude 7 object.

 

Other nebulae in the night sky for telescopic viewing are the Ring Nebula (M57) and the North American Nebula (NGC 7000).

 

Clusters

 

Double Cluster (NGC 869/NGC 884) --- This close pair of star clusters lies in the constellation Perseus with an apparent magnitude of 4. Although they appear side by side, NGC 884 is several hundred light-years deeper in space than NGC 869. This object can be spotted with the naked eye as a smudge between Perseus and Cassiopeia. It has an apparent size of 30 arcminutes and an actual size of 63 light-years. At least a 4 inch telescope will resolve the two clusters.

 

Other clusters in the night sky are M15 (a globular cluster) visible with binoculars and Pleiades visible with the naked eye.     

 

Galaxies

 

NGC 6946 --- This spiral face-on galaxy is located on the western border of the constellation Cepheus with Cygnus and near NGC 6938. It has an apparent size of 10 arcminutes with an actual size of 30,000 light-years. Viewing is possible with binoculars but large telescopes are recommended.

 

M101 --- This galaxy is also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy (NGC 5457). It is located about 5 degrees east of Ursa major’s multiple star Mizar. M101 is one of the largest and brightest galaxies close to the Solar System. As it is so large, at nearly half a degree across, its light is spread thinly, making it difficult to spot in binoculars or small telescopes. A telescope aperture of 10 inches (250 mm) or more with a wide field of view eyepiece will reveal the galaxy’s spiral arms. M101 has an apparent magnitude of 7.7 and an apparent size of 22 arcminutes. Its actual size is 150,000 light-years with a distance of 24 million light-years.

 

M31 Galaxy --- this spiral galaxy, also known as the Andromeda Galaxy, is the nearest and largest neighbor galaxy. It can be seen with the naked eye in the constellation Andromeda. It has an apparent magnitude of 3.4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ref9/2/07