October 1998

by Steve Stefanik

This October the Harvest Moon, which is the first full moon after the Autumnal Equinox, will occur tomorrow night.

The following night, Tuesday, the one day past full moon will station itself about 2 degrees south of Saturn. Look for this "pumpkin yellow" 0 magnitude planet rising low in the east at nightfall among the dim stars of Pisces the fish about 40 degrees to the left of the brilliant -2.8 magnitude planet Jupiter. Through binoculars or a small telescope you can make out its ring system and perhaps see as many as six of its largest moons, Titan being the largest. This year its southern hemisphere is tilted toward Earth. It will reach opposition on the night of the 23rd when it rises directly opposite the setting sun and remain visible all night.

Jupiter having reached opposition just two weeks ago is still the brightest object in the nightsky except for the moon of course. It is in the constellation Aquarius the water bearer almost due south by mid-evening. Through binoculars or a small telescope you may be able to make out the alternating dark and light bands of its atmosphere and watch its four largest moons pass in front of and behind its more than 50 arc second diameter.

Further to the west among the stars of the constellation Capricorn, under dark skies you may find the 5.8 magnitude blue-green planet Uranus with just your eyes. It is well placed in the south-southwest in the month of October.

The blue planet Neptune is also in the constellation Capricorn on the border with Sagittarius. You’ll need binoculars or a telescope to locate it however.

The planet Mercury will appear very low in the west-southwest the last couple of weeks in the month. It will be very difficult to spot but you may try by scanning the horizon with binoculars about 30 minutes after the sun sets. Be careful not to inadvertently look at the sun through them. You could severely damage your eyes.

The only other planet to observe is Mars which is doesn’t rise until after 3:00 a.m. The best time to see it is just before dawn before the sun rises in the east. It will be fairly high in the sky by then. Look for the 1.6 magnitude red orb about a degree from the bright blue-white first magnitude star Regulus on the handle of the "sickle" which is the head of the lion of the constellation Leo.

If you’ve been wondering where that brilliant "star" you sometimes see on your way to work in the morning went, the planet Venus is behind the sun. It will reappear next month as a bright "evening star".