By Neill Simmons
October is an excellent month for star-gazing! Darkness arrives much earlier in the evening, autumn often brings stable, crisp, and clear atmospheric conditions, and the temperatures are usually mild.
One of the highlights of October is the appearance of the planet Saturn. It will rise in the east after sunset. Saturn is known for its large and beautiful rings. There are a total of seven rings which are made up of 99% ice and bits of rock and dust. The rings are only about 30 feet thick. They look so big because they are incredibly wide. Saturn’s rings can be seen with powerful binoculars or a telescope.
On October 12 look in the west to see the beautiful thin crescent Moon bordered by the planets Mercury and Venus. Mercury and Venus are the only two planets in our solar system that do not have any natural moons.
The full Moon will appear on October 26. This full Moon is known as the Hunter’s Moon. It gets this traditional name because the fields are harvested by late October. Animals are plump from leftover crops, and the bright moonlight historically helped hunters spot game in the open fields.
There are two meteor showers in October. The Orionid Meteor Shower peaks on October 21. These meteors are formed from dust grains left behind by Halley’s Comet. The Draconid Meteor Shower peaks on October 8 and is produced by debris from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The Draconid Shower is best viewed in the evening right after nightfall and viewing conditions are excellent this year with minimal moonlight.
NASA launched a super space telescope. The new telescope was named for Nancy Grace Roman, a groundbreaking scientist and NASA’s first chief astronomer, who helped create the US space program. The telescope, named Roman, will travel about a million miles from Earth before reaching its orbit. NASA expects to release its first images in early 2027.
The constellation of Cassiopeia, the queen, is visible this month in the northeast sky. Cassiopeia was one of the 48 constellations detailed by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century CE. The constellation is most notable because of its W shape, which is said to represent the Queen sitting on her throne.
On Saturday, October 17, at 7 pm, the Ventura County Astronomical Society will host a free Star Party at Paramount Ranch located at 2903 Cornell Road, Agoura Hills.The event is outdoors so it may get chilly. Only red flashlights are allowed. Please no pets. There will be lots of telescopes for viewing the night sky and amateur astronomers will be available to share their knowledge.
Also on October 17, the Griffith Park Observatory will host a free Star Party from 2 to 9:45 pm. This is a chance for the whole family to look at the Sun, Moon, visible planets, and other objects, to try out a variety of telescopes, and to talk to knowledgeable amateur astronomers about the sky and their equipment.
Neill Simmons is always available to answer your astronomy questions. He may be reached at neill.simmons@gmail.com.
