These notes are intended to provide a casual skywatcher or someone already into amateur astronomy living in the Australian Capital Territory or in South East Queensland (Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast) with a short summary of what is happening in the night sky in October 2010. Most of the information will also be useful for observers elsewhere in Eastern Australia.
Instructions on how to obtain customised satellite viewing information for your location can be found here.
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Planets this month (October 2010)
By month’s end, Mercury will be visible very low above the Western in the evening twilight.
Venus is visible early in the month located low above the Western horizon in the evening twilight. By month’s end, Venus will have disappeared into the glare of the Sun and will no longer be visible in the evening sky.
Mars is visible all month in the evening twilight above the Western horizon. As the month ends, Mars is located closer to Antares (the brightest star in the ancient Greek constellation Scorpius the Scorpion). Next month, it will be located to the right of Antares.
Jupiter can easily be located above the Eastern horizon and appears to the unaided eye as a bright star. It remains visible in the sky almost the entire night. Uranus remains relatively close to Jupiter at just under 2 degrees or six Moon widths below it. A finder chart can be found here http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/12435011.html that will let you locate Uranus and also Neptune with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope.
Saturn becomes visible very low above the Eastern pre-dawn sky as October ends.. It is still very low on the horizon however and only worth looking for if you want to say you have found it.
Individual sky events (October 2010)
October 1: Mercury at greatest latitude North
October 1: Last Quarter Moon (1.52 pm)
October 4 – 10: World Space Week. More information can be found at http://www.worldspaceweek.org/
October 5: Slim crescent Moon located above Regulus (the brightest star in the ancient Greek constellation Leo the Lion) low above the Eastern horizon in the morning pre-dawn sky.
October 6: Moon at perigee (closest to Earth at 359,455 km)
October 8: New Moon (4.44 am)
October 8: Venus stationary
October 8: Asteroid 2001 TB will complete a near-Earth flyby passing only 0.005 Astronomical units away.
October 10: Slim crescent Moon, Venus and Mars located low above the Western horizon in evening twilight.
October 11: Slim crescent Moon located below Antares (the brightest star in the ancient Greek constellation Scorpio the Scorpion).
October 14: The Moon occults the (relatively bright ) 2.9 magnitude star Pi Sagittarii on the late evening of 14 October. The disappearance will be best observed with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope on the unlit left hand side of the Moon. Disappearance occurs at 10.38 pm for Brisbane observers and reappearance on the bright sunlit side of the Moon at 11.36pm. More information can be found in the October 2010 Australian issue of Sky & Telescope magazine.
October 15: First Quarter Moon (7.27 am)
October 16: The first geostationary weather satellite (GOES 1) was launched on this day in 1975.
October 17: Mercury in superior conjunction with the Sun.
October 19: Moon at apogee (furthest from Earth at 405, 428 km)
October 20: Look above the gibbous Moon to locate the planet Jupiter. It appears to the unaided eye as a very bright star.
October 23: Full Moon (11.36am)
October 25: Mercury in descending note.
October 29: Neptune 0.2 degrees North West of the star Mu Capricorni
October 29: Venus in inferior conjunction with the Sun.
October 30: Last Quarter Moon
For Further Information
Planet and Moon Rise/Set Times
Planet and Moon rise/set times for 2010 can be found here on this website.
Customised Astronomy & Satellite Viewing information
Information on how to obtain customised astronomy & satellite viewing information for your location can be found here on this website.
Great Red Spot (Jupiter) viewing times
Information on when to see the Great Red Spot on Jupiter in 2010 can be found here.
