Astronomy Club of Asheville October 2016 Sky Events

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Astronomy Club of Asheville October 2016 Sky Events"

Alaina Green
7 years ago
Views:

1 October 2016 Sky Events The Planets this Month - page 2 Planet Highlights - page 9 Moon Phases - page 12 Find the Zodiacal Light - page 13 October 19 th - the Moon Occults Aldebaran - page 16 October 21 st - Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks - page 18 October 21 st - Ceres at Opposition - page 19

2 October 2016 Sky Events the Planets The bright planets Venus, Saturn and Mars continue to dominate our early evening skies this month. Shortly after sunset this month, find Venus and Saturn in the southwest and locate Mars in the south-southwest. As the month progresses, Venus climbs higher in the sky along the ecliptic, while Saturn is descending along the ecliptic. The two planets will appear to pass each other (trade positions) on the nights of October 27 th 31 st. On those nights they will be separated by about 3º. Observe Saturn, Venus and Mars early in the evening this month before they disappear into the southwest horizon.

3 October 2016 Sky Events the Planets Conjunction of the Moon with Venus and Saturn In the early evening hours of October 3 rd 6 th, the waxing crescent Moon, in its eastward movement along the ecliptic, will pass the planets Venus and Saturn. Image courtesy of Sky & Telescope

4 October 2016 Sky Events the Planets Conjunction of the Moon with Mars On the evenings of October 7 & 8, the waxing Moon will appear above the bright planet Mars. On these 2 nights, Mars is some 103 million miles behind the Moon in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. Image courtesy of Sky & Telescope

5 October 2016 Sky Events the Planets Linear Conjunction of Saturn, Venus and Antares In the early evening hours of October 27 th, the bright planets Saturn and Venus will form a striking linear conjunction with the bright giant orange star Antares in Scorpius. Although the 2 bright planets and the star Antares may appear to be at similar distances from Earth, in reality (three dimensions), Antares is some 604 light years behind the planets! Image courtesy of Sky & Telescope

6 October 2016 Sky Events the Planets Mercury reaches superior conjunction (in orbit on the other side of the Sun from the Earth) on October 27 th. However, with a good view low to the east at dawn, you should be able to locate Mercury during the first 11 days of October. Jupiter joins Mercury in the beginning of the month low in the eastern dawn skies. As the month progresses, Jupiter continues to climb higher in the dawn skies where it will be easier to observe in the foreground of the constellation Virgo. Uranus comes into opposition (directly opposite the Earth from the Sun) on October 15 th. This puts Uranus at its closest to Earth for the year, and it also means that the planet will be visible in the sky all night. It can be found this month in the constellation Pisces. Neptune will be observable almost all night this month. It can be found this month in the constellation Aquarius. You will need binoculars or a telescope to locate and observe the small distant planetary disks of Uranus and Neptune.

7 October 2016 Sky Events the Planets Close Conjunction of Jupiter and Mercury in the Dawn Skies In the early dawn hours of October 11 th, find the planets Mercury and Jupiter positioned in a very close conjunction. You will need a clear view very low to the eastern horizon. Using binoculars may help in locating the planets. On this day, Jupiter is some 474 million miles behind Mercury and some 595 million miles from Earth! Image courtesy of Sky & Telescope

8 October 2016 Sky Events the Planets Uranus and Neptune are in great viewing position this October. Find their small distant blue disks in a telescope this month. Neptune was at opposition on Sep. 2 nd, and Uranus reaches opposition on October 15 th. Uranus Neptune Images and charts courtesy of Sky & Telescope

9 October 2016 Planet Highlights Planet Avg. Distance from Earth Constellation(s) Avg. Diameter in arc seconds Avg. Magnitude Comments Page 1 of 3 Mercury 1.3 AUs Venus 1.3 AUs Leo, Virgo & Libra Libra, Scorpius & Ophiuchus Reaches superior conjunction on Oct. 27 th Shining brightly low in SW at dusk Mars 1.1 AUs Sagittarius In the S-SW skies after sunset

10 October 2016 Planet Highlights Planet Avg. Distance from Earth Constellation(s) Avg. Diameter in arc seconds Avg. Magnitude Comments Page 2 of 3 Jupiter 6.4 AUs Virgo Find it low in the eastern dawn skies all month Saturn 10.6 AUs Ophiuchus Observe it early evening this month in the SW skies Uranus 19 AUs Pisces At opposition on Oct. 15 th

11 October 2016 Planet Highlights Planet Avg. Distance from Earth Constellation(s) Avg. Diameter in arc seconds Avg. Magnitude Comments Page 3 of 3 Neptune 29 AUs Aquarius Nicely positioned for observing all night

12 The Moon October 2016 First Quarter 9 th 12:33 a.m. Full Moon** 16 th 12:23 a.m. Last Quarter 22 nd 3:14 p.m. New Moon 30 th 1:38 p.m. ** The Hunter s Moon The Hunter s Moon is the full Moon that follows the Harvest Moon. Unless otherwise indicated, all times are EDT

13 October 2016 Highlight The Zodiacal Light October is one of the opportune months for finding the elusive zodiacal light in the early morning sky. But what is zodiacal light? Zodiacal light is the sunlight reflected from numerous dust grains located along the plane of the solar system the ecliptic or zodiac. These dust grains are left over from the formation of the solar system (a type of cosmic dust), and their supply is continuously fed by particles from comets and asteroid collisions. The ecliptic is nearly vertical to the horizon this month providing good viewing opportunities.

14 October 2016 Highlight The Zodiacal Light Zodiacal light is seen as a cone of light that is widest at the horizon. Look for it low in the east (with an unobstructed view) beginning about two hours before sunrise. The 40-minute prime viewing window closes about 80 minutes before sunrise. Pick a very dark location far from artificial lights and without moonlight. The best dates, without moonlight this month, to see the zodiacal light will be from Oct and In this fall season, when the zodiacal light is visible in the eastern morning sky, it is often called the false dawn.

15 October 2016 Highlight The Zodiacal Light Zodiacal Light and the Milky Way

16 October 2016 Sky Events The Moon Occults the Star Aldebaran The waning gibbous Moon will occult (pass in front of) the bright, orange, giant star Aldebaran during the very early hours of October 19 th Wednesday. Aldebaran (in the constellation Taurus) is the brightest star that the Moon can pass across; Aldebaran shines at magnitude With binoculars or a small telescope, watch this star disappear from view, behind the illuminated limb of the Moon, about 1:24 a.m. EDT. It will reappear on the other side of the Moon, from the dark limb, about 2:32 a.m. EDT a 68 minute stellar blackout. The above times are for Asheville, NC.

17 October 2016 Sky Events The Gibbous Moon Occults the Star Aldebaran on Wednesday, October 19 th. Look to the east-southeast to observe this event in the direction of the constellation Taurus. The Moon will be 86% illuminated and 48º above the horizon as the occultation begins. The times below are approximate for Asheville, NC using EDT. Aldebaran is 65 light years behind the Moon! Disappearance about 1:24 a.m. Reappearance about 2:32 a.m. Aldebaran Aldebaran 68 minutes later

October 2016 Highlight: Orionid Meteor Shower The Orionid Meteor shower reaches its peak this year before dawn on the morning of Friday, October 21 st.

18 October 2016 Highlight: Orionid Meteor Shower The Orionid Meteor shower reaches its peak this year before dawn on the morning of Friday, October 21 st. The Orionids are an annual meteor shower associated with Halley s Comet (comet dust!). They are named after their radiant, the place where they appear to originate in the sky, in the constellation Orion. Because the meteor shower peaks near the Last Quarter Moon this year, moonlight will diminish the pre-dawn observing. Typically, Orionids appear at a rate of per hour, moving swiftly across the sky.

19 October 2016 Highlight Dwarf Planet/Asteroid Ceres is nearest Earth this Month Ceres, the largest and first asteroid to be discovered (in 1801), reaches opposition on October 21 st. At opposition, it is opposite the Earth from the Sun and closest for the year to Earth in its orbit. Located in the asteroid belt between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter, Ceres can be observed this month with optical aid in the foreground of the constellation Cetus, the Whale some 1.9 astronomical units away, i.e., about 177 million miles. In 2006, asteroid Ceres was reclassified to the status of dwarf planet, along with Pluto. Shining around magnitude 7.2, try to locate this closest dwarf planet with binoculars or a telescope this month.

20 October 2016 Highlight Dwarf Planet/Asteroid Ceres is nearest Earth this Month NASA s Dawn spacecraft has encountered, orbited and imaged the largest and first asteroid to be discovered Ceres. Ceres orbits the Sun once every 4.6 Earth years. NASA s Dawn Spacecraft image of Ceres Ceres and the Moon, for scale

21 October 2016 Highlight Dwarf Planet/Asteroid Ceres is nearest Earth this Month Use the chart and the link below to help you locate and observe Ceres for your location, date and time this month. At opposition on October 21 st, 7.2 magnitude Ceres will be about 4 south of the star Alresha in the constellation Pisces. Ceres Chart link Alresha

22 End

Astronomy Club of Asheville October 2015 Sky Events

Astronomy Club of Asheville October 2015 Sky Events October 2015 Sky Events The Planets this Month - page 2 Planet Highlights - page 10 Moon Phases - page 13 Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Oct. 22 nd - page 14 Observe the Zodiacal Light - page 15 2 Bright