Listen: https://soundcloud.com/astrophiz/october-skyguide
SHOW NOTES
Moon Phases:
Last Quarter: October 6
New Moon: October 14
First Quarter: October 21
The next Full Moon is Saturday October 28
Planetary Action:
Morning Sky
Two beautiful bright planets will reward those who get up early in the mornings this month.
Jupiter is is rising before midnight but is still best in the morning sky, it is close to the Moon on October 1 and on the 29th.
Venus is moving from crescent to half moon phase and climbs higher the morning twilight coming very close to the bright star Regulus by weeks end.
A penumbral lunar eclipse on October 28 is difficult to observe in central Australia and impossible in eastern states, but is fully visible from WA where the maximum eclipse is at 5:13am.
Evening Sky:
Saturn is past opposition, but still a beautiful sight!
The Moon occultation of the Pleiades (the 7 Sisters, not far from the bright star Aldabaran) between about midnight and 01:24 am on 31 October depending on your location.
Stars & Constellations
Scorpius is setting in the west.
Sagittarius is still a feature
The globular cluster M22 is always worth catching
The Southern Cross is also a great feature to view
The LMC is reasonably high in the sky, and there is a move to have the Magellanic Clouds renamed ‘Milky Clouds’ because of Ferdinand Magellan’s brutal treatment of indigenous peoples during his voyages.
For astrophotographers, the Southern pole star Sigma Octantis is a nice magnitude 5 star challenge for those wanting a perfect circle of star trails.
Ian’s Tangent
The Russian probe crashed on the moon on August 19, which is a reminder that there may be future problems with spacecraft and landers contaminating the moon’s water deposits with dust, regolith, hydrazine and other rocket exhaust products.
The Astronomy Astrophiz Podcasts 