October Highlights

Oct. 6 & 7

Crescent Moon near Venus and Saturn: 4:30 a.m.

Oct. 14

Venus closest to Saturn: 4-5 a.m.

Oct. 21-22

Orionid meteor shower: all night

Oct. 26

Full Moon-Hunter’s moon: all night

Oct. 27

Moon passes through Pleiades 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 30 & 31

Gibbous Moon near Mars after 11 p.m.

Finally, my favorite month for stargazing is here! The dark and brisk nights of October are perfect for watching constellations before the harsh temperatures and wind-chills of cold weather arrive. This month, we see Orionid meteor shower, the hunter’s Moon, the last glimpse of Jupiter, and the first view of Mars.

Constellation of the Month: Cassiopeia

Though as easy to find year-round as the Big Dipper, few people can locate Cassiopeia in the sky these days. This is a pity because the region around Cassiopeia is rich with visible stars and the misty Milky Way.

To locate Cassiopeia in October just look high in the northeastern sky in the early evening. This classic “W-shaped” group of stars will be hard to miss. Binoculars or a small telescope will show the famous Double Cluster in Perseus just below the bottom star in the “W.”

If you sweep the entire area of Cassiopeia with binoculars you will be rewarded with the views of many faint stars, double stars, and star clusters.

Cassiopeia in Greek mythology was the Queen of Ethiopia and the mother of Andromeda. Like most parents today, Cassiopeia had high expectations for her daughter and one day bragged that Andromeda was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. Unfortunately, the sea nymphs were the daughters of Neptune and he took offense.

To punish Cassiopeia’s boasting he dispatched a cataclysmic tidal wave to destroy her kingdom. To appease the gods Cassiopeia was urged by the city council to sacrifice Andromeda to sea monster, Cetus. Luckily, Andromeda was rescued in grand style by Perseus riding on the winged-horse Pegasus.

This legend was so popular with the Greeks that they created six major constellations in the sky to honor it: Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Perseus, Cetus, Cepheus, and Pegasus. Some astronomers call this story the first soap opera in history to get wide viewing (in the sky at least). Other cultures imagined the stars of Cassiopeia as a camel, moose, porpoise or reindeer. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Events for October

This is the last month to see Jupiter in the evening sky until next spring. Jupiter now shines brightly low in the southwest as soon as it gets dark. As if to compensate for Jupiter’s loss, the planet Mars moves into the evening sky for the first time in a year. Mars, bright and reddish, rises in the northeast about 11:30 p.m. in the constellation of Gemini. Venus and Saturn are close together in the morning sky, coming into view about 4 a.m.

If you are looking for a celestial photo opportunity, try imaging Venus, Saturn and the crescent Moon on Oct. 6 and 7 when they make a beautiful grouping about an hour before sunrise.

Other noteworthy celestial events include the Orionid meteor shower on the 21, the Moon passing in front of the Pleiades on the 27, and the large “hunter’s moon” on the 26. Happy stargazing!

Jay Sarton lives in Gray and works at USM’s Southworth Planetarium.