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OCTOBER 2017 SKY EVENTS CALENDAR

The ASO Monthly Calendar of Events and Astronomical Data
Calendar is based on the "Space Calendar" data presented by the
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/ and the Arkansas Sky Observatories  www.arksky.org Team.
If you would like for us to include your star parties or events, please send details via the CONTACT US button on the home page of ASO.


The Planets for October:
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A VERY poor October for viewing the major planets, with virtually all "wow" planets being in either daylight sky or in strong twilight at dusk or dawn; only the distant planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are visible all month in dark skies.

Mercury - Mercury is very close to the sun all month, starting October just east of the sun in the morning sky, and after Oct. 10, looming quite low to the western horizon in the evening sky embedded in bright dusk and solar glare  - in VIRGO

Venus - Venus and Mars are in very close conjunction in pre-daylight, bright dawn, skies on October 5; each successive morning, Venus will very slowly climb higher in the morning sky, while tiny reddish Mars will be hidden in solar glare.  This conjunction is likely too embedded in solar glare to be seen. - in LEO

Mars - See VENUS, above; look for reddish Mars to be rising barely before twilight on October 13 in dark skies, with much brighter VENUS rising only minutes later nearly due east - in LEO

Jupiter - Now rising in the EAST by mid-October, but is not favorably placed for observations - in VIRGO

Saturn - Very low in western skies at dark and setting quickly after evening twilight disappears, the ringed planet will set before 10 p.m. local time. - in OPHIUCHUS

Uranus - At opposition on Oct. 18, the distant planet Uranus is overhead about midnight local time and is setting shortly after sunrise in October;  It shines at magnitude 5.9, bright enough to spot in good binoculars if one knows where to look; use a good planetarium sky program or GO TO telescope to locate this distant world; by sunrise it is high in dark skies and will show a faint, blue disk in large telescopes - PISCES

Neptune - Very high in dark skies this month, look for faint Neptune in large telescopes at midmonth south of overhead about 10 p.m. local time.(mag. 7.6). - in AQUARIUS

Pluto - at magnitude 14.1, our most distant planet (yes....it is a planet) is very low in southern skies, in southwest about the time evening twilight darkens in the dense clouds of the Sagittarius Milky Way - only 12 inch and larger telescopes can spot this world visually.  - in SAGITTARIUS

NOTE:  for locating all of the faint planets I highly recommend a good computer planetarium program or a suitalbe Sky APP for your smart devices!

Comet Possiblities for October:
There are dozens of observable comets visible every month, in every part of the sky. 
For Octoer 2017 there are NO bright comets, even for modest telescopes, visible.  However that can always change quickly, so check the "Alerts" section of ASO often. 

However, I highly recommend that observers carefully monitor comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 29P because of sudden and erratic outburst this remarkable come has shown in recent months.

A moderate-sized telescope and CCD camera can easily record comets down to magnitude 18, of which there will be a good selection every night, provided that you know WHERE in the sky they are.  Thus a good PC planetarium program with your GO TO telescope or to plot visually is essential.  The comets can be updated in yor programs daily by downloading the current data into your database from the Minor Planet Center (MPC) via the link:
http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/Ephemerides/SoftwareEls.html
This will allow access to all visible comets for any given date.

In addition, a listing of "Observable Comets" is availale from MPC from the link:  http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/LastCometObs.html
In the case of a new and exciting/bright comet that may unexpected enter our skies, ALWAYS refer to the ALERTS link on the ASO Home Page.

For the latest observations, magnitudes and physical characteristics of most of the best comets, always look to the ASO Comet Database for accurate information:
  http://arksky.org/comet-data

METEOR SHOWERS for October  2017:
 
Observe when the moon does not interfere and attempt to observe AFTER midnight for most meteors to be seen!  For August there is, of course, the famous PERSEID METEOR SHOWER, some of which provide for wonderful summer sky shows, provided that the light of the moon does not interfere.  However, as with a months and times during the year, observers should always be aware that new sporadic meteor showers can occur at anytime from seemingly unknown sources and radiants.  Unfortunately for 2017, the full moon occurs early in the month, which means that pretty much at least some of these showers are going to be less than impressive in terms of faint meteors.

For a full description of how to observe meteors, how to contribute and what to look for, see the ASO GUIDE at:
http://arksky.org/aso/aso-guides/aso-observational-guides/713-all-about-meteors-the-perseid-meteor-shower

The advent of cripser skies and cooler temperatures during fall months lure many skywatchers outdoors during October to view the impending autumn splendors of the Heavens.  In most of North America, it has been found that the month of OCTOBER is the "cloud-free-est" and the skies more deep clear and weather-free than any other month of the year;  the cool nighttime temperatures and waning mosquito populations (thank goodness this year!) are inviting to all of us to spend more time exploring the dark October night sky.   Fortunately October's premier meteor shower - the ORIONIDS - peak after the night of the last quarter moon and observers should work around the rising and setting times of the moon for every meteor shower for the duration of each peak.

October 7  - PISCID meteors - A very long duration (Sept 25 through Nov. 2) meteor shower, very low in southern skies; these are very slow moving meteors [only 29 kilometers per second (kps)] on the Pisces-Aries border; about 15 meteors per hour, some very nice with long trains, will be seen after midnight at which time the shower radiant will be located west of overhead.  The first nearly full moon will be present in the sky nearly all night  this year, so viewing should be poor for this shower in 2017.

October 9  - DRACONID meteors - This is a very short duration meteor shower, unlike the Draconids (above).  It lasts only from Oct. 7 through 10th, producing a very erratic number of meteors as the Earth plummets head-on into this stream.  For example, in 1933, over 30,000 meteors per hour were estimated....from the Comet Giacobini-Zinner's disintegration, the Earth passed the comet only 15 days prior in 1947, resulting in about 1,000 per hours seen in that year.  This year, the moon will be a strong gibbous in the sky and really hinder all faint meteors of this shower, so observers will have a poor opportunity for dark skies for the most meteors from this shower.  Note this "circumpolar" northern hemisphere shower to be seen at its best after midnight hours when the Earth is heading directly into the stream....at dawn it will be nearly directly overhead from mid-northern latitudes,  The actual number to expect is totally unknown, but you should be prepared for as many as 200-500 per hour during some encounters!

October 19 - EPSILON GEMINID meteors - This is a week-long meteor shower peaking like the Orionids (below) during a time highly favorable for many faint meteors to be seen early since the moon will be absent from the sky during this shower.   The shower actually begins about Oct. 1 with no particular sharp peak, so observing early in the morning on the first weeks might allow for some of the perhaps 5 per hour being seen....these are among the fastest of the meteors striking out atmosphere, traveling at about 70 kps.  The radiant rises about 10 p.m. on the 14th-15th, and will be overhead by dawn (northern hemisphere observers).  A very GOOD year to witness this meteor shower.

October 21 - ORIONID meteors - A wondenrful year for observing the famous Orionid Meteors since the moon will be a thin crescent and setting early in the night.  With its origins in the famous Halley's Comet, this meteor shower is in the high southeastern sky (northern hemisphere) during early morning hours.  The radiant, from near the "club" of ORION, the hunter, rises about 9:30 p.m. local time and will be south of overhead about 5 a.m. when morning dawn commences.  Normally as many as 30-40 very faint and very fast yellowish meteors per hour can be seen from this group, traveling at actual speeds when they collide with the Earth of nearly 67 kilometers per second.  This will be a exceptionally good year for early observers for this dependable meteor shower,  Both bright and faint meteors should be seen this year, visible from this spectacular and historic meteor shower.  However, there ARE many associated bright meteors from this shower, so heads up!
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SKY EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS FOR OCTOBER 2017
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