What’s Up in the Night Sky? – October 2020 by Fred Barrett

Fred Barrett | Oct 07, 2020

October is a beautiful month for observing the night sky. The bugs are mostly gone, temperatures are comfy with a little help from a sweater and darkness comes early and lasts through to a late sunrise.

This October is especially exciting. As mentioned in last month’s column, we have a full ‘Harvest Moon’ on the first day of the month. A Harvest Moon in the northern hemisphere is named for the Full Moon closest to the first day of autumn. An October Harvest Moon is a rare event and last occurred 46 years ago! October also has a Full Moon on October 31st – a second Full Moon in one month is also a rarity too and is often called a ‘Blue Moon’. We’ve all heard the saying “once in a blue moon” to describe something that doesn’t happen often. By the way, the Moon won’t be turning blue! The 31st is also Halloween so watch out for ghouls and zombies while you’re out enjoying the Moon – check behind you for sneaky goblins and listen for dragging feet!

Mars is at opposition on the 13th. Because of orbital dynamics, Mars is actually at its closest to Earth on the 6th. Opposition occurs every 26 months - a year or one orbit around the Sun for Mars. When the last opposition occurred in 2018, Mars was low in the sky and covered in a dust storm. This year will be the best in a decade and we won’t get another one this good until 2035. Mars will be a few degrees north of the celestial equator in the constellation Pisces and southeast of the Great Square of Pegasus. It will rise in the east at sunset and be highest at midnight. It will be so blazingly bright that you really can’t miss it. Best observing will be 2 weeks before and after opposition. Remember, Mars is great fun to observe. Its red-orange colour is from iron oxide in its surface materials and that colour led the Romans to name it after their god of war. So get out there; right now!

I haven’t had a chance to get a picture yet of Mars – hopefully I’ll have one for next month. A very important quality for viewing and taking pictures of Mars is called ‘seeing’. When you have steady air, you have good ‘seeing’. Watch for stars not twinkling much to tell you that the atmosphere is steady. The surface of the Moon or a planet or the shape of stars won’t be blurred by the shifting air in our atmosphere. Sometimes slightly hazy nights have steadier air than crystal clear nights. On nights of ‘bad seeing’, the surface of Mars appears to be a boiling blurred blob of orange.

Uranus is also in opposition but you will need binoculars or better yet, a modest telescope, to view it. It can be found between the Pleiades star cluster and Mars.

In the southwest, Saturn and Jupiter are excellent objects to observe. They are only 7 degrees apart at the start of the month and close that distance to 5 degrees by the end of the month.

Venus rises about 4 am and can be found right beside the bright star Regulus early in the month. Regulus is at the base of the handle of the asterism called the Sickle on the right side of the constellation Leo. The Sickle also looks like an upside down fish hook.

We have a modest meteor shower this month – the Orionids. The shower can be viewed between October 2nd and November 7th. It peaks on the 21st and the Moon will be very new at that time. The radiant in northern Orion rises about midnight with no interference from the Moon. About 20 meteors per hour can be expected. The debris that provides the meteors is spaced equally along the orbital path of Comet 1P/Halley. The Eta Aquariid shower in May occurs when the Earth plows through the other side of Halley’s orbit. Take note that Orion is an exceptionally beautiful constellation especially with the Orion nebula a jewel just below its belt. For those of you who get up early for work, Orion will be prominent in the south. Pause for a moment and appreciate how beautiful a constellation it is.

Another smaller shower, the Draconids, peaks around the 8th. The Earth passes through the debris from the comet Giacobini-Zinner. Although most years there are only a few meteors per hour, occasionally there’s a flare up. There was one in 1988 that could be better described as a meteor storm. While you’re out observing Mars, take a look for Draconids. You never know!

Here’s the month in review:

October 6: Mars is closest to the Earth – 61.76 million Kilometers (38.6 million miles). October 8: The Draconid meteor shower peaks; October 9: Last quarter Moon; October 13: Mars is at opposition ;October 14: Brilliant Venus passes 4 degrees south of a very slender crescent Moon ;October 16: New Moon. Moon is at perigee - 354,840 Kilometers; October 21: Orionid meteor shower peaks. October 22: In the southeast after sunset the first quarter Moon forms a small triangle with Jupiter and Saturn.

October 23: First quarter Moon; October 30: The Moon is at apogee - 404,035 Kilometers; October 31: Full Moon. Sometimes it’s called a Blue Moon because it is the second full moon of the month. Since it is the first Full Moon after the Harvest Moon, it is really known as the Full Hunter’s Moon when hunted critters are set aside for winter grub – read survival.

It’s a great month for looking up!

“The Beginner’s Observing Guide by Leo Enright is an invaluable companion for adventures in the sky. It also contains useful star charts. It can be ordered from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at www.rasc.ca/publications. A subscription to our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine “SkyNews” can be arranged at the RASC website as well.

Let me know how your observing has gone this month, especially anything unusual. I enjoy the feedback. If you have any questions or suggestions you can contact me through this paper or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Clear Skies! Fred.