| Oct 06, 2011


By Fred Barrett

This month pull out your binoculars and search the area shared by Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Throughout October they can be found by looking straight up at the zenith of the sky. Now shift your gaze 20 degrees (a fist width) to the northeast. Cepheus looks like a box shaped house with a high peaked roof and Cassiopeia is an unmistakable W shape. A special sight is the open cluster, Messier 52, between the two constellations. It’s easy to find and a wonderful view through binoculars! Email me at my address at the bottom of this column and let me know what else you can find.

Another gem makes its appearance in October – the Pleiades. This tight cluster rises above the eastern horizon about 8pm. Soon after appears the red baleful eye of Aldebaran, a red giant star near but not part of the Hyades star cluster. Both are within the V-shaped constellation Taurus. Giant Aldebaran is known as the eye of Taurus the Bull and is a hypnotic sight in your binoculars. If you wait another two hours, glorious Orion rises above the eastern horizon with all its beautiful deep sky objects.

This time of year is my favourite time for astronomy. Temperatures are reasonable, the bugs have disappeared and some of summer’s spectacular constellations are still high in the western sky. Darkness comes earlier and some fine observing can be done! It’s an ideal time to go out with family and still get to bed at a reasonable time to get up for work.

Speaking of getting up early, in early October, a little before sunrise, try to find Mars near the beehive cluster in the constellation Cancer. To find Cancer, begin by facing south. Above the southern horizon you will see Orion. Look 20 degrees east and you will see Gemini, the Twins. Go another 15 degrees and the distinct propeller shape of Cancer appears. Near the hub of the propeller is the Beehive cluster. The Beehive cluster can be seen without any aids although binoculars certainly bring out much more detail.

Jupiter rises in the east an hour or so after sunset early in October and comes up earlier each night until it reaches opposition on the 28th. At opposition it rises at sunset and sets at sunrise.

A planet farther out from the Sun than Earth is described as being in opposition when a line drawn from the Sun through the Earth and ending at the planet, forms a straight line. Jupiter is unmistakable in the east as it rises; it is the brightest object in the sky. Point your trusty binoculars at her and you can follow her four Galilean moons from night to night as they shift their orbital positions and seem to dance around her brilliant disk.

Watch for Venus low in the west after sunset and if you are an early riser, look for the appearance of Saturn in the east at dawn.

There are two meteor showers this month. On the 8th, there is the Draconid shower and on the 21st, the Orionids. Unfortunately the Draconids occur near the full Moon and you will only be able to see the brightest meteors. The Orionids is a small shower but still worth the effort. Both showers can be viewed all over the sky. Their names only refer to their point of origin in the sky. The Orionids appear from the direction of Orion and the Draconids, from the constellation Draco.

The full Moon this month is on October 11th and is called the Hunter’s Moon. I have been listening to duck hunters shooting away for the last couple of weeks! Can deer and moose season be far behind? This Moon is the smallest full Moon of 2011.

On October 1, the Sun rises at 6:58AM and sets at 6:41PM. By the end of the month, sunrise occurs at 7:55AM and sunset at 5:52PM. Times are daylight savings time and approximate.

 

 

If you have questions or suggestions, Fred Barrett may be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Beginner’s Observer’s Guide by Leo Enright is available at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy or by contacting the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada www.rasc.ca/publications, subscriptions for our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine, Sky News, are also available from RASC..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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