Sky This Month: October 2022

The 4 Galilean moons — Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto — orbit with durations of two to 16 days. Previous opposition, the moons transit forward of their shadows. A sequence of Europa transits adopted by Io occultations happen Oct. 8, 15/16, and 22/23. Every of those is adopted by an Io transit on the evenings of Oct. 9, 16, and 23.

On Oct. 8, Europa’s transit begins at 8:49 P.M., its shadow begins to transit at 9:25 P.M., and Io disappears at 10:42 P.M. (all instances EDT). On Oct. 15/16, occasions happen in the identical order at 11:03 P.M., 12:01 A.M., and 12:26 A.M. (the final two occasions are on the sixteenth for these within the Japanese time zone solely). On Oct. 23, occasions are in a barely totally different order: Europa transits beginning at 1:18 A.M., Io disappears at 2:11 A.M., and Europa’s shadow slips onto the disk at 2:36 A.M. (Some or all occasions happen late on the twenty second in western time zones.) Additionally on the twenty second, Ganymede is occulted by Jupiter at 11:30 P.M. EDT.

Io and its shadow transit the day after every of the Europa occasions. These transits (moon, shadow) happen at 7:53 P.M. and eight:14 P.M. on the ninth, 9:38 P.M. and 10:09 P.M. on the sixteenth, and 11:24 P.M. (Oct. 23) and 12:05 A.M. (Oct. 24 for East Coast observers solely; all instances are once more EDT). Notice how the time between every moon and shadow transit stretches as October progresses — a characteristic of Earth’s altering view of the Jupiter system relative to the path of daylight.

The subsequent planet alongside the ecliptic, Uranus, is occulted by the Moon Oct. 11/12. Uranus at the moment lies within the sparse areas of southeastern Aries.

These within the northwestern U.S. will see the occultation. Others will see a close to miss, with Uranus south of the Moon. It’s difficult to see magnitude 5.7 Uranus reappear close to such a shiny Moon, however there’ll be a number of curiosity. The timing of the occasion is closely location-dependent however happens round 11:45 P.M. (For instance, residents of Denver see Uranus seem at about 11:52 P.M. MDT on the eleventh). Observers within the japanese U.S. will see an analogous occasion on the primary day of 2023.

Uranus is approaching subsequent month’s opposition. To seek out it, find magnitude 2.5 Menkar in Cetus. Uranus stands about 12° due north of the star, barely lower than two area diameters in 7×50 binoculars. The aqua-colored planet is positioned between Sigma (σ) and 53 Arietis all month.

Via a telescope, attempt to discern the 4″-wide disk. At greater than 1.7 billion miles from Earth, it’s a wonderful sight. Use increased magnifications on nights of excellent seeing for the most effective views.

Mars is a shocking object in the course of Taurus on Oct. 1. It’s now solely two months from opposition as we enter the most effective time to look at the Purple Planet. Mars rises round 10 P.M. and brightens from magnitude –0.6 to –1.1 through the month. It types a shocking triangle with two shiny purple large stars: Betelgeuse to its south and Aldebaran to its west.

The Moon joins Mars late on Oct. 14, separated by lower than 4°. The Purple Planet additionally stands inside 1.1° of the Crab Nebula (M1) for about three days beginning on this date, passing due north of the nebula on the seventeenth. The planet’s eastward movement slows to a halt by Oct. 30, when it sits 2.7° north of Zeta (ζ) Tauri. It then begins a retrograde path.

Mars transits the native meridian round 5 A.M. That is the most effective time to view the planet or document high-speed video, and excellent your observing methods. Its obvious diameter grows from 12″ to fifteen” through the month, and its phase grows from 88 % to 94 %.

Within the hours round native midnight, the next options face Earth (for Midwestern observers): Oct. 1: Olympus Mons; Oct. 5: Tharsis Ridge and Valles Marineris; Oct. 14: Solis Lacus; Oct. 22: Syrtis Main and the Hellas basin; Oct. 30: Mare Sirenum. Get pleasure from changing into acquainted with these options as Mars approaches its early December opposition.