This month’s stargazing and imaging at a glance
Saturday
2 The beautiful Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is located at its highest position, due south against dark skies around 01:00 BST (00:00 UT) at the moment. View it through binoculars and see whether you can pick out its satellite galaxies M32 and M110.
Sunday
3 This morning, mag. +3.5 Eta (η) Leonis will be occulted by a 13%-lit waning crescent Moon. Those in the far north will see the star pass close to the Moon’s northern limb. Observe from 04:35–05:20 BST (03:35–04:20 UT).
Monday
4 Today offers a rare chance to catch Ganymede and Callisto casting shadows on Jupiter at the same time. Callisto’s shadow begins its transit from 18:00 BST (17:00 UT). Ganymede’s shadow transit starts at 19:50 BST (18:50 UT).
Tuesday
5 Look towards the east from 06:00 BST (05:00 UT) and you might see a 1%-lit waning crescent Moon rising this morning. Optimally positioned, the Moon rises 100 minutes before the Sun.
Thursday
7 A thin 2%-lit waxing crescent Moon may be seen low above the west-southwest horizon shortly after sunset.
Friday
8 The peak of the Draconids occurs today. Although the meteor shower has a ZHR (zenithal hourly rate) of five meteors per hour, it has shown unexpected activity in recent years, with a ZHR of 150 over a four-hour period in 2018.
Saturday
9 A 14%-lit waxing crescent Moon meets mag. –4.1 Venus this evening, appearing 2.1° apart. Look for the pair low above the southwest horizon shortly after sunset. Mag. +2.3 Dschubba (Delta (δ) Scorpii), sits 50 arcminutes northeast of Venus.
Sunday
10 The peak of the Southern Taurid meteor shower occurs today. Although it has a low peak ZHR of just five meteors per hour, the peak is broad and sometimes has slow bright trails.
Wednesday
13 within lunar crater Ptolemaeus this evening. The shadows create a shape reminiscent of the Loch Ness Monster’s head and neck. Look out for Nessie around 19:45 BST (18:45 UT). An unusual clair-obscur effect occurs
Thursday
14 The now 67%-lit waxing gibbous Moon sits south of Saturn and Jupiter this evening, forming a triangle in Capricornus, the Sea Goat. The clair-obscur effect known as the Eyes of Clavius is visible around 19:30 BST (18:30 UT).
Friday
15 The Jewelled obscur effect (a semicircle of light caused by the Moon’s Jura mountains catching the light of a lunar dawn) is visible around midnight tonight, as the Moon approaches the southwest horizon, near mag. –2.5 Jupiter.
Thursday
21 The peak of the Orionids occurs, but it’s marred by a Moon that’s just-past full. Jupiter’s moons Callisto and Io transit the gas giant’s disc together, starting at 00:30 BST (23:30 UT on 20 October).
Monday
25 Mercury is at its greatest western elongation today, appearing separated from the Sun by 18.4° in the morning sky. Shining at mag. –0.5, Mercury rises nearly two hours before the Sun.
Thursday
28 Moon rises around 23:30 BST (22:30 Tonight’s last quarter UT). Once it’s up see if you can spot the Beehive Cluster 2.7° to the south-southwest. Binoculars should fit both objects in the same field of view comfortably.
Friday
29 Venus reaches greatest eastern elongation, appearing separated from the Sun by 47° in the evening sky. Despite this, Venus’s position isn’t optimal at present and this brilliant mag. –4.3 planet sets a little over 1.5 hours after the Sun.
Sunday
31 British Summer Time ends this morning at 2am BST, when the clocks go back to 1am GMT (01:00 UT).
Family stargazing
Jupiter is currently bright and well positioned, an easy naked-eye planet. It reaches its highest position due south at 10pm BST on 1 October, at 9pm BST on 15 October and 7pm UT on 31 October. This is a great planet to observe with a telescope. Point out its flattened globe, due to its rapid rotation, and the two dark stripes that run parallel to the equator. The four largest moons stand out well too and are easy for young eyes to see. Try for some of the moon shadow events listed in our calendar – especially the rare double shadow transit on 4 October. www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/stargazing
Need to know
The terms and symbols used in The Sky Guide
Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST)
Universal Time (UT) is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. British Summer Time (BST) is one hour ahead of UT
RA (Right ascension) and dec. (declination)
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’
Family friendly
These are sights perfect for showing to children
Naked eye
Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to become dark-adapted
Small/medium scope
Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
Large scope
Reflector/SCT over 6 inches, refractor over 4 inches
Getting started in astronomy
If you’re new to astronomy, you’ll find two essential reads on our website. Visit http://bit.ly/10_easylessons for our 10-step guide to getting started and http://bit.ly/buy_scope for advice on choosing a scope.