{"id":23386,"date":"2021-09-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=23386"},"modified":"2021-10-22T11:44:31","modified_gmt":"2021-10-22T11:44:31","slug":"the-planets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/2021\/09\/16\/the-planets\/","title":{"rendered":"The planets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our<\/span> celestial neighbourhood in October<\/h4>\n\n
PICK OF THE<\/strong> MONTH<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n

Uranus<\/h4>\n\n

Best time to see:<\/strong> 31 October, around midnight UT <\/p>\n\n

Altitude:<\/strong> 52\u00ba<\/p>\n\n

Location<\/strong>: Aries <\/p>\n\n

Direction: <\/strong>South <\/p>\n\n

Features:<\/strong> Colour, moons, atmosphere <\/p>\n\n

Recommended equipment: <\/strong>150mm or larger<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
October and November sees Uranus at its brightest for the year, between Aries and Cetus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Uranus will reach opposition on Thursday 4 November. Around this time the planet appears at its brightest and largest for the year, but its great distance from Earth, means such effects aren\u2019t noticeably different to other, non-opposition dates. One benefit of opposition for the outer planets however, is an increased period of observability \u2013 they\u2019re visible for the entire night.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Uranus is currently in Aries, located in the southern part of the constellation, just to the north of the pattern that defines the head of Cetus, the Whale. It shines at mag. +5.7, which means it should be visible to the naked eye from a location with good, dark skies. Through binoculars, Uranus looks exactly like a mag. +5.7 star. A small telescope is required to bring out its distinct greenish hue and reveal its tiny, 3.8 arcsecond disc.<\/p>\n\n

Larger instruments may be able to show banding in the planet\u2019s atmosphere as well as some of the brighter moons. Uranus has a current total of 27 officially identified satellites, five of which are big and bright enough to be seen through larger amateur instruments. These moons are Miranda,<\/span> Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. They present a<\/span> good challenge to see visually and, due to their close proximity to the planet, a challenge to<\/span> image too. It\u2019s easy to lose Miranda in the overexposed glare of Uranus.<\/p>\n\n

Currently, Uranus is the best-placed planet to observe from the UK, reaching a peak altitude of 52\u00b0 from the centre of the country, when due south. This lifts it out of the low-altitude<\/span> atmospheric murk, providing a more stable view. It also increases your chances of spotting its dim dot with your naked eye.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Dim and distant, Uranus may be visible to the naked eye during October<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Mercury<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Best time to see<\/strong>: 25 October, from 1 hour prior to sunrise<\/p>\n\n

Altitude:<\/strong> 7\u00b0 (low)<\/p>\n\n

Location: <\/strong>Virgo <\/p>\n\n

Direction: <\/strong>East-southeast <\/p>\n\n

Mercury is unlikely to be seen at October\u2019s start as it sets at almost the same time as the Sun. Inferior solar conjunction occurs on 9 October. Mercury then rapidly re-emerges into the morning sky, brightening as it does. First sighting is likely on 18 October, when the planet shines at mag. +0.9 and rises 90 minutes before the Sun. When greatest western elongation occurs on the 25th, Mercury will have brightened to mag. \u20130.5 and have risen around two hours before the Sun. The rest of the month sees Mercury creep back towards the Sun but also grow brighter, reaching mag. \u20130.8 on 31 October.<\/p>\n\n

Venus<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Best time to see:<\/strong> 29 October, 20 minutes after sunset Altitude: 6.5\u00b0 (low)<\/p>\n\n

Location:<\/strong> Ophiuchus <\/p>\n\n

Direction:<\/strong> South-southwest Venus reaches its greatest eastern elongation on 29<\/p>\n\n

October, 47\u00b0 from the Sun. But the planet\u2019s relative position is poor and it remains low after sunset all month. On 1 October Venus sets one hour after the Sun. By the end of the month, that delay will have increased to 100 minutes. In theory Venus reaches a 50%-illuminated phase on 28<\/span> October, but a phase anomaly effect should mean it appears half-lit a few days earlier. A 14%-lit waxing crescent Moon sits 2.2\u00b0 from Venus on the evening of 9 October.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Mars<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Mars is in conjunction with the Sun on 8 October and not visible this month.<\/p>\n\n

Jupiter<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 October, 22:10 BST (21:10 UT)<\/p>\n\n

Altitude: <\/strong>22\u00b0<\/p>\n\n

Location:<\/strong> Capricornus <\/p>\n\n

Direction:<\/strong> South <\/p>\n\n

Jupiter is high in the early evening sky during October so ideal for observing. On 1 October from the centre of the UK it appears 22\u00ba up when due south at 22:10 BST (21:10 UT).<\/span> By the end of the month it reaches this position at 19:12 UT. A waxing gibbous Moon sits near the planet on the evenings of 14 and 15 October.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Saturn<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 October, 21:00 BST (20:00 UT)<\/p>\n\n

Altitude: <\/strong>18\u00b0<\/p>\n\n

Location: <\/strong>Capricornus <\/p>\n\n

Direction: <\/strong>South<\/p>\n\n

Shining at mag. +0.5 on 1 October, Saturn reaches an altitude of 18\u00b0, its highest point, due south around 21:00 BST (20:00 UT). While still low, this is an improvement over recent years. A waxing gibbous Moon passes south of Saturn on 13 and 14 October. By the end of the month, Saturn will still reach its highest point in relative darkness, but there\u2019ll be a residual of the evening twilight behind the planet.<\/p>\n\n

Neptune<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 October, 00:00 BST (23:00 UT)<\/p>\n\n

Altitude:<\/strong> 32\u00b0<\/p>\n\n

Location:<\/strong> Aquarius <\/p>\n\n

Direction:<\/strong> South <\/p>\n\n

Neptune is well positioned in October. Currently located in eastern Aquarius near to mag. +4.2 Phi (\u03c6) Aquarii, Neptune shines at mag. +7.8 and is, theoretically, the only main planet that requires optical assistance to see.<\/p>\n\n

\n\n

The planets in October<\/h4>\n\n

The phase and relative sizes of the planets this month. Each planet is shown with south at the top, to show its orientation through a telescope<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Jupiter’s moons: October<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Using a small scope you can spot Jupiter\u2019s biggest moons. Their positions change dramatically during the month, as shown on the diagram. The line by each date represents 01:00 BST (00:00 UT).<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
<\/div>
\n

More ONLINE <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Print out observing forms for recording planetary events from the Bonus Content section<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our celestial neighbourhood in October<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":24801,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"48","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"48","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_48-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_48-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"October-2021","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"October-2021","purple_external_id":"October-2021-48-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"October-2021-48-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086545||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086545||","purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.197","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.197","purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.197","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.197","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"075fab74-0a21-4201-866a-899d6c41c40c","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[14],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/6Q97JRI6A73IKM7734H6349DE78J.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/6Q97JRI6A73IKM7734H6349DE78J.jpg",1345,907,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/6Q97JRI6A73IKM7734H6349DE78J-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/6Q97JRI6A73IKM7734H6349DE78J-300x202.jpg",300,202,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/6Q97JRI6A73IKM7734H6349DE78J-768x518.jpg",768,518,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/6Q97JRI6A73IKM7734H6349DE78J-1024x691.jpg",800,540,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/6Q97JRI6A73IKM7734H6349DE78J.jpg",1345,907,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2021\/09\/6Q97JRI6A73IKM7734H6349DE78J.jpg",1345,907,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Our celestial neighbourhood in October","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23386"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24957,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23386\/revisions\/24957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}