Transcript<\/strong><\/h1>\nEzzy Pearson <\/strong>Greetings, listeners, and welcome to Radio Astronomy\u2019s Guide to the best things to see in the night sky of the Northern Hemisphere in October 2021. I\u2019m Ezzy Pearson and I\u2019m joined on the podcast today by our reviews editor Paul Mooney, who is going to be telling us his best sights to see in this month\u2019s sky. So, Paul, what are your recommendations for October 2021?<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>Well, now we\u2019ve got dark skies. We\u2019re starting to see a lot more events, although, it has to be said, there\u2019s still quite a few in the twilight conditions, usually down to the Moon and things like Venus. But you know what? It\u2019s funny, because last month we started off with an occultation and we started off with the occultation again this month. But I mean, the fascinating because they do give us we\u2019ve mentioned this before, it gives us an idea of the workings, the clockwork workings of the solar system. And I still get fascinated by watching the moon pass in front of a star and obliterate it. I mean, it\u2019s amazing now to see the star just disappear. It\u2019s an instant you know, it\u2019s not a gradual\u2026 If it was a planet, you can see it gradually disappear. But it\u2019s an instant and it really tells you the stars are a long way off and their pinpoint. So we\u2019ve got a reasonably well known star in actual fact. And its position is ideal because it\u2019s in the cycle of Leo and this is Eta Leonis on 3 October. You need to be looking, I\u2019m afraid, it\u2019s a morning object. Yes, we\u2019ve got to set our alarms to see it. So you want to be looking around about 4:00 a.m. onwards because northern parts of England and all of Scotland will actually see a very close miss. So they don\u2019t see the occultation. It\u2019s more for\u00a0 England and the south that actually gets the occultation. But anybody who is actually on the what we call the graze line, we\u2019ll see a fascinating sight because what you see is the the star dip in and out of the mountains and valleys of the moon on the limb of the moon. And I\u2019ve done that a couple of times. They really are difficult to observe. But the accuracy now of lunar occultation predictions is such that it\u2019s become better to see them, easier to see them and to work out the track. So, you know, and it is quite something to see the star, just flicker. It just because it could it just may be on a mountain peak, then it disappears. And sometimes it can be a very brief period. If it\u2019s really at the base of mountains and there\u2019s some deep valleys, then you get a longer period sort of thing where, you know, you catch him. When I say longer period, I\u2019m talking about tens of seconds at most. You know, I\u2019m not I\u2019m not talking about several minutes. This takes several seconds<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>It\u2019s a blink rather than a flash.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>Yes, exactly. It is a blink. You\u2019re right. So, you know, we want to be looking in the morning. I always like to start well in advance because it\u2019s nice to watch the moon gradually creep up against the star, towards the star. So this is Eta Leonis and it\u2019s above it\u2019s north of Regulus. I mean, Regulus is the heart of the lion, Leo the lion there. So it\u2019s nice always when there\u2019s a crescent moon above Regulus. Anyway, let\u2019s say we\u2019ve got a bonus of this occultation. And so it really depends on where you are as to whether you see a miss, a graze or an actual occultation because it\u2019s on the northern limb of the moon. It will be a relatively short occultation, but I always say give yourself plenty of time and just keep watching. Or if you want if you\u2019re into reimaging sort of thing, just leave the camera rolling, video it and sort of thing, and then watch it at your leisure afterwards. But I do think that fascinating events, it\u2019s just a shame it\u2019s in the morning sky. But that\u2019s now that\u2019s part of astronomy, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Beggars can\u2019t be choosers.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>Sometimes we just have to get up in the morning.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>Exactly the sort of thing, you know, so and hope that it isn\u2019t it isn\u2019t reasonably\u2026 It\u2019s it\u2019s fairly up. So it\u2019s not too low because sometimes these events for me, they happen so low I can\u2019t see them because of things in the way. I\u2019ve got an industrial estate and I\u2019ve got a shrub filled bund, which is very good for hiding the industrial estate, but it does mean things have got to rise high enough before they clear the the bund, as we call it, on the bank. So that\u2019s 3 October then, we start off with these occultation and I say, well worth having a look at. It is a fascinating thing to see these stars either disappear in the occultation or if you are right on that, Graze limit sort these amazing to see flickering, or as you say blinking in and out of the valleys, you know, and it\u2019s on gives you a sense of\u2026 They used to use these as a way of mapping the lunar limb. When we had no\u2026this was before they had orbiters or whatnot, it was a way of mapping the lunar limb and the features on the edge of the Moon. So I think, of course, it would change because of the liberation of the moon as well. So you always got a different result.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>Liberation being the wobble of the Moon.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>It\u2019s slightly out of sync with its orbit and the orbital period. And yeah, so basically it does wobble a little bit. So ironically, you know, we say fifty percent of the moon is illuminated. Well, you actually get to see I think it\u2019s about 58 percent of the moon technically. Over the course of the<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>Just not all at the same time.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>No, exactly, it\u2019s always 50 percent at any one moment, but we say slightly different. And that, you know, helps with things like observing Mare Orientale, which is right on the limb. And sometimes we see it better than others. Sometimes it\u2019s virtually\u2026 Really difficult to see it. And other times you get a hint of this ring like structure. I mean, it would have been amazing if that had been facing us, I mean, that would have been something. But again, lunar limb occultation like this, the grazing occultation tell us a lot about these limb structures in the past. But now, of course, we\u2019re spoiled, we\u2019ve got orbiters and the potential return to the moon as well. So, you know, all this is moot point now, but they\u2019re fascinating to watch. So hopefully we\u2019ll get a chance to see that if it\u2019s not cloudy, of course. Ahaha cloud there. Shall we rename this cloud diary? Because most of the events we talked about last month, although we had such a bad month, although I hardly saw any.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>Well, hopefully if September was bad, that means all of the cloud budget has been used up. So October will be lovely and clear because that\u2019s how the weather works. Right?<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>I\u2019ll tell you what. Can I bank with the bank? You bank up there because I think that\u2019s good. I think we\u2019ll bank on that sort of thing, you know? So we\u2019re absolutely clear. Yes, exactly. Cloud bank. So moving on, October normally has two showers, meteor showers that are worth observing. The Draconids, which are around about the 8th and the 9th and the Orionids, which are 21 \u2013 22n sadly, the Orionids are spoilt. The Moon is full on the 20th. So he\u2019s pretty much going to wash out the Orionids completely. But the good news is that on the 8th, the draconids is at its peak and the moon is a thin evening crescent. So it\u2019s in the evening sky and set in fairly early on. And the reason why this is good is that the Draconids are actually what you call a circumpolar meteor shower. So they don\u2019t set. The radiant itself, doesn\u2019t set. So it\u2019s always above the horizon. Naturally, early on it will be low down. It gets better during the course of the night, but we won\u2019t have the moon to spoil it. So that\u2019s good news. The only difference the only sad thing is that it is actually a low zenith hourly rate. And this is the theoretical rate for meteors if they are absolutely directly above you, perfectly crystal clear skies, et cetera, dark skies, no light pollution. This is what you\u2019d see. They say five. And Pete Lawrence regularly reminds us that in actual fact, it\u2019s usually about a quarter of that, what we actually see with the naked eye. So it sounds dismal. But the Draconids also occasionally have outbursts that difficult to predict. But in 2018, there was a really strong outburst. There was one hundred and fifty meteors an hour or so. So the thing is, you never know. This is why it\u2019s always worth watching these minor showers, because you never know. You might be the one that discovers the new outburst, you know, or you may see an outburst take place. So, you know, it\u2019s worth watching out during the course that 8th to the 9th that night. Keep an eye out.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>Because, even like something like the more. Prolific meteor showers like the Perseids or what have you. They\u2019re only usually about 100 ZHR. So that\u2019s a lot.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>150 is amazing, you know, so we we don\u2019t get many showers. I mean, there\u2019s the Perseids, there\u2019s the Geminids that you regularly go over a hundred per hour anyway. And the Leonids once every 33 years have an outburst. So we\u2019re in between outbursts I\u2019m afraid with the Leonids, we\u2019ve got a bit of time yet to wait for that to happen again. But as I say these are\u2026 as they model meteor stream\u2019s better and better, they\u2019re beginning to find that there are actually little patches sort of of dust, perhaps slightly offset from the main shower sort of thing. And once you\u2019ve seen them once, they can start modelling and predicting when they return. So they are getting better at these. So it\u2019s worth and this is why we always say don\u2019t observe just on the radiant night, you know, have a go a few nights before and after because you never know. I mean, you could be the discovery of a new radiant\u2026uh, a new outburst, you know. So just imagine one of the Sky at Night, somebody reading the magazine say \u201cIt was because\u00a0 of Sky at Night podcast, Ezzy and Paul, that I actually discovered a new outburst. You know, it\u2019s not impossible. That\u2019s that\u2019s the beauty about this. It isn\u2019t impossible.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>Also, if people are regular meteor shower observers and they fancy having a bit more of a challenge, you can also try and make notes and and actually record your observations. And that\u2019s one of the ways that they\u2019ve been tracking out where the meteor showers are. The sort of distribution of the meteor showers is because of amateur astronomers at home taking these notes. So if that sounds of interest to you, I suggest you look up the British Astronomical Association\u2019s website and they\u2019ve got lots of details about how to get in both there.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>That\u2019s it, because this is one of the areas we can actually contribute as amateurs because so much is being taken over by professionals, which is understandable because they are the experts, but they can\u2019t monitor meteor showers like we can. So we\u2019ve got the resources. We\u2019ve got the people around the world who can watch out for these things and take notes. And as long as it\u2019s recorded accurately, then, you know, it can be really, really useful in modelling these streams. So that\u2019s the Draconids, I say unfortunately, the Orionids are washed out by the Moon. You might get the odd one, because sometimes you do get a bright meteor associated with the shower. So, you know, it\u2019s worth keeping an eye out then. But just remember, you won\u2019t get anything like the number meteors. All the faint ones will be completely washed out by the Moon, which is a great shame. But, you know, there are some years when the Iranians are good, no Moon. And this is one of those years, unfortunately, we have to put up with that, isn\u2019t it? And now the next night, 9 \u2013 10 and we go back to the early evening a something reasonable, a reasonable time. And we\u2019re talking about the evening Twilight. And, you know, our friend that\u2019s been around for a very long time now, quite a few months. Good old, Venus, the goddess of love, is still hanging on in the evening sky. It will do because it\u2019s one of those quirks of the ecliptic, the path it\u2019s taken only ecliptic in that it\u2019s actually keeping pace ahead of the Sun. So it\u2019s not being beaten by the Sun. Mostly outer planets gradually sink into the twilight and disappear. Venus is one of those at the moment, its motion is keeping ahead of the encroachment of the sun so each staying visible. And so Venus is the bright evening star at the moment, 9 and 10th. On the 9th, you\u2019ll be joined by the Crescent Moon. So I always love these. You got the crescent moon there, Selene. Hanging there gracefully next to the goddess of love as well. So all we can wax lyrical, can\u2019t we? Really with these. But it is gorgeous to see them in the twilight sky hanging together just before they set. You want to be about half an hour, forty minutes max after sunset sort of thing before. Otherwise they\u2019ll get too low. So the crescent of the moon on the ninth is to the upper right of Venus. Then on the next night Venus will have moved a little bit, but the moon will have moved quite a considerable amount to the left on the 10th will be well off to the left. But interestingly enough, it may give you a chance to see the star Antares. Now Antares\u00a0 one of those stars that\u2019s gradually sliding into the evening twilight sky and will be lost. And so it is getting difficult to see. But because of the position of Venus and the Moon on the 9th and the 10th the Moon and Venus will be either side of Antares, Antares is below them, in fact it\u2019s nearly level with Venus. So I would use a pair of binoculars, find Venus first, make sure, of course, the sun set. You know, we always have to make sure that the sun is set with this I don\u2019t want you to sweep up the sun, burn your eyeballs out. That would be terrible, wouldn\u2019t it? But if you use Venus as a guide, then gently sweep to the left. You might pick up a lone star fainter star, but that will be Antares, say the Moon on the 10th, there\u2019ll be Venus and the Moon and then Antares forming a very shallow triangle actually with them as well. So it might be your last chance to see Antaries. And of course, Antares is the heart of the scorpion, the blazing orange red star, the red supergiant star of Scorpius itself. So that\u2019s in the evening sky, a nice evening one Ezzy. So we don\u2019t have to get up. We\u2019ve been working all diligently through the night, doing our reviews, observing, etc. and then we sleep in during the day because that\u2019s what a lot of professional astronomers do. You know, they\u2019re working through the night and they sleep during the day sort of thing. Gosh, it plays havoc with your biorhythms. I can tell you from my own experience.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>Really does, especially if you\u2019ve already flown halfway around the world. So you\u2019re jet lagged for two days, then you\u2019re on the night shift for a week and then you\u2019re back on holiday and then you\u2019re back in the UK on UK time. Not that I speak from experience.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>I was just going to say, does this sound familiar? This sounds like practical experience you\u2019ve gone through, which I think you have on<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>Observing on Mauna Kea, which is, I think the twelve hour time difference to the UK and then constantly shifting. And by the end of that, when I came back, I have no idea where I was or what time it was or what was going on. My body was very confused.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>Shall I up you on that one? I\u2019ll tell you, ah, if you want to do something like that, me and Pete Lawrence flew out with a certain company to see the eclipse in China. And that was quite something because we literally flew out, had the day literally half a day before the eclipse, saw the eclipse the next day and then the next day we had to fly back all the way from China. You know, it\u2019d be nice to have had a bit of time to explore a bit more, but it was fascinating as such. But it takes it out of you, doesn\u2019t it, sort of thing with all these travelling sort of thing. So back to the well, it\u2019s not quite the evening sky, it\u2019s late evening into the morning sky. October 10th to11th. Now Uranus will be at opposition next month, early on next month in actual fact. So it\u2019s getting to the point where it\u2019s visible almost all night. So he\u2019s getting better placed to view. It\u2019ll be a little bit better in November and December, I have to say, because then it moves into the evening sky properly. That\u2019s more of a convenient time, isn\u2019t it? But I always like it when these distant planets are close to stars that are the similar sort of brightness and they\u2019re very close to them. We have an example with Uranus on October the 10th, 11th that night, you look through the night. So things are going to stay up if you want, so that our choice is yours. So Uranus is actually just above Omicron Arietis. Now, Uranus is magnitude 5.6 because it\u2019s close to opposition. So it\u2019s virtually at its brightest now, magnitude five point six. Some would cluster as naked. I usually they often say from a very dark sky, you can argue that magnitude six is the limit. You should be able to see something brighter than magnitude six. I have to say, I\u2019ve struggled. I have seen Uranus with the naked eye before. I had to wear glasses. So I have managed it a few times sort of thing. But you need a blank area sky. Ideally, we no other stars similar to it. So this is a bit of an oddity because there is a star similar to it. It\u2019s magnitude 5.7 Omicron Arietis, so it\u2019s a tenth of a magnitude. So the question here and the challenge I think here is can you tell the difference between the two? Can you tell that difference in a tenth of magnitude? I used to be able to. And I\u2019ll be honest, I don\u2019t think I can do it anymore. I\u2019m getting old, you know. But your eyes do age. And so you have to bear that in mind sort of thing. So, you know, I used to do tenths of magnitude. I used to do magnitude estimates and I could do it to a tenth of magnitude. I was quite proud of that. And, you know, it helps with observations like for the BAA. So this would be an interesting test because, as I say, Uranus will be directly above Omicron Arietus and it will be a tenth of a difference. So you should see I would use binoculars, but you should see two stars, equal brightness near enough. And the question will be, will you be able to tell which one is slightly fainter? And in theory, it should be the one below, it should be Omicron. That is actually very, very slightly fainter with any look, you might pick up a greenish tinge for Uranus as well, because that\u2019s the classic thing. We\u2019ve often called it the Green Planet and with good reason because a lot of methane in the atmosphere and that tends to give it this greenish colour. It is absorbs a lot of the wavelengths and the green is part of the railings that get reflected back to us. So I have to say it. I have suspected it in binoculars. I find it better in telescopes, the green colour. I do notice a greenish hue. It Is a bit like Neptune being blue \u2013 I see it more in a telescope, that I notice the hue. But I again, just see what you think, what not with binoculars or if you use a telescope and see whether a) you can detect that difference in magnitude and b) whether you can see the change in colour, the difference in colour between the two. Because I think colour is interesting. It\u2019s very subjective. Everybody\u2019s vision is totally different. So I can say something that looks a certain colour and they can look at it. It\u2019s like now what he got on, what\u2019s he been on sort of thing. But, you know, it\u2019s just down to everybody\u2019s eyes are subtly different. So that\u2019s Uranus then, it\u2019s not quite the last planet in the Solar System, but, you know, it is there and it\u2019s quite distant. So, you know, another little goal, if you\u2019ve never seen Uranus, he\u2019s better when he\u2019s near a star. Okeydokey, now we\u2019re always looking for the Moon. I mean the Moon, I always think of in astronomy, if you can\u2019t find the moon, take up another hobby. Unless it\u2019s cloudy. I\u2019ll get I\u2019ll let you off if it\u2019s cloudy.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>If it\u2019s cloudy or there\u2019s, like, a building in the way.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>Yeah, exactly. Sort of thing. But otherwise if you\u2019ve got a clear sky and can\u2019t find the moon. You need to take something else up as a hobby because you know, this is why I like to use the Moon as a guide to the other planets, because it does. This is why we say that about Venus in the early evening sky. And as we get to October the 13th through to the 15th, the Moon passes Saturn and Jupiter. Now, on the 13th, this is now in the evening sky because they are all past opposition sort of thing. So we\u2019re looking at sort of like Saturn is to the upper left of the Moon on the 13th itself. Now, as it happens on the 13th, the Moon is at first quarter. So it looks like a half phase moon in actual fact. So you\u2019ll see the half moon and then Saturn to its upper left. Now, the next night, the Moon will form a triangle with Saturn and Jupiter because interestingly enough, Saturn and Jupiter are gradually getting further apart. Now, we had the great conjunction last year, if you remember in December. It was absolutely fantastic. I mean, it was clear as high as it was clear. We had a special event and it was clear I was in shock. I think I think most of the country of the astronomers were actually in shock if they got clear skies. But at that time sort of thing, they were really close. But this gives us, again, another sense of the clockwork motion of the solar system, because Jupiter is pulling away. Jupiter is a closer planet to us. So it\u2019s apparent motion in the sky is a lot faster. And so Saturn is on one side of Capricornus, Jupiter now is on the other side of Capricornus and gradually getting further and further away from Saturn. So so the moon on the 14th, well, actually, life forming a triangle would be lower than both planets sort of thing, but it\u2019ll be in the centre near enough of Capricornus. And so you\u2019ll get a nice conjunction there between Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon. And then to cap it off, Jupiter is actually sort of like quite close to two reasonably bright stars in Capricornus: Delta and\u00a0 Gamma Capricorni. Now is directly above Gamma Capricorni, which makes it useful. It forms this triangle with them. But then on the fifteenth, it\u2019s sort of like formed a diamond. So you\u2019ve got Jupiter, the two stars, and then the moon below it as well. So you\u2019ve got a nice diamond formation sort of thing, slightly distorted admittedly. It\u2019s not a perfect diamond, but I always like these patterns in the sky sort of thing, you know, and because the Moon is moving and Jupiter is moving, you know, these patterns won\u2019t repeat. You won\u2019t get that diamond again. As far as I know, you won\u2019t get it at all this year again. So grab it now while you actually can. So that\u2019s the moon as a great guide for us.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>Now. We\u2019ve had Venus in the evening sky, but we get Mercury, the innermost planet, but sadly, yes, you\u2019ve guessed it, it\u2019s not in the evening sky at al it\u2019s in the morning sky. But this is the best morning aperition of the year. Mercury has two good apperitions per year, one in the evening sky, which is usually March or April time and one in the morning sky. And this is the moment when we start. Around about midmonth, October 15th it\u2019ll be very low down. Now, the thing about the mercury apperition in the morning skies, it\u2019s always fainter at the start of the aperaition and gets brighter through the middle and towards the end. Now, towards the end, it also suffers because it starts to get low in the sky and we have the atmospheric extinction taking place. But it\u2019s actually in the morning sky and it rises quite quickly, gets higher and higher. And at one point when it reaches the greatest elongation west, which is October 25th, it\u2019ll be 18 degrees away from the sun. But because the ecliptic is quite steep, that is good for us. So that means Murka gets quite high. In fact, it rises at its best two hours before the Sun. So it\u2019s not often we can say that sort of thing because it\u2019s usually quite, quite close to the sun. But it\u2019s still in twilight. But it will be a good apparition, but it stretches into November as well. So, you know, if you\u2019ve never seen the entire inferior planet, innermost planet of our solar system, Mercury, you like getting up in the morning. This is the apperition to get. Otherwise, you\u2019ll have to wait for the evening and spring time next year, in fact, to see it. But I always say it\u2019s nice to see Mercury because, I mean, you know, it\u2019s it\u2019s a they\u2019re all friends, you know, the planets. And and I have to say, when they when they\u2019ve disappeared into the Twilight I long to wait to see them come back, so it\u2019s nice to get Mercury back into the sky and have a good operations where it isn\u2019t clinging to the horizon like Venus is doing at the moment. At least Venus compensates by being bright sort of thing. So, yeah, in the morning twilight from october 15 onwards, I would say s you want to wait two or three days, probably October 20th onwards through to about the well, probably the first week of November. And that\u2019s the best period for actually Mercury this particular time. But yeah, it is a nice morning apperition. And so if you like walking the dog, I mean, a lot of people do get up and early morning stretch sort of thing a stroll and make sure you look towards the east, south east, and you might see a little star there on the horizon sort of thing, you know, and if it isn\u2019t a jet plane and a glint of light. But it will be mercury because mercury will be up in the morning sky. So, yes, it\u2019ll be a welcome return. And I say this one\u2019s a few weeks up. So technically, if you go from its first\u2026 If you do get it on the 15th, it\u2019s visible until about November 14th. So you\u2019ve nearly got potentially a month to observe it. But I say it\u2019s round about towards the end of October 20th onwards through to the first week of November, but it\u2019s actually at its best to observe. So there are so that\u2019s that\u2019s Mercury. So Mercury is is often considered because it\u2019s in twilight. Oh, you don\u2019t often see it, but actually it\u2019s naked eye. You know, it is a naked eye planet. And when you spot it, you think, how could I have missed that, you know? So when you can see it, you know, it is quite bright. But on October 16th \u2013 this is a challenge. This is a challenge for you because it\u2019s again, it\u2019s one of those things. it\u2019s sort of in the morning sky. Such a riot. Try for this. But you remember the Rosetta mission. Now, you wrote a lot about the Rosetta mission, didn\u2019t you?<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>I did.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>Didn\u2019t you Ezzy. So, I mean, it was all the rage just a few years ago. Thing with little under Philae as well sort of thing where they went to the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko.\u00a0 I always never know whether I pronounce that right. But they are. That\u2019s my go. Otherwise known as Comet 67 P, That\u2019s a lot easier to say, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 But the comet is returning now. It\u2019s going to be faint. It\u2019s about estimated to be magnitude ten. But the other thing that makes this interesting is it right next to Messier 35. The open cluster in Gemini, in fact it\u2019s the feet of castro. So if you\u2019re into faint comet sort of thing in conjunction with an interest in deep sky object, then this is the time to get it. And I\u2019ve already got a few friends in September who have actually imaged the comet already, so I know imagers are going to be able to get that. Being magnitude 10, yes, it would be a reasonable sized telescope to pick it out, but it\u2019ll be fascinating to see this distant interloper amongst the stars or close to the edge of Messiah 35 in Gemini as well. So it is a bit of a challenge, but we like to give a few challenges, though we shouldn\u2019t make it too easy every month. Good grief.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>There\u2019s a lot of astronomers, professional astronomers as well, who are very happy that the 67P is coming back in because it gets lets them have a second look at it.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>Exactly. You know, I mean, I don\u2019t know whether there\u2019s any chance of I don\u2019t don\u2019t think there\u2019s any chance of communicating Rosetta. I think he\u2019s dead, isn\u2019t it, on the surface now of the comet? But but it would have been great if it got a little bleep because something\u2019s acting up upon something sparking and it makes a connection. The little bleep saying, I\u2019m here, I\u2019m here.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>Unfortunately, it was landed on the surface of the comet. And spacecraft don\u2019t tend to do too well when you leave them on a massive lump of ice in deep space for six and a half years.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>Yes, exactly. Throw it out dust and all sorts from it as well. Sure. Think is pretty well scoured by now. Well, sort thing.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>But if anybody at home is getting particularly interested about Churyumov-Gerasimenko and wants to learn a bit more about it, then I suggest looking out for the November issue when it comes back. Not not that I\u2019m giving any spoilers here, but we might have something in there.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>I had a feeling there might be something, because it is a it is now a famous comet. To have a spacecraft orbit it and have a little lander as well. You know, that was quite an achievement. Well done ESA, for doing that. So we\u2019re getting towards the end of the month now on October 21st, we actually have an interesting situation whereby, again, if you\u2019ve not seen Uranus and it didn\u2019t find Uranus before, when it was both Omicron Arietus, the Moon, which is full on the 20th the next morning. So it\u2019s a pretty full moon, lies directly below Uranus. So that helps. And it\u2019s between Uranus and Mu Ceti sort of thing, which always seems to be something about that star Mu Ceti, that I featured a lot in my own books. As such, when I\u2019m doing it. I think it\u2019s because Uranus is gradually coasting above that particular star. So it becomes quite well because we keep revisiting the same area of the sky. And it\u2019s an easy way to home in on Uranus by using this naked eye star in the head of Cetus. On the 22nd the moon is then sort to the lower right of the Pleiades. So this is M45. I mean, you know, the moon light is bright, but you should see this faint little sparkly cluster of stars and of course binoculars will show it up really well. And I always like it because you have a sequence then on the 21st, next to Uranus, below Uranus on the 22nd, to the lower right of the Pleides. On the 23rd its sort of forming a very shallow triangle actually with Aldebaran that is the red eye, the bull sort of thing. And although I think it looks more orange personally, you know, but you\u2019ve got the moon there, the Pleiades and Aldebaran. Of course Aldebaran is part of the Hyades. The cluster of stars there, which is named eye and looks more like a triangle. Of course, we know that Aldebaran is not actually a true memeber, it\u2019s half the distance, in fact. So it\u2019s not a true member at all. And then after that, the next night, for an added\u2026 I mean, it\u2019s up to you, but the moon forms a bit of a triangle with the two horns of the bull, Alnath and Zeta Tauri sort of thing. So it\u2019s a nice little sequence where you can follow the moon if you get clear nights on successive nights. Haha I know, I know. Get cloudwatch UK out again. Now on the 28th, we have a bit of a jump because there isn\u2019t that many events after that. But on the twenty eight I was like lineups I don\u2019t know about you, but when we get sort of like a line up of celestial objects and in this particular case the moon again is in the morning sky and as it happens, getting close to last quarter and it\u2019s actually directly below and then in line up with Castor and Pollux and Gemini and their two bright stars, the twins of Gemini itself. So you really want to be looking from midnight on the 20th. So that\u2019s the night of the twenty seventh into the twenty eight to actually see that. And it will form a line up sort of thing. It also forms a bit of a sort of like diamond because you\u2019ve actually got Kappa and Pollocks, you\u2019ve got the Moon. I forget the other star now and I think it\u2019s Tau or Eta Geminorum. but so you know I always forget that middle one because we hardly ever discuss it. It\u2019s one of those stars whereby you point out people say, is that one interesting. It\u2019s like no. I mean you have to be honest.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>All stars are interesting.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>And I know it\u2019s spectroscopically that would be interesting but visually.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>Some are more interesting than others.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>It\u2019s a dot. Let\u2019s face it, their dots. Exactly when that doubles or triples that, they get interesting really, or variables as such. But now it\u2019s always nice to watch this and as I say it will be a line up with Castor and Pollux as well. So we are getting towards the end of the month, but we started the month with Eta Leonis and the actual occultation. Now, if an event occurs at the beginning of the month because of the lunar month, because the time it takes the Moon to go around the Earth and come back to the same place, that is where we get month from, of course. And so you find that if they\u2019re on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd, there\u2019s a good chance on the 29th, 30th and 31st of a month, they\u2019ll be in a similar area and so on the 30th to the 31st we actually have the thick crescent moon to the right of Eta this time to the right actually of the sickle of Leo and to the right, actually upper right of Regulus. And then on the 31st is almost level with Reguls on the other side, on the left hand side to finish the month off. So it\u2019s always interesting when you get them at the beginning of the month, at the end of the month, you feel like you\u2019re getting two bites at the cherry. But it\u2019s not this time. We don\u2019t get an occultation though. If you get an occultation one time, you won\u2019t by definition get an occultation the next time. The orbital period of the moon just doesn\u2019t work like that as such. But I always thought, nah, it\u2019s nice when it starts and ends with the same patch of sky. So we feel that we\u2019ve done a complete circuit, aren\u2019t we? But would you believe we have. So there we are. That\u2019s the main event really for the actual month itself. A lot to look out for.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>So there we have it, there\u2019s lots going on this month, as you just said, on the 3rd October, we have the Moon, occulting the star Eta. If you\u2019re in the southern part of the U.K., for those in the north, you might be able to see it blinking in and out amongst the mountains and hills and valleys of the moon. Then on the 8th, we have the Draconids meteor shower, which will definitely be worth a look. Over the following weeks there\u2019s going to be appearances from a whole bevy of planets from Venus and Uranus, Jupiter, Saturn, even Mercury and Mars as well. So that\u2019s. That\u2019s pretty much all of them, apart from Neptune, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Money <\/strong>And Neptune was the opposition last month, so we only missed out because it got a lot of attention last month as such. But it\u2019s visible in Aquarius. So, you know, it\u2019s just harder with the moon near the moon washes it out.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ezzy Pearson <\/strong>So if you fancy having a planetary month, October seems like a good one. You can get them all in. And you might also be able to get a glimpse of the comet 67P\/Churyumov Gerasimenko on the 16th October, which will be passing close by to M35 as it makes its way towards perihelion. Then on the 22nd, you unfortunately won\u2019t be able to see the Orion, its meteor shower too well, you might be able to see one or two, but you could get to see the Pleiades and the Moon passing by the Pleiades the 22nd.\u00a0 Then on the twenty eighth, we have a nice, stellar line-up as the moon makes a line with Castor and Pollux. So whatever you want to get a look at, whether it\u2019s its stars or solar system objects, there\u2019s loads to see in the night sky this month. If you want to find out even more spectacular satellites that will be gracing the night sky this month, then be sure to pick up a copy of BBC Sky at Night magazine. We have a 16 page Pull-Out Sky guide with a full overview of everything that\u2019s worth looking up for in October 2021. Whether you like to look at the moon, the planets or the deep sky, whether you use binoculars, telescopes or neither, our guide has got you covered with detailed star charts to help you track your way across the night sky. So thank you very much, Paul, for telling us all about that. So hopefully some of you listening at home will be able to get out there and observe something great this month. So from all of us here at BBC Sky Night magazine, goodbye<\/p>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Ezzy Pearson Published: Wednesday, 29 September 2021 at 12:00 am In the October 2021 episode of Star Diary we\u2019re looking forward to more beautiful occultations and conjunctions, as well as the Draconid meteor shower and views of the planet Venus. \u00a0 Bookmark the Star Diary podcast page and never miss an episode! Transcript Ezzy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"32"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":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":"By Ezzy Pearson Published: Wednesday, 29 September 2021 at 12:00 am In the October 2021 episode of Star Diary we\u2019re looking forward to more beautiful occultations and conjunctions, as well as the Draconid meteor shower and views of the planet Venus. \u00a0 Bookmark the Star Diary podcast page and never miss an episode! Transcript Ezzy…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/24988"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}