Observing Notes

These sightings are for the middle of the month. There may be variations during the month.

Planets

Neptune is in Capricornus. It rises at 1640 and sets at 0145. It is on the meridian at 2114.

	Rises	Sets	Mag.	Comment
Mercury	0623	1758		- in Virgo
Venus		1912		- in Libra
Mars		1844		- in Virgo/Libra
Jupiter	1910	0216		- crosses the meridian at 1842. It is low in the sky between the Sun and Venus
Saturn	0410	1738		- is in Leo
Uranus	1725	0436		- appears on the meridian at 2303
Neptune	1640	0145		- is in Capricornus - is on the meridian at 2114.

Meteors

The most significant shower this month is the Orionids which peaks around October 22nd. They are active from October 16th to the 27th. They are associated with the parent comet Halley. They are very fast with trains.

The Taurids start to appear on October 20th. This shower has a double radiant and is associated with parent comet Encke

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Stars

Vega, Deneb and Altair are still prominent. Fomalhaut, at magnitude 1.15, is in Pices Austrinus. Aldebaran, in Taurus, has a magnitude of 0.85. It is interesting to know when objects transit and this one crosses the meridian at 0412. Capella, in Auriga, crosses the meridian at 0455 and has a magnitude of 0.05.

Nebulae

The nebula in Orion crosses the meridian at 0505 and has magnitude 8.

Clusters

Open clusters to look for are M26 in Scutum at magnitude 8, M24 in Sagittarius at magnitude 4.6, M14 in Ophiuchus at magnitude 7.6 and M11 in Scutum (the Wild Duck Cluster) at magnitude 5.8. Globular cluster are M15 in Equulius at magnitude 6.4 and M30 in Capricornus at magnitude 7.5..

Galaxies

Look for M31 in Andromeda at magnitude 3.5.

Asteroids

Vesta is the best bet as it has a magnitude of 6.25 in Cetus and crosses the meridian at 0224.

Compiled by Andrew A. Leven

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