Astroblog: Thursday October 17 to Thursday October 24

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Thursday October 17 to Thursday October 24

The Full Moon is Thursday October 17. This is a perigee ("super") Moon. The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday October 24. Comet C/2023 A3 has been low in the evening twilight is rising into darker skies, but fading as it goes. Venus is in the head of the Scorpion with Mercury low in the twilight below Venus. Mars and Jupiter continue to draw apart. The Moon is near Jupiter on the 21st and 22nd and Mars forms a triangle with the bright stars Castor and Pollux.

The Full Moon is Thursday October 17. This is a perigee ("super") Moon as perigee, when the Moon is closest to the earth, is also on the 17th. The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday October 24.

Western evening sky on Sunday, October 20 as seen from Adelaide at 20:32 ACDST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Venus is readily visible and is now visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus is in the head of the Scorpion, close to the bright star delta Scorpii. Mercury and Comet C/2023 A3 are below it.

You may need binoculars to see the comet. It might be possible to see the comets tail after the head has set as twilight deepens. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

The north-eastern sky at 21:03 ACDST Saturday, October 19 as seen from Adelaide (90 minutes after sunset).

Saturn is just past opposition and is visible all night long. The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

North-eastern morning sky on Tuesday, October 22 as seen from Adelaide at 05:28 ACDST (60 minutes before sunrise), Mars and Jupiter form a line with the red star Aldebaran. Mars forms a shallow triangle with the bright stars Castor and Pollux. The moon is near Jupiter (also on the 21st)

The inset is the telescope view of the Jupiter at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

Eastern evening sky on Saturday, October 19 as seen from Adelaide at 20:15 ACDST (45 minutes after sunset), C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be unaided eye visible in the twilight. The chart shows the position of the comet every night over the coming week.

Some spectacular photos are emerging, but they are all long exposures, and the unaided eye view may be less impressive, but still well worth viewing although binoculars are advised. The comet is rising higher into the darker twilight, but fading as it goes.

Detailed printable charts are at my comet page.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (45 minutes before sunrise).

Whole sky on Saturday, October 19 as seen from Adelaide at 20:55 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Saturn is now above the northeastern horizon as Venus sets on the western horizon. Scorpius is now prominent in the west with the heart of the milky way now just off the zenith. The Southern Cross is low in the Southern sky. The moon is rising later and the fainter clusters and nebulae are once again coming into view.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is now visible in the evening twilight below Venus.

Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is readily visible in the evening twilight. Venus is in the head of the Scorpion this week.

Mars is rising in the morning sky and near Jupiter. The pair continue to draw apart as as Mars passes through Gemini forming a shallow triangle with Castor and Pollux.

Jupiter is rising in the the morning twilight sky. Jupiter is below the red star Aldebaran forming a line with Mars. The Moon is near Jupiter on the 21st and 22nd.

Saturn climbs higher in the evening sky. Saturn is visible all night long.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky