astronomy
By Clair Wardla e w
The
Night Sky THIS MONTH, ONCE AGAIN, WE HAVE MANY OBJECTS AND EVENTS TO LOOK FORWARD TO
W
e can watch a Blue Moon rising on Halloween, see the spectacular salmon pink colour of a brightening Mars, enjoy one of the best meteor showers this year emanating from the constellation of Orion, and explore the beautiful 'Winged Horse' constellation which is positioned close to our nearest galaxy neighbour- Andromeda.
Regulus and Algieba - look towards the east. The waxing Moon will be passing close to Saturn and Jupiter from the 21st to 23rd, looking towards the south around 8pm. The Moon and Mars will again be close together in the eastern evening sky on 29th at around 8pm. Meteor Shower in October
The Orionids, so called as they seemingly emanate from the constellation of Orion, are best viewed when the constellation has The first of two full moons of the month risen further above the horizon. This will be on the 1st around 10pm. A treat shower can have around 25 meteors per coming up will be a 'Blue Moon' (song hour. They are very fast and can have anyone?). The name of Blue Moon is given persistent trains. The peak for these to a second full moon in one calendar meteors will last for a week from 20th to month or the third of four full moons in a 27th. The Moon will be brightening in its season. This month the Blue Moon will phase so it will be easier to catch a occur on the 31st, rising in a Halloween sky shooting star on and will be full just 20th. These before 4pm. You won't Our continued desire to study and the meteors are see a blue colouring, although this can occur if explore Mars saw the launch this associated with the July of three missions Comet 1P/Halley. atmospherics are When planning affected by, for example, your night with the meteors do ensure you volcanic eruptions. The darkest skies this have allowed your eyes to become dark month will be from around the 10th to adjusted, lie back on the ground or on a 23rd, when the moon phases are less deckchair and observe as wide an area of bright. The planets will be beautiful this the sky as possible. month. Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars will all be visible and will form a variety of A Mars Special conjunctions with other celestial objects. The stunning red planet of Mars will be at Firstly we turn to Venus. On the morning 'Opposition' this month. This is when the of the 3rd at around 5.30am, she will be Earth sits directly between the Sun and close to the star Regulus (in Leo) when Mars and as a result will make it easier to rising in the east. A little later on the same observe. As the planets do not have morning, looking south west, the Moon completely circular orbits - they travel in and Mars will appear very close together in ellipses - at times they will appear bigger a brightening sky. On the mornings of the when closer to the Earth. This also makes 13th and 14th a pretty crescent Moon will be positioned close to Venus and the stars observations much easier and more The Moon and Planets in October
Claire Wardlaw, originally from Edinburgh, lives in the Charente with her husband. Since their move over 4 years ago, Claire has become passionate about astronomy.
rewarding. When a planet is closest to the Earth in its orbit it is said to be at 'Perihelion'. Both of these events occur this month. 'Opposition' for the planet of Mars will occur on 13th and 'Perihelion' on 6th. Mars has been brightening through the month of September, surpassing the brightness of Jupiter by month end. It will truly be a spectacular sight. We have been fascinated by the planet for a very long time and our continued desire to study and explore Mars saw the launch this July of three missions. These missions named Hope, Tianwen-1 and Nasa's 'Perseverance' rover will have a variety of goals: studying the weather and climate, searching for landing sites for a future rover, and the NASA rover collecting rock and soil samples to return to Earth in a future mission. MARS FACTS! DID YOU KNOW….? − Mars is almost half the size of the Earth − The temperature on the surface ranges from -153 degrees to 20 degrees − A year lasts 687 days − Mars has the largest volcano in our solar system - 'Olympus Mons', 25km high − It is the fourth planet from the sun orbiting at an average 228 million km − The atmosphere on Mars is around 96% Carbon dioxide − Mars has 2 Moons: Phobos and Deimos Sketching Fun Whether you are new to the world of stargazing or you are a seasoned astronomer, taking the time to sit back and look at the night sky with paper and pencil in hand can be a great fun way to see, look and learn. This can be a good introduction to the world of Astronomy for children (particularly if they get to stay up late!). Find a dark spot on a clear night and begin to look up. With imaginations at the ready start to add the star patterns, shapes and designs you can spot in small areas of the sky. While many of these already have names and numbers associated with them, can you see any objects, patterns, shapes or animals of your own? Give them your own names and maybe even add stories about them. Do you see Lions, Swans, Fish, Hunters or Bears? Or do you see something else? People have been
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