By Duncan Lunan

The Moon will be New on October 6^th, and Full on October 20^th.  The crescent Moon will be near Venus on the 9^th , and the First Quarter Moon will be to the right of Jupiter and Saturn on the 13^th.  On the 22^nd the waning Moon will be near the Pleiades, and above to the left of the Hyades cluster and Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus, on the 23^rd, after which it will be in line with Castor and Pollux in Gemini on the 27^th. Clocks go back at 2 am on the 31^st; when we revert to ‘real time’  (GMT/UT)  with the Sun due south at midday.

Although not visible, the planet Mercury is passed by the Moon on the 6^th and is at inferior conjunction, on this side of the Sun on the 9^th.  It then moves to the morning sky, first appearing in mid-October and making its best morning appearance of the year.  (For a full explanation, see the detailed article in the October issue of Astronomy Now.)  Mercury is furthest from the Sun on October 25^th.   

Venus is still low in the west, passing above Antares in Scorpius on October 16^th, but getting brighter as it draws nearer to us.  Venus is passed by the Moon on the 9^th, and at its maximum elongation from the Sun on October 29^th.  

Mars is out of sight when passed by the Moon on the 6^th, and it reaches superior conjunction with the Sun on the 8^th, when communication with the rovers on the surface will temporarily be cut off.  Curiosity, Perseverance and Zhurong are all doing well, though, and expected to resume contact in due course.

Jupiter is moving westward in Capricornus, changing direction after October 18^th  (see below), and sets around 2 am, passed by the Moon on October 15^th.   

Saturn in mid-Capricornus, to the right of Jupiter, and it too reverts to direct motion after October 11^th.  Saturn sets at midnight and is passed by the Moon on the 13^th and 14^th.

Uranus in Aries rises at 6.30 pm.  Uranus is near the Moon on the 24^th.   

Neptune in Aquarius sets at 4.30 am, near the Moon on the 17^th.  After being passed by the Earth recently, all four gas giant planets have been appearing to move westward  (retrograde), and Uranus and Neptune will continue to do so throughout October.

The Orionid meteors from Halley’s Comet peak on the night of 21^st/22^nd  October.  The meteors are not expected to be numerous, with the comet now beyond the orbit of Neptune and nearing its furthest from the Sun, but in addition this year’s display will be spoiled by moonlight.  There are two other meteor showers occurring in October:  the first is the Draconids, from Comet Giacobini-Zinner, which was the second comet to be visited by Europe’s Giotto mission, after Halley’s Comet.  The peak of the shower is on the evening of October 8^th, but don’t expect more than a few meteors per hour.  The same applies to the Taurids, which peak on October 10^th, but can be seen individually at any time between September 10^th and October 20^th.   Taurid meteors can be spectacular, so it’s worth keeping an eye open for them.

The Taurid meteors come from Encke’s Comet, which has been captured by Jupiter into orbit in the inner Solar System, coming back every three years or so.  NASA tried to reach it with a mission called Contour in 2002, but the probe failed on the way there.  Dr. Alan Cayless of the Open University  (a regular speaker at the Astronomers of the Future Club in Troon)  is currently taking two student groups through an exercise to design an Encke’s Comet mission – only a paper study, but who knows where it might lead?  

Meetings of the Astronomers of the Future Club have resumed on a trial basis, at 7.15 pm on the last Wednesday evening of the month, at the RSAS Barassie Works Club, 4 Shore Road, Troon KA10 6AG.  On September 29^th I was the speaker, talking about the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua, which may have been an extraterrestrial solar sail.  My paper on the subject was published in the online journal Concatenation on September 14^th, and can be accessed at http://www.concatenation.org/science/lunan-oumuamua-visitor.html.  On October 27^th the guest will be Prof. Colin McInnes of Glasgow University, talking about settlements in space.

Duncan Lunan’s most recent book, The Other Side of the Interface, was published by Other Side Books at the beginning of the year, and is available through Amazon or through bookshops, or from the publishers.  For details and for his other books see Duncan’s website, www.duncanlunan.com.