In the Sky This Month

Fantasy Autumn in Blue - My Entry #1

In the Sky This Month

A giant mythological soap opera stretches up the eastern half of the sky on October nights, encompassing five major constellations: Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Cepheus, Cetus, and Perseus. In the tale, Cassiopeia, queen of Ethiopia, claimed that she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. The nymphs complained to the god Poseidon, who sent the sea monster Cetus to ravage the country. To save his people, King Cepheus chained his daughter Andromeda at the seashore as a sacrifice. At the last second, though, she was rescued by Perseus, who flashed the snake-topped head of Medusa at Cetus, turning the monster to stone.

October 5: More Moon and Regulus

Regulus, the bright star that represents the heart of Leo, the lion, will stand to the upper right of the crescent Moon at first light tomorrow.

October 6: Pole Stars

The Big Dipper is plunging toward the horizon as night falls now, as if it’s about to dip into a pail of cool water. Line up the stars at the leading edge of the dipper’s bowl, and follow that line to the upper right to reach Polaris, the Pole Star.

October 7: Spring Stars

The Sun is moving across Virgo this week. Today, it’s not far from Virgo’s brightest star, Spica. We can’t see it because of Earth’s blue skies. If you look at the sky at midnight six months from now, though, you’ll see today’s noontime stars.

October 8: Draconid Meteors

The unpredictable Draconid meteor shower should be at its best tonight. It could produce anything from no meteors at all to an outburst of hundreds. They are best observed before midnight.

October 9: Capricornus

Despite its fame as a member of the zodiac, Capricornus is tough to see. It’s the smallest member of the zodiac, and one of the faintest. It forms a distinctive pattern, though, like the bottom of a bikini bathing suit.

October 10: Messier 30

A cluster from another galaxy scoots across the south on October evenings. Messier 30, in the lower left corner of Capricornus, is a family of hundreds of thousands of stars. They probably came from another galaxy, which was consumed by the Milky Way.

October 11: Moon and Jupiter

Brilliant Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, lines up below the Moon in early evening. It looks like a brilliant star, with a bit of a creamy color.

Source

Star Date