Day: October 15, 2021

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

NGC 289: Swirl in the Southern Sky

Image Credit & Copyright: Mike SelbyExplanation: About 70 million light-years distant, gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 289 is larger than our own Milky Way. Seen nearly face-on, its bright core and colorful central disk give way to remarkably faint, bluish spiral arms. The extensive arms sweep well over 100 thousand light-years from the galaxy’s center. At the lower right in this sharp, telescopic galaxy portrait the main spiral arm seems to encounter a small, fuzzy elliptical companion galaxy interacting with enormous NGC 289. Of course spiky stars are in the foreground of the scene. They lie within the Milky Way toward the southern constellation Sculptor.

16 October Southern Hemisphere Current Moon Phase and Planetary Positions

Moon Goddess’ Current Phase

Click here to find out the Moon phase for anyone’s birth date.

From Moongiant.com

Today the Moon will be in a Waxing Gibbous phase. This phase is when the moon is more than 50% illuminated but not yet a Full Moon. The phase lasts about 7 days with the moon becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon. During a Waxing Gibbous the moon rises in the east in mid-afternoon and is high in the eastern sky at sunset. The moon is then visible through most of the night sky setting a few hours before sunrise. The word Gibbous first appeared in the 14th century and has its roots in the Latin word “gibbosus” meaning humpbacked.

Visit the October 2021 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waxing Gibbous Phase

The Waxing Gibbous on October 16 has an illumination of 83%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On October 16 the Moon is 10.82 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details

Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 83%
Moon Age: 10.82 days
Moon Angle: 0.52
Moon Distance: 381,829.22 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 149,091,395.10 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

Custom Planetary Positions

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

For Your Local Time and DateDate

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

16 October 2021
05:00 am GMT 4:00 PM AEDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:23 Libra 03
Moon:01 Pisces 27
Mercury:10 Libra 40 Rx
Venus:09 Sagittarius 27
Mars:20 Libra 24
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 20 Rx
Saturn:06 Aquarius 54
Uranus:13 Taurus 35 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 58 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 20
True Lunar Node:02 Gemini 27 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:03 Gemini 36 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):09 Gemini 57
Chiron:10 Aries 06 Rx
Ceres:11 Gemini 58 Rx
Pallas:10 Pisces 44 Rx
Juno:20 Sagittarius 36
Vesta:13 Scorpio 15
Eris:24 Aries 15 Rx
Fire:4
Earth:2
Air:9
Water:4
Cardinal:6
Fixed:4
Mutable:9

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao, Pablo, Brizal, South America

16 October 2021
07:00 pm GMT 4:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:23 Libra 38
Moon:09 Pisces 05
Mercury:10 Libra 27 Rx
Venus:10 Sagittarius 04
Mars:20 Libra 48
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 20 Rx
Saturn:06 Aquarius 54
Uranus:13 Taurus 33 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 57 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 20
True Lunar Node:02 Gemini 24 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:03 Gemini 34 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):10 Gemini 01
Chiron:10 Aries 04 Rx
Ceres:11 Gemini 57 Rx
Pallas:10 Pisces 39 Rx
Juno:20 Sagittarius 47
Vesta:13 Scorpio 33
Eris:24 Aries 14 Rx
Fire:4
Earth:2
Air:9
Water:4
Cardinal:6
Fixed:4
Mutable:9

October 15 Northern Hemisphere Current Moon Phase and Planetary Positions

Moon Goddess’ Current Phase

Click here to find out the Moon phase for anyone’s birth date.

The Moon’s current phase for today and tonight is a Waxing Gibbous phase. This phase is when the moon is more than 50% illuminated but not yet a Full Moon. The phase lasts about 7 days with the moon becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon. During a Waxing Gibbous the moon rises in the east in mid-afternoon and is high in the eastern sky at sunset. The moon is then visible through most of the night sky setting a few hours before sunrise. The word Gibbous first appeared in the 14th century and has its roots in the Latin word “gibbosus” meaning humpbacked.

Visit the October 2021 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waxing Gibbous Phase

The Waxing Gibbous on October 15 has an illumination of 75%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On October 15 the Moon is 9.82 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details For – October 15

Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 75%
Moon Age: 9.82 days
Moon Angle: 0.53
Moon Distance: 377,160.17 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 149,133,736.11 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

Custom Planetary Positions

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

For Your Local Time and Date

Northwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Denver, Colorado, USA

October 15, 2021
08:00 pm GMT 3:00 PM MT (Mountain Time)
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:22 Libra 41
Moon:26 Aquarius 30
Mercury:10 Libra 51 Rx
Venus:09 Sagittarius 03
Mars:20 Libra 10
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 20 Rx
Saturn:06 Aquarius 54
Uranus:13 Taurus 36 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 58 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 20
True Lunar Node:02 Gemini 29 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:03 Gemini 37 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):09 Gemini 55
Chiron:10 Aries 06 Rx
Ceres:11 Gemini 59 Rx
Pallas:10 Pisces 48 Rx
Juno:20 Sagittarius 30
Vesta:13 Scorpio 03
Eris:24 Aries 15 Rx
Fire:4
Earth:2
Air:10
Water:3
Cardinal:6
Fixed:5
Mutable:8

Northeastern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Frankfurt, Germany, Europe

15 October 2021
06:00 pm GMT 8:00 PM CET
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:22 Libra 36
Moon:25 Aquarius 24
Mercury:10 Libra 54 Rx
Venus:08 Sagittarius 58
Mars:20 Libra 06
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 20 Rx
Saturn:06 Aquarius 54
Uranus:13 Taurus 36 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 58 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 20
True Lunar Node:02 Gemini 30 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:03 Gemini 37 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):09 Gemini 54
Chiron:10 Aries 07 Rx
Ceres:12 Gemini 00 Rx
Pallas:10 Pisces 48 Rx
Juno:20 Sagittarius 29
Vesta:13 Scorpio 00
Eris:24 Aries 15 Rx
Fire:4
Earth:2
Air:10
Water:3
Cardinal:6
Fixed:5
Mutable:8

15 October Daily Correspondence Digest for the Southern Hemisphere’s Moon Phase and Planetary Positions

Current Moon Phase

 

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else, you know was on the date the person was born.

From Moongiant.com

Today the Moon will be in a Waxing Gibbous phase. This phase is when the moon is more than 50% illuminated but not yet a Full Moon. The phase lasts about 7 days with the moon becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon. During a Waxing Gibbous the moon rises in the east in mid-afternoon and is high in the eastern sky at sunset. The moon is then visible through most of the night sky setting a few hours before sunrise. The word Gibbous first appeared in the 14th century and has its roots in the Latin word “gibbosus” meaning humpbacked.

Visit the October 2021 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waxing Gibbous Phase

The Waxing Gibbous on October 15 has an illumination of 75%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On October 15 the Moon is 9.82 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details

Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 75%
Moon Age: 9.82 days
Moon Angle: 0.53
Moon Distance: 377,160.17 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 149,133,736.11 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 

15 October 2021
05:00 am GMT 4:00 PM AEDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:22 Libra 04
Moon:18 Aquarius 11
Mercury:11 Libra 13 Rx
Venus:08 Sagittarius 23
Mars:19 Libra 45
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 21 Rx
Saturn:06 Aquarius 54
Uranus:13 Taurus 37 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 59 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 20
True Lunar Node:02 Gemini 32 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:03 Gemini 39 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):09 Gemini 50
Chiron:10 Aries 08 Rx

Ceres:12 Gemini 01 Rx
Pallas:10 Pisces 53 Rx
Juno:20 Sagittarius 19
Vesta:12 Scorpio 43

Eris:24 Aries 15 Rx
Fire:4
Earth:2
Air:10
Water:3
Cardinal:6
Fixed:5
Mutable:8

 Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

15 October 2021
07:00 pm GMT 4:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:22 Libra 38
Moon:25 Aquarius 57
Mercury:10 Libra 53 Rx
Venus:09 Sagittarius 01
Mars:20 Libra 08
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 20 Rx
Saturn:06 Aquarius 54
Uranus:13 Taurus 36 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 58 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 20
True Lunar Node:02 Gemini 29 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:03 Gemini 37 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):09 Gemini 54
Chiron:10 Aries 07 Rx
Ceres:12 Gemini 00 Rx
Pallas:10 Pisces 48 Rx
Juno:20 Sagittarius 29
Vesta:13 Scorpio 01

Eris:24 Aries 15 Rx
Fire:4
Earth:2
Air:10
Water:3
Cardinal:6
Fixed:5
Mutable:8