Title: October Skywatch Highlights
Location: Hawaiian Islands
Date / Time: October 2008
Comments: Our two brightest planets, Venus & Jupiter, grace our early evening sky this month. Shortly after sunset, it's hard to miss VENUS, shining brilliantly low in the west-southwest. Venus (at magnitude -3.9) appears as the brightest object in the night sky, other than the Moon. At the same time, look for JUPITER, the second brightest object, about halfway up in the southwestern sky at dusk. Jupiter appears among the stars of eastern Sagittarius, near the handle of the "teapot" asterism. In early October, Venus & Jupiter will appear approx. 60 degrees apart, (Venus to the right/west of Jupiter). Watch how the two bright planets seem to move closer to each other as the month progresses to where, at the end of the month, they will appear only about 30 degrees apart. On Oct. 26th, Venus will pass just 3 degrees north of Antares, the red supergiant star which is the "heart" of Scorpius, the Scorpion. (AKA: Maui's fishhook). On Oct. 31st, Halloween night, at around 6:45 PM, look for a slender crescent Moon just below Venus and to the left of Antares. Venus will be setting around 8 PM throughout October. Earlier risers will be able to view SATURN, rising in the east by 4:50 AM in early October, & by 3 AM at month's end. Saturn appears to be dimming, as the angle of its rings to our line of sight is steadily decreasing. The rings typically reflect more light than the planet's disk, & since we are approaching a time when the rings will appear edge-on as viewed from Earth. the entire planet seems to fade. Saturn currently appears in the constellation Leo, slightly brighter than Regulus, the star which is the "heart" of the Lion. MERCURY will be visible in the morning sky later in October. From Oct. 22-31, Mercury seems to hang below Saturn, rising just before 5:30AM, nearly due east. On Oct. 25 & 26, look for a crescent Moon between Saturn & Mercury at around 5:50 AM. By month's end, the tiny innermost planet shines as bright as Sirius, the brightest star in our sky. MARS is traveling behind the Sun this month, & will not reappear (in our morning sky) until the end of 2008. On Thursday Oct. 16th, from 10-11:45 PM, the Moon will move across the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters & Makali'i ("little eyes"). This beautiful open star cluster, on the back of Taurus the Bull, is easy to spot with naked eye, & a superb sight through binoculars. It contains about 100 stars (relatives & extended family of the sisters perhaps?) & lies approx. 395 light years from Earth. Watching the Moon glide thru the Pleiades is truly a sight to behold! For further details & an October sky map, visit Bishop Museum Planetarium www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium (bishopmuseum.org).

Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii

 

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