Backyard Stargazer – A trip through the October skies
By Francis Parnell
Francis Parnell, the Backyard Stargazer of Darlington
On Oct. 5, it’s “International Observe the Moon Night.”
The Moon is at first quarter, so set up your telescope, use binoculars or gaze at Luna with your naked eyes. In a telescope, craters and mountains along the terminator (sunrise/sunset line) stand out in stark relief. Amazing sight!
At sunset on the 3rd, look southwest to spot Jupiter 2 degrees lower right of the waxing crescent Moon while red Antares is 10 degrees to the pair’s lower right.
Saturn is 2 degrees to the right of the first quarter Moon at sunset on the 5th.
If you have a telescope, set it up, moon gaze for a while, then point it at Saturn.
If you’ve never seen Saturn and its rings in a telescope, you’ll never forget that first view!
On the 13th, the full Moon, about 248,000 miles away, is the smallest of 2019.
Uranus is at opposition, 1,756,864,752 miles (2.6 light-hours) from Earth, on the night of the 28th.
Under dark skies with a good star chart, Uranus can be glimpsed without optical aid when you know exactly where to look.
Just after sunset on the 29th, look toward the west-southwest horizon to find the slim waxing crescent Moon less than 5 degrees to the upper right of bright Venus.
At dusk on the 31st, a fine Moon-Jupiter pairing, with the lunar crescent a few degrees upper left of Jupiter.
FAST FACT: The Darlington Library has a new Starlab portable planetarium. It’s a fantastic educational tool for teaching astronomy to kids and adults. Check the library Facebook page and posted notices in the library for dates and times of shows. You just might see the “BACKYARD STARGAZER” at a Starlab presentation.
Save the stars by reducing light pollution and “Keep looking up!”