| Observatory |
What's Up...
Some observing hilights
to look forward to...
The following tips on current and upcoming astronomical events
have been assembled for our Okanagan region by Dave Gamble
with the objective of giving OC RASC members a heads-up on
special personal astro-experiences to look forward to.
Tues. Oct. 1 - A reminder that we are still in the fall Zodiacal Light season. With the dark moon period underway, if you have dark sky conditions and a clear view of the eastern horizon (or can travel to a location that does, such as our Okanagan Observatory), you might be able to glimpse the ghostly pyramid of faint light which reaches up from the horizon into the constellations Cancer and Gemini before morning twilight sets in. The effect is subtle but dramatic as sunlight reflecting off dust particles in the equatorial plane of the solar system provides the phenomenon.
Wed. Oct. 2 – This is it… New Moon night! As well as owls, deep sky observers and imagers will be taking advantage of the dark skies that will last into several coming nights… providing the weatherman cooperates.
Sat. Oct. 5 – If you have a low southwestern horizon, or can access one, this evening will offer the opportunity of glimpsing a thin crescent Luna together with Venus just to her upper right as dusk settles in. The low sweep of the ecliptic path along the horizon will make this a challenging observation.
Thurs. Oct. 10 – There will be an opportunity to see Algol do its slow blink tonight. ‘The Devil Star’ will reach its minimum brightness in a two hour time period centered around 9.12pm tonight. The brightness of Algol can be compared with its neighbouring stars in Perseus before 8pm and then revisited for its dim phase on or on either side of 9pm.
Thurs. Oct. 10 – This is also First Quarter Moon night! Luna will take an oblique view of fall Okanagan scenes from deep in the southern sky among the departing stars of Sagittarius.
Sun. Oct. 13- If you missed one of Algol’s blinks last Thursday, tonight offers another chance to catch ‘the Demon Star’ in action. The eclipsing binary will reach its minimum brightness in a two hour time period centered around 9pm. Check it out before 8pm to see it in its full glory, then revisit it around 9pm to observe it in its dim mode. Perseus will appear in the north-northeast sky to the lower left of the familiar ‘W’ of Cassiopeia.
Mon. Oct. 14 – Luna, our handy travel guide to the night sky, will visit the ringed planet tonight. In waxing gibbous phase, the Moon will be just to the left of Saturn among the faint stars of Aquarius.
Tues. Oct. 15 – For those who would like to have the reflected light from Neptune enter your eye, tonight Luna will make it easier for us. The tiny, pale blue outer ice giant will be located several moon widths to the right of our neighbour. Should be fun to try and locate with a telescope.
Thurs. Oct. 17 – Having climbed steeply into the night sky over the past week, tonight Luna in Full Moon glory will shine down on Okanagan scenes from the faint stars of Aries. She’ll having things pretty well to herself with Saturn off to the lower right and Jupiter forming a ditto to her lower left.
Sat. Oct. 19 – Climbing higher into the night sky, tonight the waning gibbous Luna will be in one of the liveliest parts of the northern hemisphere sky. The beautiful Pleiades open star cluster will be to her right and brilliant Aldebaran with its Hyades attendants will be just below. Seeing fair will be Jupiter just off to the left. Beautiful to the naked eye, binoculars will add to the drama and most any telescope will add Jupiter’s retinue of Galilean satellites.
Sun. Oct. 20 - The Orionid meteor shower will peak tonight and early tomorrow morning however the waning gibbous Moon will play something of a spoil sport since it will rise around 10pm and hang around north of Orion together with bright Jupiter as a distraction for the rest of the night. For the record, the radiant is near Orion’s club to the upper left of Betelgeuse. Under more favourable conditions the Orionids can yield about 20 – 40 fast moving meteors per hour from a dark sky location. May Aquarids and October Orionids share the same famous parent: Halley’s Comet. In May Earth encounters dust shed by the comet on its outward path, while on the night of Oct. 20-21 we cross Halley’s inbound track.
Wed. Oct. 23 – It will be worth getting up in the wee hours this morning to catch an interesting tableau in the stars of Gemini in the southeastern sky. Luna, only one day away from last quarter phase, will join Castor and Pollux, the twins, together with ruddy Mars just below. Our outer planetary neighbour is progressing further into our night sky on its way to an exciting opposition on January 16.
Fri. Oct. 25 – We’re not getting any breaks with our evening star right now since Venus has been hugging the southwest horizon following the equatorial plane. This evening our brilliant neighbour might be spotted just over a low mountain range as darkness falls.
Sat. Oct. 26 – Early risers will get a treat this morning as the crescent Luna will pose in the handle of Leo’s ‘sickle’, just above brilliant Regulus. While alpha Leo is just a pretty bright star to us, at home 79 light years away, it would reveal itself to be a complicated system of four interacting stars!
Wed. Oct. 30 – It’s our last heads up about an Algol ‘blink’ this month. This time ‘the Devil Star’ will reach its minimum brightness in a two hour time period centered around 10.50pm tonight. By comparing its brightness with neighbouring stars before 9.45pm, its dimmer appearance will be evident either side of 11pm.