Minnesota Starwatch for October 2003

Starwatch Newsletter

Minnesota Starwatch is a newsletter describing the night sky in the Midwest.

It is updated monthly, and is produced by the
Department of Astronomy, University of Minnesota
116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

Minnesota Starwatch for October 2003

Hello, this is Minnesota Starwatch for October, 2003. This month starts with the moon at first quarter on the 2nd, followed by a full moon on the 10th, a third quarter moon on the 18th, a new moon on the 25th, and a first quarter moon again on the 31st. The moon will be furthest from the earth (apogee) on the 14th, and closest to the earth (perigee) on the 26th.

Mars continues to be the highlight of the evening sky, clearly visible in the southeast sky at sunset. Best viewing of Mars is somewhat later in the evening after it has risen higher above the horizon. During the month you will notice Mars getting dimmer as the earth has now passed Mars in its orbit and is speeding away to ever increasing distances. The moon will be close (in the sky) to Mars on the evenings of the 5th and 6th. Venus can be observed as the bright object in the west just after sunset. You'll need to be quick though as Venus will be following the sun below the horizon. On the 26th, Venus can be found very close to a crescent moon. Mercury is the one planet that is visible by the naked eye but difficult to find. Most people have never identified Mercury in the night sky. The reason is quite simple. Because Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, it is never more that 28 degrees away from the sun. Thus, it either rises just before the sun or sets just shortly after the sun sets. At the beginning of this month, Mercury is visible in the eastern morning sky just before sunrise. Mercury will become increasingly more difficult to observe as the month progresses.

Jupiter and Saturn are both clearly visible in the late night sky all month. Saturn rises around midnight at the beginning of the month and close to 9pm at the end of the month. Jupiter will rise later (closer to 2am). During the month, as Mars becomes fainter, Jupiter will become the second brightest planet in the sky (after Venus). On October 21, the Orionid meteor shower will peak. We will not have a very favorable moon phase for viewing (4 days before the new moon, so the moon will be illuminated as a crescent and will be high in the sky). Nonetheless, observing in the late night and early morning hours should produce sightings of many shooting stars.

Minnesota Starwatch is available on-line at http://www.astro.umn.edu

For fun Astronomy Outreach programs'check out our Public Outreach link, or if your interested in how you can help build the new Minnesota Planetarium, please call 612-630-6151 or visit http://www.mplanetarium.org.

Como Planetarium is offering fun family shows about astronomy on a limited basis; please call 651-293-5398 for more info! This has been Minnesota Starwatch, produced by the University of Minnesota Astronomy Dept.