The favourite time of year for astronomers has finally arrived! As the light evenings give way to darker skies, it’s the perfect time to look up and see what you can discover above.
Here’s a brilliant roundup of the sights you can experience from your home, the park or even from your own back garden, kindly put together by Karen, our Customer and Events Officer.
Happy stargazing! ✨
October brings not one, but two meteor showers to our night sky. First we have the Draconids, which radiate from the area around the head of the constellation Draco, the dragon. If you look towards the North West sky around the peak in the early evening of the 9 th October, you may be lucky enough to see some ‘shooting stars’.
Historically the Draconids are not the most prolific meteor shower, however every few years ‘the dragon awakes’ and we are treated to a more prolific display. Could this be the year?
We also have the Orionids which are caused by Earth passing through the debris trail left by Halley’s comet, which consists of many tiny particles of dust and other debris. The Orionids radiate from above a star called Betelgeuse, at the top left of the constellation Orion, which will be above the eastern horizon after midnight around the peak. These are active from the beginning of October, until the first week of November and the peak is around the 21 st to 22 nd of October. Again the Orionids are not as prolific as some other meteor showers however the particles Earth passes through are travelling at a higher speed than those in most other meteor showers, and they can therefore produce bright ‘fireballs’ or can leave behind vivid trails which
can remain visible for many seconds.
There will be three planets visible to the naked eye during October. All planets rise in the east and set in the west, like the Moon and the Sun, and follow the same path along the sky which is known as the ecliptic. A good way to tell the difference between planets and stars is that stars appear to ‘twinkle’ but planets don’t.
Saturn, which is at opposition on the 4 th , meaning that it will be at its closest and brightest this year will be visible in the eastern / south eastern sky and will look like a bright star to the naked eye. If you have a small pair of binoculars it is possible to see that Saturn is not spherical, due to its rings.
Jupiter will rise in the east in the early hours of the morning (between around 2am and 3am) and will be visible in the sky before dawn. Again using small binoculars, it is possible to see its four largest moons, depending on their position in relation to the planet. These look like tiny stars in a line and could be all on one side of the planet or some on either side. If any are in front of, or behind, Jupiter then they will not be
visible.
Mars rises in the east around midnight and is distinctly orange-looking, despite being known as the ‘red planet’.
Visit Sherwood Observatory this Autumn. What’s On.
Contributed by Karen, our Customer and Events Officer and Volunteer.