Oct 06 We 7:05 New Moon
Oct 09 Sa 12:12 Mercury Inferior Conj.
Oct 09 Sa 14:36 Moon-Venus: 2.9 deg S
Oct 12 Tu 23:25 First Quarter
Oct 16 Sa 9:24 Venus-Antares: 1.5 deg N
Oct 20 We 10:57 Full Moon (Hunters Moon)
Oct 21 Th 7:30 Orionid Shower: ZHR = 20
Oct 25 Mo 0:59 Mercury Elongation: 18.4 deg W
Oct 28 Th 16:05 Last Quarter
Oct 29 Fr 17:59 Venus Elongation: 47 deg E
Mercury rises back in the East in October. Watch for it before Sunrise late in the month.
Jupiter and Saturn are still well positioned for viewing in the evening.
Venus is in the Western sky just after Sunset. October is a good time to see what Galileo saw and allowed him to determine the actual layout of our Solar System. Through a modest telescope or binoculars, over the course of the month, you can watch the planet go from just past 1st quarter (62% illuminated) to just before 1st quarter (48% illuminated).
Speaking of Galileo, observe Jupiter and check out the Galilean moons: Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto after you've looked at Venus.
October's Hunter's Moon was given its name because it was at this time when tribes gathered meat for the long winter ahead.
Orionids - the evening of the 22nd is best suited for observers in North America. It is a modest shower due to Halley's Comet. The radiant is located above Orion's bright reddish star Betelgeuse, but bright skyglow from a full Moon will make it hard to see all but the brightest fireballs.
