October 2022 – What’s Up!

Week of 31st October

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 18:35 GMT at the beginning of the week and at 18:26 GMT by the end of the week.
  • The waxing Moon passes close to Saturn (mag +0.7) on Tuesday evening and Jupiter (-2.8) on Friday evening.
  • Mars (-1.3) is now a bright feature in the eastern portion of our evening sky as it moves towards opposition on 8th December. It is sitting in the middle of the Winter Circle and shines a beautiful deep orange colour. The planet currently rises at around 18:30 GMT and transits at about 03:00 GMT.
  • The Moon is First Quarter on Tuesday.
  • The Sun currently has six active regions: AR 3130, 3131, 3132, 3133, 3134 & 3135. The sunspot number is 97.
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week.

 

Week of 24th October

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 19:47 BST at the beginning of the week and at 18:37 GMT by the end of the week
  • On Tuesday there is a partial solar eclipse, when the Moon will pass between the Sun and the Earth. The current orbital configuration means that the Moon will only cover a maximum of 13% of the Sun’s surface as observed from Marlborough. Head to northern Russia to observe the largest eclipse, which is still not total, but will reach 82%. For us, the eclipse will start at 10:06 BST, with maximum at 10:56 BST and final contact at 11:49 BST. If you try to observe the eclipse, NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN without a suitable filter
  • British Summer Time ends on Sunday morning at 02:00 BST, when the clocks will go back one hour to 01:00 GMT
  • Observe five planets in our evening sky this week with Saturn (mag +0.6) furthest west, followed by Neptune (+7.8), Jupiter (-2.8), Uranus (+5.6) and finally Mars (-1.1), which rises in the east at around 20:00 BST
  • The Moon is New on Tuesday
  • The Sun currently has four active regions: AR 3126, 3127, 3128 & 3129. The sunspot number is 55
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

Week of 17th October

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 20:01 BST at the beginning of the week and at 19:49 BST by the end of the week
  • On Wednesday evening, there will be a double shadow transit across the face of Jupiter (mag -2.9). The shadows of moons Ganymede and Europa will be visible on the planet’s disk as darkness falls. Ganymede will already have completed its transit, while its shadow will leave the disk at 20:03 BST. Europa’s transit ends at 19:40 BST and its shadow transit will end at 20:49
  • Friday sees the peak of the Orionids meteor shower. It is not a very productive shower with a ZHR of only around 15. The parent body responsible for creating the Orionids is comet 1P/Halley
  • The Moon is Last Quarter on Monday
  • The Sun currently has four active regions: AR 3119, 3121, 3122 & 3123. The sunspot number is 50
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

 

Week of 10th October

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 20:15 BST at the beginning of the week and at 20:03 BST by the end of the week
  • The Waning Moon makes its way eastwards through our sky this week, passing Uranus (mag +5.7) on Tuesday and Mars (-0.9) on Friday
  • On Tuesday evening there is a transit of Io across the face of Jupiter (-2.9). The transit starts at 19:18 BST as darkness falls and continues until 21:33 BST when Io will leave the planet’s disk. Io’s shadow will still be visible on Jupiter for a little longer, not leaving the disk until 21:57 BST. As the transit ends, the Great Red Spot will be emerging into view around Jupiter’s oncoming limb
  • The Moon is Waning Gibbous all week
  • The Sun currently has seven active regions: AR 3111, 3112, 3115, 3116, 3118, 3119 & 3120. The sunspot number is 137
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

Week of 3rd October

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 20:31 BST at the beginning of the week and at 20:18 BST by the end of the week
  • The Gas Giants continue to dominate our evening sky, with Saturn (mag +0.5) culminating around 21:35 BST this week and Jupiter (-2.9) culminating at 00:20 BST. The waxing Moon makes a close approach to Saturn on Wednesday and Jupiter on Saturday
  • Mercury is also visible in our skies this week, but only for the early risers. It reaches Greatest Western Elongation on Saturday when it will reach its furthest separation from the Sun and be highest in our morning sky. Look to the eastern horizon just before sunrise at an altitude of around 12°
  • The Moon is First Quarter on Monday and Full on Sunday – the Hunter’s Moon
  • The Sun currently has six active regions: AR 3107, 3110, 3111, 3112, 3113 & 3114. The sunspot number is 100
  • The ISS makes the following visible evening passes this week:
    Monday 19:30, W to SSE, max 27°
    Wednesday 19:31, WSW to S, max 14°

 

 

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