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Welcome again to our monthly newsletter with features on exciting celestial events, product reviews, tips & tricks, and a monthly sky calendar. We hope you enjoy it!
You might want to make the most of few remaining fine nights by doing some background reading on the things you might be observing. I’ve put together this list of some of my favorite astronomy books to give you a guide.
General guides
| NightWatch by Terence Dickinson
Of all the introductory astronomy books out there, this is by far my favorite. Dickinson’s descriptions are always models of scientific accuracy and clarity, and his book is richly illustrated with diagrams and photographs, many of which he has taken himself. I can think of no better way to get acquainted with amateur astronomy than by reading this book.
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| The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide by Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer
Although it covers much the same ground as NightWatch, this book, now in its third edition, goes into much greater detail. I particularly value its detailed examination of currently available astronomy hardware, with very specific recommendations on what to buy and what not to buy, and its up-to-date section on astrophotography.
Beginners will find its detailed instructions on setting up and using a new telescope particularly valuable.
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Observing guides
| Turn Left At Orion by Guy Consolmagno and Dan M. Davis
Written primarily for owners of small refractors, this is a wonderful introduction to finding and observing a variety of astronomical objects. It assumes absolutely no knowledge of how to find things in the sky.
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| Star Watch by Philip Harrington
This is the best single volume guide to finding astronomical objects. Using a series of “Sky Windows” it provides detailed starhopping information for all the Messier objects plus a whole additional bunch of objects.
It also is exceptional for telling you what to expect with each object and filling you in on what you are seeing, making it a rich experience for observers at all levels.
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| Celestial Sampler by Sue French
Sue French has built a devoted following from her monthly columns in Sky & Telescope magazine in which she tours a particular region of the sky. This book collects a whole series of her guided tours in one handy volume.
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Astrophotography
| Astrophotography for the Amateur by Michael A. Covington
Maybe you’re getting ready to take the plunge into astrophotography. If so, this is the best single guide to the whole field, covering techniques and equipment in detail.
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| The New CCD Astronomy by Ron Wodaski
Nowadays, film astrophotography has become a relic of the past, and all serious astrophotography is done digitally with digital single lens reflexes and dedicated CCD cameras.
This book by one of the pioneers in the field is full of detailed practical help using the latest available equipment.
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Geoff Gaherty
Geoff has been a life-long telescope addict, and is active in many areas of visual observation; he is a moderator of the Yahoo "Talking Telescopes" group.
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One of my earliest memories of looking up at the night sky happened when I was about six or seven years old. I was visiting an uncle of mine, and on an early fall evening at dusk he pointed almost directly over our heads at a brilliant, bluish-white star. "See that star, Joey? That's the North Star, the brightest star in the sky."
Of course, my uncle was dead wrong on two counts.
First, the North Star is not the brightest star in the sky (although that's indeed a popular misconception). Polaris, the actual North Star, ranks only 49th in brightness.
Second, the North Star would appear directly overhead from only one place on the Earth, namely the North Pole.
In fact, the bright star at which my uncle was pointing, which appears almost directly overhead as darkness falls on late-September evenings, is Vega, in the constellation of Lyra, the Harp. It's not the brightest, but actually the fifth brightest star in the entire sky and the third brightest visible from mid-northern latitudes (like Chicago and New York), behind Sirius and Arcturus.
Also, as seen from mid-northern latitudes, Vega goes below the horizon for only about seven hours a day, meaning that you can see it on any night of the year. Farther south, Vega is below the horizon for a longer interval of time. Conversely, for Alaska, central and northern Canada, as well as central and northern Europe, Vega never sets, and is readily visible on any clear night.
Mid-northern observers looking high in the southwest on autumn evenings will see the asterism of the Summer Triangle, consisting of Vega, Deneb, and Altair, still riding high.
Vega is the brightest of the three stars forming the large "Summer Triangle," the other two stars being Altair and Deneb. Vega is located 25 light years away, has a diameter approximately three times that of our Sun and is 58 times more luminous.
 A solar system in the making?
In January 2002, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. announced that features observed in a cloud of dust swirling around Vega may, in fact, be the signatures of an unseen planet in an eccentric orbit around the star.
Observations of Vega in 1983 with the Infrared Astronomy Satellite provided the first evidence for large dust particles around another star, probably debris related to the formation of planets. This discovery likely inspired the late astronomer Carl Sagan to place a planet orbiting Vega in his novel, "Contact."
"Say cheese"
Vega also holds a rather unique place in the annals of astronomy as being the first star ever to be photographed. The historic photograph was made using the daguerreotype process at Harvard Observatory on the night of July 16-17, 1850. A 15-inch refractor was used, and it still took an exposure of 100 seconds for Vega's image to register.
Lyra was supposed to represent Apollo's harp. Officially, Lyra is a lyre — a stringed instrument of the harp family used to accompany a singer or reader of poetry, especially in ancient Greece. Six stars form a combined geometric pattern of a parallelogram and an equal-sided triangle attached at its northern corner. Vega gleams at the western point of the triangle.
North Star of the future
A final note: Because the Earth's axis very slowly oscillates like that of a spinning top (in a movement called precession), the North Pole traces a circle on the sky, pointing to different stars as it moves along in a circuit that takes about 26,000 years. And 12,000 years from now, the Earth's axis will pointed in the general direction of Vega, which will then be the North Star.
I'm sure that will make my uncle very happy.
Joe Rao
Joe serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.
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M15 is one of the most densely packed globular clusters in our galaxy, with a high number of variable stars and pulsars. Viewable with the naked eye from dark sites, binoculars and small scopes will bring out some detail of the collapsed, superdense core. M15 is also one of only a handful of globular clusters known to contain a planetary nebula.
NGC 7331, a Type 2 Seyfert galaxy about 43 million light-years away, shows a superb spiral structure.
51 Pegasi is an unexceptional 8th Mag star, but it's notable because it is orbited by the first true extrasolar planet to have been discovered.
Sean O'Dwyer
Starry Night® Times Editor
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Photo of M33, the Triangulum Galaxy, taken by Andy D'Arienzo. A possible satellite of M31, the Triangulum Galaxy is quite small, with a mass 1/7 that of the Milky Way. M33 is a difficult object to detect because of its low surface brightness. In a truly dark and transparent sky, one may be able to get a glimpse of this galaxy, making it one of the most distant objects visible to the naked eye.
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A guided video tour of celestial events visible this month.
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Moon Phases
 Tue., Oct. 7
First Quarter Moon, 5:04 a.m.
"Half Moon" seems more descriptive, since half the Moon is illuminated (the right half, giving it a letter "D" appearance). However, since it has completed the first 25 percent of its current orbit, it is the "First Quarter Moon." It is well up in the southern sky at sunset, and sets around midnight.
 Tue., Oct. 14
Full Moon, 4:03 p.m.
Roughly a month after the Harvest Moon (9/15), this Full Moon is called the "Hunter's Moon." The old story is that the farmers, having completed their harvests under the bright light of the previous Full Moon, now become hunters to fill their larders with game to hold them through the cold Winter ahead.
 Tue., Oct. 21
Last Quarter Moon, 7:55 a.m.
About 75 percent through its current orbit, this Moon is also known as the "Third Quarter Moon," nominally rising at midnight and setting a midday the next day.
 Tue., Oct. 28
New Moon, 7:14 p.m.
"New Moon" is "No Moon" so don't bother looking. However, do try on Wednesday evening, when you may see a very thin Crescent Moon in the West after sundown.
Planets
Mercury starts the month too close to the Sun to be seen, being in inferior conjunction on the 6th. Later in the month it is well up in the predawn eastern sky, reaching greatest western elongation on the 18th (about 22 degrees from the Sun).
Venus has reassumed dominance in the early evening sky, if low to the west-south west and visible only for a short time after dark. On the first and last days of the month the thin Crescent Moon passes nearby.
Mars, moving from Virgo to Libra at mid-month, is pretty much a lost cause, being too close to the Sun to be seen easily.
After the Moon and Venus, Jupiter is certainly the most impressive object in the October evening sky. It is high to the south at sunset, and goes down in the southwestern sky in late evening.
Still in Leo, Saturn has emerged in the morning eastern sky. It is only slightly brighter than nearby Regulus, but shines with a steadier light.
Dates
Wed., Oct. 1
Moon/Venus, dusk
An razor thin Crescent Moon passes several degrees from Venus, very low in the west-southwestern sky a half hour after sunset. This is a difficult observation due to the lowness in the sky, but makes a nice sight for anyone lucky enough to catch it. In addition, Mars is about 12-13 degrees to the right (North) of the Moon, but sighting it with the unaided eye is unlikely.
Fri., Oct. 3
Moon/Antares, early evening
On Friday evening the Crescent Moon approaches Antares (in Scorpius) from the right (West); and on Saturday evening it is roughly the same distance to the left. Look low in the early evening southwestern sky. The closest approach is about 7 a.m. EDT on Saturday morning, but neither are visible from North America at that time, although it appears as an occultation as seen from parts of African and Australia.
Mon., Oct. 6
Mercury at inferior conjunction, 4:51 p.m.
This event cannot be observed, but it marks the time that Mercury technically moves from the evening sky to the morning sky, and it becomes a reasonably easy sight in the morning sky by mid-month.
Mon., Oct. 6
Moon/Jupiter, evening
As with the Moon and Antares on the 3rd and 4th, on the 6th the nearly First Quarter Moon approaches Jupiter (in Scorpius) from the right (West) on Monday evening, and recedes from it as viewed on Tuesday evening. Effectively this means that the Moon is below Jupiter on Monday evening and above it to the left on Tuesday evening. The closest passage is about 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning, after which both objects have gone down for North America, although observers farther West are favored, and Hawaiian observers have a nice view of the closest approach before local moonset on Monday evening.
Tue., Oct. 7
Draconid Meteor Shower, 9 p.m.
This is a minor shower, radiating from Draco, high in the northwest at the time. The First Quarter Moon seriously diminishes hope of observing.
Fri., Oct. 17
Moon-Pleiades, before dawn
The Waning Gibbous Moon passes near the Pleiades star cluster. Closest approach of less than a degree is after sunrise in most locations.
Tue., Oct. 21
Orionid Meteors, 12:00 a.m.
The Orionids are often a nice if not spectacular shower. Unfortunately, the Last Quarter Moon nearby ruins it for this year. The radiant is between Orion and Gemini.
Wed., Oct. 22
Moon-Beehive cluster, 12:00 a.m.
The Last Quarter Moon passes about a degree south of the Beehive cluster (M44) in Cancer. This is before moonrise in western locations.
Wed., Oct. 22
Mercury Greatest Elongation West, 6:03 a.m.
Greatest elongation west
Fri., Oct. 31
Moon-Antares, 2 p.m.
The Crescent Moon passes near Antares in Scorpius, but in broad daylight for North America. However, the sickle-shaped moon is still nearby in the southwestern sky shortly after dark.
Sun., Nov. 02
Daylight Saving Time ends, 2 a.m.
Daylight Saving Time ends throughout most of North America. Set clocks back one hour.
Mon., Nov. 3
Moon-Jupiter, 5 p.m.
The Waxing Crescent Moon passes about 2 degrees South of Jupiter in the southwestern evening sky.
Wed., Nov. 4
South Taurid Meteor Shower, 11:00 p.m.
This is a minor shower with only about 10 meteors per hour at peak. However, the conditions are fairly good, with the radiant, which is in the southern part of Taurus, well up in the southeastern sky at the time and no bright moon to interfere (the nearly first quarter moon sets at about this time or shortly thereafter).
As always, there's more to explore on NightSky.
Data for this calendar have been derived from a number of sources including the Observer's Handbook 2008 of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Starry Night® software, and others. Only events with a reasonable possibility for Northern Hemisphere observers, or those events with some other significance, are given. All times shown are U.S. Eastern Time.
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