October Skies 2026, and Astrophiz podcast

To be read in conjunction with the astrophiz podcast #243

   

Eastern horizon on the evening of Sunday,  October 4 as seen from Adelaide at 20:47 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).  Saturn is the brightest object above the eastern horizon. Saturn is at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on the 4th and is visible the entire night. But is best for telescopic observation from around midnight on, and its rings are widening. The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.     Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).	North-Eastern horizon on the morning of Monday,  October 5 as seen from Adelaide at 5:21 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).  Saturn is low above the north-western horizon.  Mars forms a triangle with with the bright stars Procyon and Pollux and the waning Moon. Jupiter is low on the horizon. The inset shows the telescopic view of Mars and Jupiter at this time.  Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time  (90 minutes before sunrise).
Western sky on the evening of  Wednesday,  October 7 as seen from Adelaide at 20:19 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). The inset is the telescopic view of Venus. Venus is above the horizon when the sky is fully dark. Mercury is close to Venus on the 6th and 7th. Venus is a clear thin “Crescent Moon”  shape and is increasing in size.  The shape is readily visible in even small telescopes, and even 10×50 binoculars (although the brightness may make it hard to see due to internal lens reflections).   Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time  (60 minutes after sunset).	Western sky on the evening of  Monday,  October 12 as seen from Adelaide at 20:14 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). The insets are the telescopic view of Venus and the binocular view of of the Venus-Moon pair. Venus is low above the horizon with  Mercury above it. Venus is a clear thin “Crescent Moon”  and close to the thin crescent Moon. The shape is readily visible in 10×50 binoculars. The crescent Venus and crescent moon will just fit into the field of View of 10×50 binoculars. You may need to have binoculars mounted on a tripod to see them without too much handshake. Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time  (60 minutes after sunset).

October 2	Moon at perigee
October 3	Last Quarter Moon (ideal for star gazing)
October 11	New Moon (also ideal for star gazing total solar eclipse northern hemisphere)
October 17	Moon at apogee
October 19	First Quarter Moon (Daylight Lunar X on the 18th)
October 26	Full Moon (Moon at perigee again on October 29, difficult occultation of Beta Tauri)

Lunar X and V as seen at sunset on the 18th (although true firt Quarter is on the 19th), they will still be visible deeper in the twilight	Closer telescopic view of the Lunar X and V at sunset

 

Dates and time Lunar X and V are visible. Typically visible from about 4hours from the starting time, times in colour are daylight saving times.

Date	UT	AEST	ACST	AWST
Oct 18	05:37	16:37	16:07	13:37 (moon in daylight, X but still visible in twilight)

Occultation of Beta Tauri (Elnath), Thursday October 29/30. (waning)

The western sky at 23:37 ACST Tuesday, September 17, as seen from Adelaide. The Moon is about to occult the bright star Antares low on the horizon. The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).	The western sky at 00:0 AEST Wednesday, September 18, as seen from Canberra. The Moon is about to occult the bright star Antares low on the horizon. The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).	The western sky at 23:59 AEST Tuesday, September 17, as seen from Melbourne. The Moon is about to occult the bright star Antares low on the horizon. The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).

An occultation best seen from the east coast around midnight. The Moon is waning and low above the horizon. The Moon rises with Elnath occulted in most locations.

Place	Disappears Dark Limb	Reappears Bright Limb
Adelaide ACDST	-	00:07 (30th)
Brisbane  AEST	-	23:48
Canberra AEDST	23:54	00:53(30th)
Darwin ACST	-	-
Hobart AEFST	-	01:00 (30th)
Melbourne AEDST	-	00:51 (30th)
Perth AWST	-	-
Sydney AEDST	23:55	00:55 (30th)

Stars:

The northern sky as seen at 23:00 ACDST from Adelaide on October 11 (New Moon). The Andromeda galaxy is indicated by the box. Similar views will been seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time.

The Southern sky as seen at 23:00 ACDST from Adelaide on October 11 (New Moon).  The constellation of Octntis (Octant) is indicated, the cricle marks Sigma Octanits, the box Mel227 and the inset the binocular view of star delta Octanits and the nice pair of Pi Octantis.  The small and large Magellanic clouds are also seen. Similar views will been seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time.

Scorpius forms a reversed question mark setting above the western horizon.

Sagitarius and with it the centre of the galaxy have departed the Zenith but it still remains an excellent binocular hunting ground. In the lid of the “teapot of Sagittarius is the great globular cluster M22, well worthwhile in binoculars, and nearby the triffid and lagoon nebula. 

Around midnight the famous Andromeda galaxy is low to the north but should be easily visible in binoculars. At the same time one of our companion galaxies, the Lesser Magellanic cloud and the magnificent globular cluster 47 Tucana are quite high almost due south and a delight in binoculars.

At around 10:00 pm local time the Southern Cross will almost be at the 5’oclock position in the sky. Most of the magnificent Southern clusters and nebula are sitting on the southern horizon, however.
Almost due south of the small Magellanic cloud is the faint and undistinguished triangular constellation of Octantus, the Octant, the navigation instrument that first helped chart the southern skies for European explorers. 

Octanus contains the “south pole star” sigma Octantis, a hard to see 5th Magnitude star close to the south celestial pole. In binoculars, near the broad base of the triangle is the faint open cluster Mel 227. Sweeping down towards the point of the triangle and close to the brighter star delta octanits that forms the point is the nice pair of Pi Octantis.

Here are links to printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ACST, Western sky at 10 pm ACST. 

Meteors:  

Morning sky as seen from Adelaide facing north at 4:00 am ACDST on 22 October, the Orionid radiant is indicated with a starburst. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at an equivalent local time. Click to embiggen.

The Orionids are a normally worthwhile shower, best seen between 2-4 am, the radiant being just under Betelgeuse, the bright red star in Orion. This year the waning Moon will significantly interfere with viewing in the early evening and the rates will be low, once the moon sets around 4 am the rates will be better. The best viewing is the mornings of the 21st to 23rd with the highest rates on the morning of the 22nd, when between 4-5 am under dark skies you should see about a meteor every 4-5 minutes or so.