Posted on

October Skies 2018

Looking just west of south in Denver at 9:00 PM on October 15th. Telrad circles are included for scale; their center is about 30° above the horizon. Note that with 3rd- and 4th- magnitude stars in its outline, most of Capricornus will likely not be visible to the naked eye under city lights. –Object positions, constellation and meridian lines charted in SkySafari, and then enhanced. (Tap on image above for larger version.)

© Zachary Singer

Welllllll… We had a planet-rich summer, but many of the planetary observational opportunities are going away or will do soon. At the same time, we’re in a great position for deep-sky targets, with late-summer objects still in play, and winter targets, like Orion, becoming visible to observers in the wee hours. The earlier onset of night helps, too. Here’s what’s up for October: Continue reading “October Skies 2018”