The Moon and planets move around in a busy week up in the sky

(WHSV) - October rolls on and it’s a busy week up in the sky. Buckle up!

Losing Daylight

Over the next week, we will lose 17 minutes of daylight. By Sunday October 17th, sunrise will move from 7:20 am to 7:27 am and sunset will move from 6:42 pm to 6:32 pm. This will bring us down to 11 hours and 5 minutes of daylight and up to 12 hours and 55 minutes of darkness.

ISS Viewing (Most Viewable)

The International Space Station will not be viewable this week as it passes by during the daytime. The next time you can view the International Space Station is Tuesday, October 19th.

Moon Phases & Next Full Moon:

Next Full Moon

The next full moon is on Wednesday, October 20th and is known as the Hunter’s Moon. This is because hunting season begins and it’s easier to hunt for animals. Other names for this moon include Travel Moon and Dying Grass Moon.

Other Interesting Events

On Monday, October 11th, Earth’s orbit will make it look like Saturn will be staying still. Saturn will begin to move eastward instead of westward in the sky. You can view Saturn low in the southern sky after dusk. Saturn will be among the stars of western Capricornus.

Also on Monday, October 11th, the shadow of Jupiter’s moon, Ganymede will cross over Jupiter in the sky followed by the Great Red Spot. This will be occurring around 7 pm Monday.

On Wednesday, October 13th, Saturn will be a palm’s width to the upper left of the half moon. This will occur late Wednesday. If you want to spot the planet before nighttime, use binoculars to find a yellow dot which is Saturn.

On Thursday, October 14th, the waxing gibbous moon will be sitting below and between Jupiter and Saturn all evening. This will create an excellent photo opportunity especially with scenery.

On Friday, October 15th, Jupiter will be a palm’s width to the upper right of the moon. Saturn will not be far away to the right and viewable as the sky darkens. You can view the trio again after sunset.

On Saturday, October 16th, in the southwest sky, Venus will be located its closest to the reddish star, Antares, which is the heart if Scorpius. You can view the star and Venus together in the same pair of binoculars from Monday, October 11th until Wednesday, October 20th. Another way you can view this pair is through the eyepiece of a low magnitude telescope.

On Sunday, October 17th, Mare Imbrium’s golden handle on the moon will be visible, also known as the Bay of Rainbows. There is a 155 mile wide crater that will be located to the west of Mare Imbrium. The golden handle will be viewable due to the fact that part of the moon will be getting hit with plenty of sunlight. This feature will be on the upper left portion of the moon.

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