Astronomical phenomena October 2012

October 5, 2012 - Mercury conjunct Saturn.

October 15, 2012 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between Earth and Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase takes place at 12:02 UT.

October,21, 22 , 2012 - Orionid meteor shower. Orionids are a meteor shower of medium intensity, which produces about 20 meteors per hour. A good view is in any morning from October 20 to 24. The first Quarter Moon will set before midnight, leaving a dark sky. The best cardinal point to see will be to the east after midnight.Orionids originates from Comet Halley.

October 28, 2012 - Asteroid 13 Egeria occults a +8.1 magnitude star at 00:44 UT , seen from Russia, Europe and North Africa.

October 29, 2012 - Full Moon. Earth will be between the Sun and Moon, and therefore, the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase takes place at 19:49 UT.

 

Summary of October.
Mercury greatest elongation, 26 October best seen at one hour after sunset.
Venus-Magnitude -4, rising at 4 hours before sunrise. Moves from Leo into Virgo.
Mars in Libra moves through Scorpio and Ophiuchus. Set less than 2 hours after the Sun this month.
Jupiter in Taurus, Magnitude -2.7, rises at 1 hour and a half after sunset.
Saturn conjunct the Sun on October 25. Becomes apparent in Virgo, before sunrise, at the end of November.

Posted in: Astronomical calendar 2012