Sky this Week (Oct 14 to Oct 20)
by Vern on Oct.16, 2007, under Astronomy, Sky this Week
Highlights
- Bright ISS pass Saturday night 7:20 pm
- Comet C/2007 F1 Loneos approaching naked eye visibility
International Space StationBrightest pass this week is on Saturday, Oct 20. The ISS rises in the NW at 7:19:51 pm MDT and disappears in ENE at 7:23:17 pm (magnitude -1.7)
Sun
This week the Sun rises at 7:12 am to 7:18 am MDT and sets 6:25 pm to 6:17 pm MDT. No regions are currently visible (Sunday). Solar activity is expected to remain at very low levels this week.
Moon
The Moon transitions to first quarter phase which occurs on Fri. Oct. 19 at 02:33 am MDT.
Planets
Mercury is lost in the sunset glow, setting only about 20 minutes after sunset.
Venus shines brilliantly at magnitude -4.4 before sunrise, high up in constellation Leo; it rises around 3:30 am. It appears in a telescope as a thin crescent.
Mars rises around 10:15-10:30 pm MDT in constellation Gemini. By Saturday it will -0.4 magnitude in brightness, 11 arc sec across, and 89% illuminated. The best time to view Mars is when it is high up around 2 am. Early in the week Syrtus Major will be near center view with Mare Tyrrhenum to the left and Mare Serpentis to the right.Later in the week the martian features the features Mare Cimmerium will be near center view with Mare Tyrrhenum to the right. See Sky and Telescope’s Mars profiler for other times and additional information.
Jupiter is the brightest object in the SW after sunset at magnitude -1.8. It sets around 9 pm.
Saturn rises in the ENE around 3 am and is located above Venus. It is magnitude 0.7 in brightness.
Uranus is in constellation Aquarius, magnitude 5.8, and 3.6 arc-sec in diameter.
Neptune is in constellation Capricornus, magnitude 7.9, and 2.5 arc-sec in diameter.
Dark Sky
The Moon interfers with our evening views of the night sky this weekend. This week is good time to view the Moon as the shadows enhance contrast of domes, craters, and rilles.
Meteor Showers
This week is still an excellent time for watching for meteors. The Moon does not interfer with prime time views in early morning. Expect to see about 4 per hour before midnight and around 20 per hour a few hours before sunrise. There are several active radiants such as the Taurids, Draconids, Delta Aurigids. The Draconids peaked on Oct 9 and the Orionids meteor shower peaks on Oct 21. See http://www.amsmeteors.org/ for more information about observing meteors. Also checkout the Astroleague meteor club at http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/meteor/metrcl.html
Comets
Comet C/2007 F1 (Loneos) is currently magnitude 6.4 and should reach magnitude 4 in a few days. Unfortunately it very low to the horizon, in the northeast before dawn and in the northwest just after sunset. It rises around 5 am and sets shortly after 8 pm. On Thursday it will be located just to the right of 2.7 magnitude star 8 Bootes (Mufrid). On Saturday it will be 4 degrees below and slightly left of -0.04 magnitude star Arcturus. For more information, finder charts etc, see http://www.cometchasing.skyhound.com/ or http://aerith.net/comet/weekly/current.html .
