Howdy stargazers and welcome to this episode of Star Trails.
I'm Drew and I'll be your guide to the night sky for the week starting October the 6th
to the 12th.
This week we'll check out some familiar and some not so familiar deep sky objects.
Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are all putting on a show and a meteor shower is also in the forecast.
And by the way, did you hear Earth has gained a second moon?
We'll check out the lore and features of the constellation Perseus, the Greek hero of myth
who's been a key player in some of our recent episodes.
And later I'll recommend some great apps to kick start your observations as we make our way into
the longer nights of autumn.
So grab your observational instrument of choice, a comfortable chair under the night sky and let's get started.
This week the moon will transition from a waxing crescent phase to a waxing gibbous phase.
By October 10th it will reach the first quarter phase marking the halfway point to the full moon.
As the week progresses the moon will continue to grow in brightness reaching the waxing gibbous phase
by the week's end.
This period is excellent for lunar observation especially with the first quarter phase providing
clear views of the moon's craters and shadows while the waxing gibbous phase offers brighter,
more expansive views.
Elsewhere in the solar system Jupiter continues putting on a show.
It rises shortly after sunset and is visible for most of the night in the constellation Aries.
It's near opposition meaning it's bright and easy to spot.
With a telescope you can observe the planet's cloud bands and its four Galilean moons, EO,
Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
Depending on the resolution of your telescope you may be able to catch a unique phenomenon
on Jupiter's face.
EO's shadow will transit Jupiter beginning around 8 p.m. on October the 9th.
If you can stay up later at 2 a.m. on the morning of the 10th you'll see Europa's shadow
transit Jupiter as well.
These shadow transits happen frequently and Sky and Telescope has a nice online tool for
calculating them when they appear.
I'll include a link in the show notes.
Look towards the southeast after sunset to spot Saturn in the constellation Aquarius.
Saturn will be visible through most of the night and with a small telescope you can catch
its stunning rings and possibly its largest moon Titan.
Mars rises around midnight and is visible in the early morning hours in the eastern sky.
You'll spot it near the stars Caster and Pollux in Gemini and its reddish hue makes it easy
to identify.
Venus will be shining brightly just after sunset low on the western horizon.
I've managed to catch it during my evening walks on the past few nights.
Uranus can be seen near the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus while Neptune is best viewed
earlier in the evening in Aquarius.
As always you'll need a good telescope to locate these outer gas giants.
Even farther out some familiar deep sky objects are rising higher in the autumn sky.
The Owl Cluster NGC457 is a star cluster in Cassiopeia.
Also known as the ET cluster its bright stars form a shape that looks like an owl or the
famous movie alien.
This cluster is easy to spot and it's a perfect target for binoculars.
The Pleiades M45 also known as the Seven Sisters is a beautiful open star cluster located in
the constellation Taurus.
This cluster becomes increasingly prominent as autumn progresses and it's a fantastic
target for binoculars which reveal more stars than are visible to the naked eye.
For a challenge telescope users can seek the Blue Snowball Nebula NGC 7662.
Located in the constellation Andromeda this striking planetary nebula is known for its
bright blue appearance resembling a small round snowball.
It's relatively easy to spot through small to medium telescopes and with higher magnification
you may observe its internal structure.
The Nebula is the result of a dying star shedding its outer layers.
Don't forget the Draconid Meteor Shower which peaks overnight between October the 8th and
9th.
The Draconids are unique because they're best viewed in the evening not after midnight like
many other showers.
The meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Draco but remember you can see
them almost anywhere in the night sky.
Between last week's annular solar eclipse which sadly was not visible here in North
America, seemingly non-stop solar flare blasts, a new comet that could light up the sky next
week and the Nova Watch on T Corona borealis that I've mentioned in quite a few episodes,
there's been a lot of astronomy in the news lately.
Sometimes these headlines just seem a bit sensational.
For instance there's been a fair amount of press lately about Earth's new second moon.
On September 29th Earth captured a new mini-moon called 2024 PT-5 which will orbit the Earth
for about 57 days.
But despite the flashy headlines if you expect to see this new moon you're going to be disappointed.
Astronomers estimate this object is only about 10 meters wide, about the size of a school
bus.
I'll leave spotting this one to the professionals.
While PT-5 might not be much to look at it does remind us that there's a whole world
of quasi-satellites that whip around the Earth thanks to the influence of our planet's gravity
on these small objects.
We'll talk about some of these in a future episode.
A great constellation to explore in October is Perseus which is well positioned in the
northeastern sky and offers plenty of interesting stars and deep sky objects.
In Greek mythology Perseus is one of the great heroes known for slaying the Gorgon Medusa
and rescuing Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus.
After his adventures Perseus and Andromeda were placed among the stars along with other
characters from his story such as Cassiopeia.
The constellation features some perennial deep sky targets including the double cluster
NGC 869 and NGC 884.
Located on the border between Cassiopeia and Perseus the double cluster is a stunning sight
through binoculars.
These two open star clusters are packed with young hot stars and they shine brightly against
the backdrop of the Milky Way.
The California Nebula NGC 1499 is a faint emission nebula visible under dark skies and
named for its resemblance to the shape of the state of California.
The nebula is located near the bright star Mencar.
It's best viewed with long exposure astrophotography due to its faintness.
Finally Al Gohl the demon star is one of the most famous variable stars in the sky.
It's part of an eclipsing binary system where one star periodically passes in front of the
other causing the star to dim and brighten over a 2.8 day cycle.
This dimming and brightening can be observed with the naked eye making it one of the few
stars where you can directly observe variability.
As we head into October the nights are getting longer and clearer which means it's the
perfect time to get outside and do some serious stargazing.
When I was a kid this meant I had to pull out an atlas of star maps and try to make
sense of the sky while trying to read the charts with a red flashlight.
I feel very fortunate nowadays as my night sky atlas is on my smartphone.
There's a universe of helpful apps and software out there that can make your stargazing experience
even better so I wanted to mention a few of these tools that will hopefully help you get
more out of your time under the stars.
We'll start with the apps you can take with you wherever you go, smartphone apps.
Most of these night sky apps make it easy to navigate the sky using some form of augmented
reality or motion based tracking.
They're also helpful for tracking celestial objects and for finding the best times to
observe.
You've probably heard me mention on various episodes that cross checking with an app is
the best way to ensure that you can see the phenomenon we discuss in your area.
There are a couple good ones to try and don't worry there'll be links to all of these resources
in the show notes.
The first up is Sky Safari, one of the most comprehensive stargazing apps out there.
Available on both iOS and Android, Sky Safari lets you point your phone at the sky and instantly
identify stars, planets and constellations.
You can even simulate what the sky looked like hundreds or thousands of years ago.
I know many of the folks in my local astronomy club prefer Sky Safari.
It features a massive database of stars, planets and deep sky objects and you can use it to
control compatible telescopes which is also nice.
The basic app sells for about $5 but there are plus and pro versions that sell for $20
and $30 respectively.
The basic version is aimed at beginners or casual stargazers.
It includes a database of around 120,000 stars, planets and other objects.
Sky Safari Plus significantly expands the database to more than 2.5 million stars and
includes many more deep sky objects, comets and satellites.
It also introduces enhanced features like more advanced telescope control, orbit simulation
and detailed observation planning tools.
For the most advanced users, there's the pro version with an unimaginable database of more
than 100 million stars and millions of galaxies.
Pro is designed for seasoned astronomers and astrophotographers who need detailed observation
logs and extensive telescope control options.
Next up is my app of choice, Stellarium Mobile which is another highly rated app for iOS and
Android.
Stellarium is known for its clean, intuitive interface that mimics a real-time sky view.
Stellarium tends to be more accessible for casual users or those who prefer a more visually
immersive experience without the need for advanced customization.
It does have some telescope control and a host of other nice features but it's not nearly
as full-featured as Sky Safari.
Even so, I've been a fan of Stellarium since its early days when it was a free open-source
desktop app.
The base mobile app is free and paying $20 gets you some additional tools to help you
plan your observations.
You can also use Stellarium on the desktop or in a web browser for free and we'll talk
about that in a moment.
Here's one more app to consider, Starwalk 2.
Like Sky Safari and Stellarium, Starwalk is like having a planetarium in your pocket.
Available on iOS and Android, this app uses augmented reality to give you an immersive
view of the night sky.
Compared to the other apps, Starwalk 2 is even more beginner-focused and leans more
into accessibility and ease of use.
It lacks some of the in-depth tools but provides a visually appealing, easy-to-understand sky
view that works well for quick lookups and educational purposes.
There's an ad-supported free version but upgrades and add-ons are only around $3.
These three apps are all similar so you may want to download each one and see which one
speaks to you.
I'd also like to mention two smartphone apps that both deal with astrophotography.
Photo Pills is an app that lets you plan your shots by predicting where the Milky Way, Moon,
or specific stars will be at any given time.
It includes a calculator for finding the best times and angles for photography and a set
of tools for calculating exposure times.
Even if you're not an astrophotographer, the sky planning features can really help you
understand celestial movements better.
If you want to dip your toe into the world of astrophotography and you don't have a photography
rig, you might enjoy playing with night cap camera.
This app is limited to iOS but many phones now have a night or astronomy mode built in
so you may not even need this app.
And before you scoff at using a phone for astrophotography, you should try it and see
what happens.
Using a Google Pixel phone, I caught Andromeda one evening and I've shot Aurora with my iPhone.
Night cap camera offers up some features for capturing star fields, meteors, and even the
International Space Station.
Don't forget a tripod.
Now for those of you who like to do a little research and planning before you head outside,
there are a couple great desktop programs worth mentioning.
First up is the desktop version of Stellarium which is free and open source.
Like the phone app, you can simulate the night sky from any location on Earth and see what
it will look like at any time or day.
Another great option for the desktop is Starry Night.
This one is a bit more polished than Stellarium with a highly accurate star map and some extra
telescope connectivity.
And finally, before we wrap up, there are a couple websites I recommend you check out
if you want to stay up to date with celestial events or track satellites and other sky phenomena.
HeavensAbove.com is my go-to for tracking satellites like the ISS, Iridium flares, and
more.
We use this site to generate the sky maps featured on the StarTrails website each week.
This site is also popular for amateur radio operators who are trying to bounce a signal
off of one of the numerous Hamsats floating around up there.
And finally, with all the solar flare activity we've been having lately, I've been checking
in frequently over at SpaceWeather.com.
This site keeps you updated on solar activity, auroras, meteor showers, and other sky events.
It's a great resource if you're looking to catch something like a solar storm or the
northern lights.
There are a lot more applications and sites that are useful for astronomy and will probably
cover more in future episodes.
Hopefully, these help kick your stargazing into high gear as clear evenings and longer
nights await us.
That's it for today's episode of StarTrails.
If you found this episode useful, please share it with a friend.
The easiest way to do that is by visiting our website, startrails.show, where you can
find all of our episodes including transcripts, night sky maps, and more.
Until next time, keep looking up and exploring the night sky.
OOSM