In the Sky This Month

Aldebaran, the eye of the bull, stands quite near the Moon tonight. The bright orange star will be close to the right of the Moon as they climb into good view, around 10 p.m., and a little farther below the Moon at dawn tomorrow.

Capella, one of the brightest stars in the night, is in view in the northeast by mid-evening, far to the left of the Moon. It consists of two widely separated pairs of stars. One pair is bright, but the other is too faint to see without a telescope.

A group of scientists and musicians recently sent messages to GJ 273, a star system that’s about 12 light-years away. It’s near Procyon, the brightest star of Canis Minor, the little dog, which is high in the south-southeast at first light.

The brightest star in Aries, the ram, sweeps across the eastern evening sky this month. Hamal is an orange-giant star about 75 light-years away. It is low in the east early this evening, to the upper left of the Moon.

Tonight is the night of the Hunter’s Moon. It’s the full Moon after the Harvest Moon, which appeared in September. Despite what many think, though, the Harvest and Hunter’s Moons aren’t any bigger and brighter than any other full Moons.

Altair, one of the members of the Summer Triangle, stands high in the south as darkness falls and drops down the western sky during the night. Altair is a couple of times wider and heavier than the Sun, so it’s hotter and brighter than the Sun.

Ursa Major hunkers low in the north on autumn evenings. Americans see its brightest stars as the Big Dipper. In England, though, these stars are seen as a plow. October is a good time to visualize a plow because it stands just above the horizon.

A handful of bright stars fills the evening sky. Around 10 p.m., yellow Capella is low in the northeast, while bright white Fomalhaut is in the south. In the west, Deneb, Vega, and Altair form the Summer Triangle.

Autumn is prime viewing time for Aquarius, the water bearer. One of the 12 constellations of the zodiac, it appears low in the southeast at sunset and is visible throughout the night.

Summer arrives today in the northern hemisphere of Mars. The planet is just peeking into view in the dawn sky. It’s quite low in the east, so it’s hard to spot. It climbs higher each day, though, so it will be easier to see in a couple of weeks.