Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky -- Month of October 2024

If you could travel far into space to see an edge-on view of our own Milky Way Galaxy from afar, it would probably look a lot like NGC 891 (also referred to as Caldwell 23 or The Outer Limits Galaxy). This spiral galaxy is about 35 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Andromeda. NGC 891 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in October 1784. The galaxy has a visual magnitude of 10, so under ideal conditions you can make out the galaxy’s central dark lane. Autumn night skies in the Northern Hemisphere will provide the best view. In the Southern Hemisphere, look for The Outer Limits Galaxy in the springtime. Incidentally, an image of NGC 891 appeared in the end credits of the Outer Limits, an American television series from 1963 - 1965, which is why it is occasionally referred to as the Outer Limits Galaxy. [Video and Content Credits: NASA, the Office of Public Outreach – Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and JPL Caltech: Preston Dyches, Christopher Harris, and Lisa Poje, with subject matter guidance provided by JPL’s Bill Dunford and Lyle Tavernier, and the Night Sky Network’s Kat Troche] [Image Credit: Jon Christensen, Astromart Gallery Contributor – see some of his beautiful work at https://www.astromart.com/gallery/user/568 ]

 

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Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky -- Month of October 2024

Welcome to the night sky report for October 2024 -- Your guide to the constellations, deep sky objects, planets, and celestial events that are observable during the month. The highlight of this October is a potentially bright comet (C/2023 A3 aka Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) that will appear around mid-month. In addition, Venus, Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter can be observed along with the Moon. The crisp, clear October nights are also full of celestial showpieces for the deep sky gazer. For example, find Pegasus the flying horse of Greek mythology to pinpoint nice dense globular clusters and galaxies. The night sky is truly a celestial showcase. Get outside and explore its wonders from your own backyard.

Look for Venus low in the west just after sunset. It's setting by the time the sky is fully dark. Saturn is visible toward the southeast as soon as it gets dark out, and sets by dawn. Mars rises around midnight all month. By dawn it has climbed quite high into the south-southeastern sky, appearing together with Jupiter. Now, Jupiter is rising in the first half of the night. In early October you'll find it high in the south as dawn approaches and later in the month it's progressed farther over to the west before sunrise.

And, speaking of Jupiter, NASA plans to launch its latest solar system exploration mission to one of the giant planet's moons this month. Europa Clipper is slated to blast off as early as October 10th. It's thought that Europa holds an enormous ocean of salty liquid water beneath its icy surface. That makes this the first mission dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth. Europa Clipper is designed to help us understand whether this icy moon could support some form of life, and along the way it'll teach us more about the conditions that make a world habitable.

Now, if you've ever pointed binoculars or a telescope at Jupiter, you know the thrill of seeing the little star-like points of light next to it that are its four large moons, which were first observed by Galileo in 1610.

There are two mornings in October, the 11th and the 25th, when you can most easily observe Europa. These are times when the moon is at its greatest separation from the planet as seen from here on Earth and it's all by itself to one side of Jupiter. So be sure to have your own peek at Jupiter's moon Europa this month, as a new NASA mission begins its journey to explore an ocean in the sky.

There are a few Moon and planet pair-ups this October. On the 13th and 14th after dark, look for the nearly full Moon with Saturn toward the southeast. Then on the evening of October 20th, the Moon rises near Jupiter, with the giant planet looking extremely bright. You should be able to find them low in the east after around 10:00 PM that night. Then, in the morning of Oct. 23rd and 24th, early risers will be able to spot Mars together with the Moon, high overhead in the south.

 

 

Now for the highlight of the month -- October offers a chance to observe what could be the brightest comet of the year. Earlier this year we got a look at Comet 12P, which was visible with binoculars but not super bright. Now another of these ancient and icy dust balls is streaking through our neighborhood on an 80,000-year orbit from the distant reaches of the Oort Cloud. The comet, known as C/2023 A3, aka Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, is currently speeding through the inner solar system. It passed its closest to the Sun in late September and will be at its closest to Earth on October 13th. After that time, through the end of the month, will be the best time to look for it. This is when the comet will become visible low in the western sky beginning during twilight.

It will quickly rise higher each subsequent evening, making it easier to observe, but it'll also be getting a little fainter each night. As with all comets, predictions for how bright it could get are uncertain. If the comet's tail is brilliantly illuminated by the Sun, predictions show that it could become bright enough to see with the unaided eye. But comets have a way of surprising us, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Your best shot at seeing it will be from around October 14th through the 24th, with binoculars or a small telescope, and a reasonably clear view toward the west.

 

To observe the deep sky objects this month, face southeast after dark to find Pegasus, the flying horse of Greek myth, soaring high into the sky. The prominent square of stars that forms the body makes Pegasus a good guidepost for the autumn sky.

Along the western side of the Great Square of Pegasus lies the star 51 Pegasi. It is notable as the first Sun-like star discovered to harbor an orbiting planet.

Farther west, near the star Enif, which marks the horse’s nose, lays an entire city of stars -- the globular star cluster M15. Backyard telescopes show a grainy, concentrated sphere of light. But NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope shows a stunning globe of ancient stars with many red giants. M15 is one of the densest globular star clusters known in the Milky Way galaxy.

Near the Great Square resides an even larger star city -- the galaxy NGC 7331. In a telescope, the nearly edge-on spiral galaxy appears as an elongated smudge of faint light. The Hubble view shows that NGC 7331 is a galaxy very similar in size and structure to our own. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope’s view of the galaxy, which highlights infrared light, reveals a ring of dust circling the galaxy’s center at a radius of nearly 20,000 light-years. Spitzer measurements suggest that the ring contains enough gas to produce four billion stars like the Sun.

The brightest star of the Pegasus Great Square, named Alpheratz, marks the head of the princess Andromeda. Beside the Andromeda constellation is M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. Visible in dark skies as an elongated patch of light, the galaxy, at 2.5 million light-years distant, is the farthest object that can be seen with the unaided eye. Binoculars and small telescopes clearly show its nearly edge-on shape. NASA’s GALEX mission imaged the ultraviolet light from the Andromeda Galaxy and shows its core and spiral arms traced by hot, massive, young blue stars and dark dust lanes. Andromeda is the nearest large galaxy to our own. Studies indicate that Andromeda is approaching and will collide and merge with the Milky Way more than four billion years from now.

All month long, look high overhead early in the evening to find two bright stars that take turns with Polaris being the North Star. Their names are Vega and Deneb. Both of these stars are part of the Summer Triangle, along with Altair. To find Vega and Deneb, look high overhead in the first few hours after it gets dark. They'll be two of the brightest stars you can see.

Vega is a bluish-white star, and like Altair, it's a fast rotator, spinning every 12 and a half hours, compared to the Sun's 27-day rotation. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope found Vega to have a debris disk around it that could be similar to regions in our own solar system.

Deneb is a blue-white supergiant star that is fusing hydrogen at a phenomenal rate.

With this sort of fury, the party won't last much longer. Deneb is likely headed for an explosive end as a supernova within a few million years. Deneb is much farther away than most bright stars in our night sky. It is super luminous to be that bright from so far away. Because it's so bright, it's one of the most distant stars you can see with the unaided eye.

These stars rotate around the northern celestial pole, and this time of year, they dip toward the western horizon before setting in the pre-dawn hours. Both Vega and Deneb are part of a special group of stars that take turns being the pole star in the north, as Earth's axis wobbles in a circle over a period of 26,000 years. For now the distinction of "North Star" belongs to Polaris, for at least a few hundred years more.

The night sky is always a celestial showcase. Get outside and explore its wonders from your own backyard.

The following Deep Sky Objects (DSOs) are found in constellations that are observable during the month. Some of the objects listed here can be viewed with binoculars or a small telescope, but the majority will require a moderate to large aperture telescope (7 inches to 12 inches in diameter) with appropriate filters and a dark sky, especially for many of the nebulae. The following is adapted from my personal viewing list: "The Guy Pirro 888 Best and Brightest Deep Sky Objects in the Northern Skies." All the objects in this list can be viewed from the northern hemisphere up to around the mid-Northern Latitudes (40 degrees N).

 

Constellation: Andromeda (AND)

IC 239                         Galaxy                         P27

NGC 205                      Galaxy                         M110, Herschel 400 H18-5 Satellite of Andromeda

NGC 221                      Galaxy                         M32 Satellite of Andromeda

NGC 224                      Galaxy                         M31 Andromeda Galaxy

NGC 404                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H224-2 Not Found 404 Galaxy

NGC 752                      Open Cluster               C28, Herschel 400 H32-7

NGC 891                      Galaxy                         C23, Herschel 400 H19-5 Outer Limits Galaxy

NGC 956                      Asterism                      P123

NGC 7640                    Galaxy                         P218

NGC 7662                    Planetary Nebula          C22, Herschel 400 H18-4 Blue Snowball Nebula

NGC 7686                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H69-8

 

Constellation: Aries (ARI)

NGC 772                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H112-1 Fiddlehead Galaxy

NGC 821                      Galaxy                         P234, partially obscured by Star SAO 92805

 

Constellation: Cassiopeia (CAS)

IC 10                           Galaxy                         P77

IC 59                           Emission/Reflect Neb     P21 Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula (West)

IC 63                           Emission/Reflect Neb     P22 Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula (East)

IC 166                          Open Cluster               P217

IC 289                          Planetary Nebula         P290

IC 1590                        Open Cluster               P144, included in NGC 281 Pacman Nebula

IC 1747                        Planetary Nebula         P146

IC 1795                        HII Ionized Nebula       P122 Fish Head Nebula, partially overlaps NGC 896

IC 1805                        Emission Nebula          P2 Heart Nebula, includes Open Cluster Melotte 15

IC 1848                        Emission Nebula          P3 Soul Nebula, Westerhout 5

NGC 103                      Open Cluster               P137

NGC 110                      Open Cluster               P250

NGC 129                      Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H79-8

NGC 133                      Open Cluster               P138

NGC 136                      Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H35-6

NGC 146                      Open Cluster               P204

NGC 147                      Galaxy                         C17 Satellite of Andromeda

NGC 185                      Galaxy                         C18, Herschel 400 H707-2 Satellite of Andromeda

NGC 189                      Open Cluster               P5

NGC 225                      Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H78-8 Sailboat Cluster

NGC 278                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H159-1

NGC 281                      HII Ionized Nebula       P4 Pacman Nebula

NGC 366                      Open Cluster               P220

NGC 381                      Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H64-8

NGC 436                      Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H45-7

NGC 457                      Open Cluster               C13, Herschel 400 H42-1 Dragonfly Cluster

NGC 559                      Open Cluster               C8, Herschel 400 H48-7

NGC 581                      Open Cluster               M103

NGC 609                      Open Cluster               P219

NGC 637                      Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H49-7

NGC 654                      Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H46-7

NGC 659                      Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H65-8

NGC 663                      Open Cluster               C10, Herschel 400 H31-6

NGC 1027                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H66-8, overlaps part of Heart Nebula

NGC 7635                    HII Ionized Nebula       C11 Bubble Nebula

NGC 7654                    Open Cluster               M52 Scorpion Cluster

NGC 7788                    Open Cluster               P139

NGC 7789                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H30-6 White Rose Cluster

NGC 7790                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H56-7

 

Constellation: Cepheus (CEP)

Caldwell 9                   HII Ionized Nebula       C9 Cave Nebula, Sharpless 155

IC 1396                        Emission Nebula         P6 Elephant’s Trunk Nebula

IC 1470                       HII Ionized Nebula       P192

NGC 40                        Planetary Nebula         C2, Herschel 400 H58-4 Bow Tie Nebula

NGC 188                      Open Cluster               C1 Polarissima Cluster

NGC 2300                    Galaxy                         P160

NGC 6939                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H42-6

NGC 6951                    Galaxy                         P267

NGC 7023                    Reflection Nebula         C4 Iris Nebula

NGC 7129                    Reflection Nebula         P58

NGC 7142                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H66-7

NGC 7160                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H67-8

NGC 7226                    Open Cluster               P140

NGC 7235                    Open Cluster               P7

NGC 7261                    Open Cluster               P8

NGC 7354                    Planetary Nebula        P257

NGC 7380                    Open Cluster              Herschel 400 H77-8, inside the Wizard Nebula

NGC 7510                    Open Cluster              Herschel 400 H44-7

NGC 7538                    Emission Nebula         P94

NGC 7762                    Open Cluster               P141

NGC 7822                    HII Ionized Nebula       P33

 

Constellation: Cetus (CET)

IC 1613                        Galaxy                         C51

NGC 45                        Galaxy                         P225

NGC 157                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H3-2

NGC 210                      Galaxy                         P251

NGC 246                      Planetary Nebula          C56, Herschel 400 H25-5 Skull Nebula

NGC 247                      Galaxy                         C62, Herschel 400 H20-5 Claw Galaxy

NGC 578                      Galaxy                         P221

NGC 584                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H100-1

NGC 596                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H4-2

NGC 615                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H282-2

NGC 720                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H105-1

NGC 779                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H101-1

NGC 864                      Galaxy                         P124

NGC 908                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H153-1

NGC 936                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H23-4

NGC 988                      Galaxy                         P324, partially obscured by Star SAO 129994

NGC 1022                    Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H102-1

NGC 1042                    Galaxy                         P148

NGC 1052                    Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H63-1

NGC 1055                    Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H1-1

NGC 1068                    Galaxy                         M77 Squid Galaxy

NGC 1073                    Galaxy                         P205

NGC 1087                    Galaxy                         P227 Saint Nikola’s Prayer Galaxy

 

Constellation: Lacerta (LAC)

IC 1434                       Open Cluster               P159

IC 5217                        Planetary Nebula        P230 Little Saturn Nebula

NGC 7209                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H53-7

NGC 7243                    Open Cluster               C16, Herschel 400 H75-8

NGC 7245                    Open Cluster               P161

NGC 7296                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H41-7

 

Constellation: Pegasus (PEG)

NGC 7078                    Globular Cluster           M15 Great Pegasus Globular Cluster

NGC 7177                    Galaxy                         P370

NGC 7217                    Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H207-2

NGC 7331                    Galaxy                         C30, Herschel 400 H53-1

NGC 7332                    Galaxy                         P288 Paired with NGC 7339

NGC 7448                    Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H251-2

NGC 7457                    Galaxy                         P173

NGC 7479                    Galaxy                         C44, Herschel 400 H55-1 Superman Galaxy

NGC 7619                    Galaxy                         P346

NGC 7626                    Galaxy                         P108

NGC 7814                    Galaxy                         C43 Little Sombrero Galaxy

 

Constellation: Perseus (PER)

IC 348                         Open Cluster               P95

IC 351                          Planetary Nebula        P351

IC 2003                        Planetary Nebula        P237

IC 2067                        Reflection Nebula       P326

NGC 650/NGC 651        Planetary Nebula        M76, Herschel 400 H193-1 Little Dumbell Nebula

NGC 744                      Open Cluster               P96

NGC 869                      Open Cluster               C14a, Herschel 400 H33-6 Double Cluster (West)

NGC 884                      Open Cluster               C14b, Herschel 400 H34-6 Double Cluster (East)

NGC 957                      Open Cluster               P97

NGC 1023                    Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H156-1 Perseus Lenticular Galaxy

NGC 1039                    Open Cluster               M34 Spiral Cluster

NGC 1058                    Galaxy                         P107

NGC 1161                    Galaxy                         P261

NGC 1220                    Open Cluster               P238

NGC 1245                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H25-6

NGC 1275                    Galaxy                        C24 Perseus A Seyfert Galaxy

NGC 1333                    Reflection Nebula         P330

NGC 1342                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H88-8 Stingray Cluster

NGC 1444                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H80-8

NGC 1491                    HII Ionized Nebula       P60 Fossil Footprint Nebula

NGC 1496                    Open Cluster               P174

NGC 1499                    Emission Nebula         P44 California Nebula

NGC 1513                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H60-7

NGC 1528                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H61-7

NGC 1545                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H85-8

NGC 1579                   Emission/Reflect Neb    P333 Northern Trifid Nebula

NGC 1582                    Open Cluster               P45

NGC 1605                    Open Cluster               P239, pair of Open Clusters (overlapping binary pair)

NGC 1624                    Open Cluster               P240

 

Constellation: Pisces (PSC)

NGC 315                      Galaxy                         P366

NGC 488                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H252-3

NGC 524                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H151-1

NGC 628                      Galaxy                         M74 Phantom Galaxy

NGC 660                      Galaxy                         P318

NGC 741                      Galaxy                         P260

 

Constellation: Sculptor (SCL)

NGC 253                      Galaxy                         C65, Herschel 400 H1-5 Sculptor Galaxy

NGC 288                      Globular Cluster           Herschel 400 H20-6

NGC 613                      Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H281-1

NGC 7507                    Galaxy                         P117

 

Constellation: Taurus (TAU)

Messier 45                  Open Cluster               M45, Collinder 42, Pleiades, Seven Sisters, Subaru

Caldwell 41                 Open Cluster               C41, Collinder 50, Hyades

IC 349                        Reflection Nebula        P339 Barnard’s Merope Nebula

NGC 1514                    Planetary Nebula        P120 Crystal Ball Nebula

NGC 1554                    Reflection Nebula       P200 Von Struve’s Lost Nebula

NGC 1555                    Reflection Nebula       P201 Hind’s Variable Nebula

NGC 1647                   Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H8-8

NGC 1746                   Asterism                      P55, includes NGC 1750 and NGC 1758

NGC 1750                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H43-8, overlaps NGC 1746

NGC 1807                    Asterism                      P65

NGC 1817                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H4-7

NGC 1952                    Supernova Remnant   M1 Crab Nebula

 

Constellation: Triangulum (TRI)

NGC 598                      Galaxy                         M33, Herschel 400 H17-5 Triangulum Galaxy

NGC 672                      Galaxy                         P114

NGC 890                      Galaxy                         P150

NGC 925                      Galaxy                         P66

 

For more information:

Northern Latitudes:

https://hubblesite.org/resource-gallery/tonights-sky

https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up

https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm

https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatching/home/

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/

https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/skyreport

http://outreach.as.utexas.edu/public/skywatch.html

https://griffithobservatory.org/explore/observing-the-sky/sky-report/

http://www.beckstromobservatory.com/whats-up-in-tonights-sky-2/

https://www.fairbanksmuseum.org/planetarium/eye-on-the-night-sky

http://dudleyobservatory.org/tonights-sky/

https://cse.umn.edu/mifa/starwatch

http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/learn/astro/nightsky/maps

https://tonightssky.com/MainPage.php

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/night/

https://stardate.org/nightsky

https://www.adventuresci.org/starcharts

https://www.astromart.com/news/search?category_id=3&q=kiss+the+sky&from=&to

 

Equatorial Latitudes:

https://heavens-above.com/SkyChart2.aspx

https://in-the-sky.org/data/constellations_map.php

https://ytliu0.github.io/starCharts/chartGCRS.html

 

Southern Latitudes:

https://www.scitech.org.au/explore/the-sky-tonight/

https://www.stardome.org.nz/star-charts--sky-spotter

 

My personal deep sky observing list -- I use this to line up my DSO targets on any particular night:

https://www.astromart.com/reviews/advanced/show/my-celestial-jewel-box-the-guy-pirro-888-best-and-brightest-deep-sky-objects-in-the-northern-skies

 

Daily Moon Observing Guide:

https://moon.nasa.gov/moon-observation/daily-moon-guide/?intent=011

 

Find Astronomy Clubs, Events, and Star Parties in Your Area:

https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/

 

Watch Satellites Pass Over Your Location:

https://james.darpinian.com/satellites/

 

Astromart News Archives:

https://www.astromart.com/news/search?category_id=3&q=.

 

Check out some of my favorite Words of Wisdom:

https://astromart.com/news/show/words-of-wisdom-my-favorite-quotable-quotes

https://astromart.com/news/show/words-of-wisdom-my-favorite-proverbs-from-around-the-world

 

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