Annular Solar Eclipse, Moon, Pleiades Star Cluster And More In October Skywatching

Space.com

The moon and Pleiades star cluster are great star watching targets as the travel near one another in the night sky. Also, an annular solar eclipse and more are set to wow skywatchers this month.   Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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00:00 What's Up for October?

00:04 Some great Moon and planet pairings, a mission to a metal-rich world, and a partial eclipse

00:11 of the Sun.

00:13 On October 2nd, the Moon rises a couple of hours after sunset, appearing super close

00:18 to the Pleiades star cluster.

00:20 Look for them low in the east after around 10pm.

00:24 They travel across the sky together that night, leaving another opportunity to see them the

00:28 following morning.

00:30 In the predawn sky on October 3rd, the Moon appears a couple of finger widths apart from

00:34 the Pleiades, having moved a bit in its orbit around Earth during the night.

00:39 Look for them high in the southwest, flanked by Jupiter and the bright red giant star Aldebaran

00:44 in Taurus.

00:46 On October 10th, look for Venus in the east before sunrise, accompanied by a slim crescent

00:52 Moon.

00:53 And in between them, the bright heart of Leo the Lion, bluish-white star Regulus.

00:58 On October 23rd, look toward the south an hour or two after sunset to find the Moon,

01:03 about 70% illuminated, hanging just beneath the planet Saturn.

01:08 Their close proximity in the sky will make for some easy telescope viewing of these two

01:12 sky-watching favorites.

01:14 The following evening, the Moon will still be nearby, having moved to the east of Saturn.

01:19 The full Moon on October 28th rises together with planet Jupiter.

01:24 These are two of the brightest objects in the sky, and seeing them so close should make

01:27 for quite an impressive sight.

01:30 When you gaze up at Venus, or Mars, Mercury, or even at Earth beneath your feet, do you

01:36 ever wonder how these planets formed out of stardust?

01:40 That's how planetary scientists think, too.

01:42 And this month, NASA's launching a spacecraft to seek insights into how the terrestrial

01:46 planets developed.

01:48 NASA's Psyche spacecraft is planned to launch in October on its multi-year journey to an

01:53 asteroid of the same name.

01:55 That's the first mission to a metal-rich asteroid, which could be part of the interior

01:59 of a planetesimal, a building block of a rocky planet.

02:03 Asteroid Psyche could also turn out to be a different kind of iron-rich object that's

02:07 not been seen before.

02:08 Whatever its story turns out to be, it's hoped the mission might show us how Earth's

02:13 core and the cores of other terrestrial planets came to be.

02:17 On October 14th, sky watchers in the Americas will have an opportunity to see a special

02:22 type of solar eclipse called an annular eclipse.

02:26 Along a path about 125 miles wide, the sun will appear as a narrow ring of light, which

02:32 is often called a ring of fire.

02:35 This narrow, circle shape is also known as an annulus, giving this type of eclipse its

02:40 name.

02:41 Solar eclipses happen when the Moon comes between Earth and the Sun and covers at least

02:46 part of the Sun in the sky.

02:48 When the Moon covers the Sun completely, we get to observe a total eclipse.

02:52 But sometimes the Moon is a bit farther away in its orbit when an eclipse happens, making

02:56 it look a little smaller in the sky and just a bit too small to completely cover the Sun.

03:01 When that happens, it enables us to see an annular eclipse.

03:05 The path of this partial eclipse sweeps across the Americas, beginning in southern Canada

03:10 and crossing the western U.S., before moving across Central and South America.

03:15 Outside the annular eclipse path, those within the viewing zone will still see a partial

03:19 eclipse; the maximum amount of the Sun that will be covered by the Moon depends on your

03:23 location.

03:24 Now, eclipse fans won't have to wait long for more excitement.

03:28 Next April, a total solar eclipse will sweep across the U.S.

03:33 Check out NASA's Eclipse resources online for info about both eclipses, where they'll

03:37 be visible, and tips for safe viewing.

03:41 Here are the phases of the Moon for October.

03:45 Stay up to date with all of NASA's missions to explore the solar system and beyond at

03:49 nasa.gov.

03:50 I'm Preston Dyches from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that's What's Up for this

03:55 month.

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