October offers several memorable sights for skywatchers, including Saturn at opposition, the Orionid meteor shower, and a close pairing of the Moon and the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters. Saturn leads October's celestial lineup, followed later in the month by meteors linked to Halley's Comet and a close encounter between the Moon and one of the best known star clusters in the night sky. Together, these events make October a busy month for anyone looking up after sunset or before dawn.
On October 4th, Saturn reaches opposition, offering one of the best viewing opportunities of the year for the ringed planet. Opposition occurs when Earth moves between the Sun and Saturn. From our perspective, Saturn then appears on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun.
As a result, the planet rises around sunset and remains visible for much of the night. Saturn is also drawing scientific attention because of unusual activity in its atmosphere. Astronomers have long studied a hexagon shaped jet stream stretching nearly 20,000 miles across the planet's north pole.
More recently, observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope revealed a ten sided atmospheric wave surrounding Saturn's south pole. The feature, located in the southern hemisphere, appears to be growing stronger. That gives researchers a rare chance to observe a massive atmospheric structure as it develops.
The Orionid meteor shower reaches its peak during the night of October 21st and into the morning of October 22nd. These meteors come from small pieces of material left behind by Halley's Comet. Although the Orionids appear to originate from the direction of the constellation Orion, individual meteors can flash across any area of the sky.
Viewing conditions will not be ideal for the entire night this year. A bright waxing gibbous Moon is expected to overpower some of the fainter meteors. The best opportunity to see the shower may arrive during the few hours before dawn, after the Moon has set.
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