October Skies Will Put On A Show

"Arthur T Knackerbracket" writes:

https://www.cnet.com/science/space/october-skies-will-put-on-a-show-heres-when-to-look-up/

As autumn paints the leaves, the universe is putting on its own seasonal spectacular. October features an action-packed lineup of meteor showers and celestial showcases.

Every planet in the solar system is easily seen at some point this month, with Mercury being the most difficult. That's not unusual, thanks to its proximity to the sun. Here's a quick rundown on the best times to view each planet in October.

Mercury: Mercury is in elongation (the furthest it can get from the sun) on Oct. 12, making that day and the two or so days before and after the best possible time to view Mercury.

Venus: Venus spends most of the month being right next to the sun, making it virtually impossible to see. However, by the end of the month, it begins to separate from the sun, making it visible just after sunset. The best view is on Oct. 31, and the view is only set to get better going into November.

Mars: Mars will be visible in the night sky every night in October. It rises from the eastern horizon right around 2 a.m. and stays there until the sun comes up.

Jupiter: Jupiter and Mars are going to be pretty close together all month, so most of the same rules apply, except that Jupiter rises about two hours later than Mars on most nights in October.

Saturn: Saturn is living its best life in October. It's visible almost right at sunset ET and stays visible in the night sky until sunrise.

Neptune: Neptune is also visible every day in October and follows a very similar path to Saturn. It rises in the east, streaks across the sky, and sets in the west right around sunrise. They're actually pretty close together in the night sky every night during the month, so if you can find Saturn, Neptune isn't far off, but you'll definitely need magnification to see it.

Uranus: Uranus is visible the entire month and follows a very similar path through the sky as Saturn and Neptune, but its trek happens later at night. It rises on the eastern horizon about 2 hours after Saturn and follows it across the sky, but never really catches up, ending up in the high western sky when sunrise comes.

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