Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky -- Month of October 2023

Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 7331 is often touted as an analog to our own Milky Way. About 50 million light-years distant in the northern constellation Pegasus, NGC 7331 was recognized early on as a spiral nebula and is actually one of the brighter galaxies not included in Charles Messier's famous 18th century catalog. Since the galaxy's disk is inclined to our line-of-sight, long telescopic exposures often result in images that evokes a strong sense of depth. The effect is further enhanced in this sharp image by galaxies that lie beyond the gorgeous island universe. The most prominent background galaxies are about one tenth the apparent size of NGC 7331 and so lie roughly ten times farther away. Their close alignment on the sky with NGC 7331 occurs just by chance. Lingering above the plane of the Milky Way, NGC 7331 and this striking visual grouping of galaxies was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. [Video and Content Credits: NASA, the Office of Public Outreach – Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), JPL – Caltech, Preston Dyches, Christopher Harris, and Lisa Poje with subject matter guidance provided by Bill Dunford, Gary Spiers, and Lyle Tavernier] [Image Credit:  R J GaBany, Astromart Gallery Contributor. Taken with a Mewlon 300 f/9.3 ST-10XE, CFW8a, AO-7 LRGB 60:45:45:30 - https://www.astromart.com/gallery/photo/19752 ]

Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky -- Month of October 2023

Welcome to the night sky report for October 2023 -- Your guide to the constellations, deep sky objects, planets, and celestial events that are observable during the month. The crisp, clear October nights are full of celestial showpieces for the deep sky gazer. Find Pegasus, the flying horse of Greek myth, to pinpoint dense globular star clusters and galaxies. Look for M15, NGC 7331, and M31 - the Andromeda Galaxy. A "Ring of Fire" solar eclipse across the Americas on October 14th is this month's top highlight. Plus the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus strike some lovely poses for stargazers and planet watchers to enjoy. The night sky is truly a celestial showcase. Get outside and explore its wonders from your own backyard.

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.

Early in October the Moon rises a couple of hours after sunset, appearing super close to the Pleiades star cluster. Look for them low in the east after around 10:00 PM. They travel across the sky together at night, leaving another opportunity to see them the following morning. In the predawn sky after a few days, the Moon appears a couple of finger widths apart from the Pleiades, having moved a bit in its orbit around Earth during the night. Look for them high in the southwest, flanked by Jupiter and the bright red giant star Aldebaran in Taurus.

On October 10th, look for Venus in the east before sunrise, accompanied by a slim crescent Moon. And in between them, the bright heart of Leo the lion, the bluiush-white star Regulus.

On October 23rd, look toward the south an hour or two after sunset to find the Moon, about 70% illuminated, hanging just beneath the planet Saturn. Their close proximity in the sky will make for some easy telescope viewing of these two skywatching favorites. The following evening, the Moon will still be nearby, having moved to the east of Saturn.

The full moon on October 28th rises together with planet Jupiter. These are two of the brightest objects in the sky, and seeing them so close should make for quite an impressive sight.

When you gaze up at Venus, Mars, Mercury (or even down at Earth beneath your feet), do you ever wonder how these planets formed out of stardust? That's how planetary scientists think, too. And this month, NASA is launching a spacecraft to seek new insights into how the "terrestrial" planets developed. NASA's Psyche spacecraft is planned to launch in October on its multi-year journey to an asteroid of the same name. It's the first mission to a metal-rich asteroid, which some researchers believe could be part of the interior of a planetesimal – a building block of a rocky planet.

Asteroid Psyche could also turn out to be a different kind of iron-rich object that's not been seen before. Whatever its story turns out to be, it's hoped the mission might show us how Earth’s core and the cores of the other terrestrial planets came to be.

On October 14th, skywatchers in the Americas will have an opportunity to see a special type of solar eclipse called an annular eclipse. Along a path about 125 miles wide, the Sun will appear as a narrow ring of light, which is often called a "ring of fire." This narrow circle shape is also known as an annulus, giving this type of eclipse its name.

Solar eclipses happen when the Moon comes between Earth and the Sun, and covers at least part of the Sun in the sky. When the Moon covers the Sun completely, we get to observe a total eclipse. But sometimes the Moon is a bit farther away in its orbit when an eclipse happens, making it look a little smaller in the sky, and just a bit too small to completely cover the Sun. When that happens, it enables us to see an annular eclipse.

The path of this partial eclipse sweeps across the Americas, beginning in Southern Canada and crossing the Western US before moving across Central and South America. Outside the annular eclipse path, those within the viewing zone will still see a partial eclipse. The maximum amount of the Sun that will be covered by the Moon depends on your location.

Eclipse fans won't have to wait long for more excitement. Next April, a total solar eclipse will sweep across the US. Check out NASA's eclipse resources online for info about both eclipses, where they'll be visible, and tips for safe viewing.

The night sky is always a celestial showcase. Explore its wonders from your own backyard.

The following Deep Sky Objects are found in constellations that peak during the month. Some can be viewed with a small telescope, but the majority will require a moderate to large telescope. The following is adapted from my personal viewing list: "The Guy Pirro 777 Best and Brightest Deep Sky Objects."

Constellation: Andromeda

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

NGC 752                      Open Cluster              C28, Herschel 400 H32-7

NGC 891                      Galaxy                         C23, Herschel 400 H19-5

NGC 956                      Open Cluster              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: Cassiopeia

IC 10                            Galaxy                             P77

IC 59                           Diffuse Nebula               P21 - Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula (West)

IC 63                            Diffuse Nebula              P22 – Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula (East)

IC 166                          Open Cluster                 P217

IC 1795                        Diffuse Nebula              P122

IC 1805                        Emission Nebula           P2 Heart Nebula

IC 1848                        Emission Nebula           P3 Soul Nebula

IC 1871                        Diffuse Nebula               P136

NGC 103                      Open Cluster                  P137

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                      Emission Nebula          P4 Pacman Nebula

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 Owl 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

NGC 7635                    Diffuse Nebula              C11 Bubble Nebula

NGC 7654                    Open Cluster                M52

NGC 7788                    Open Cluster                P139

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

NGC 7790                    Open Cluster                Herschel 400 H56-7

NGC 7795                    Open Cluster                P23

Constellation: Pegasus

NGC 7078                    Globular Cluster        M15

NGC 7217                    Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H207-2

NGC 7331                    Galaxy                         C30, Herschel 400 H53-1

NGC 7448                    Galaxy                         Herschel 400 H251-2

NGC 7457                    Galaxy                         P173

NGC 7479                    Galaxy                         C44, Herschel 400 H55-1

NGC 7814                    Galaxy                         C43

Constellation: Pisces

NGC 488                      Galaxy                             Herschel 400 H252-3

NGC 524                      Galaxy                             Herschel 400 H151-1

NGC 628                      Galaxy                             M74

NGC 676                      Galaxy                             P175

Constellation: Sculptor

NGC 55                        Galaxy                             C72

NGC 134                      Galaxy                             P116

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

NGC 288                      Globular Cluster            Herschel 400 H20-6

NGC 300                      Galaxy                            C70

NGC 613                      Galaxy                            Herschel 400 H281-1

NGC 7507                    Galaxy                            P117

     - NGC 7513             Galaxy                              - Paired with P117

NGC 7793                    Galaxy                            P61

For more information:

Northern Latitudes:

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

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

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

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

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

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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