We have high hopes this month for Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. It’s pronounced choo-cheen-SHAHN and means Purple Mountain in Chinese. The name refers to Purple Mountain Observatory in China where it was originally discovered in January 2023. The ATLAS telescopic survey of the night sky co-discovered the comet.
After a brief morning-sky appearance last month it begins its run in the evening sky starting about an hour after sunset at dusk. Look for the comet starting on Oct. 12-13 very low in the west-southwest sky below the bright orange star Arcturus and to the right of Venus. You should see a small, bright head with a plume-shaped tail about a fist long pointing up and away from the horizon.
Comet T-A will gradually climb higher and higher up the sky each night. Although it will fade, its increasing altitude will make it easier to spot. Bring binoculars to battle haze or light pollution and to see additional details in the comet’s tail. They’ll be especially helpful in digging the comet out of the twilight glow.
Venus still hovers low in the southwestern sky at dusk a half-hour to 45 minutes after sunset. Saturn is comfortably high up in the southern sky as soon as it gets dark and stand due south around 10 p.m. local time at mid-month. Brilliant Jupiter glares from low in the northeast around 10- 11 p.m. followed an hour later by Mars.
Our featured constellation is Andromeda the Princess, daughter of Cassiopeia who nearly lost her life to the sea monster Cetus as punishment for her mother’s vanity. Luckily, Perseus the Hero entered the picture and promised to save her if he could have her hand in marriage. It all worked out with their story written in the stars.
Andromeda is shaped a bit like a narrow funnel. You can find it by using Saturn to point to the Great Square. The star in the upper left corner of the square is actually part of Andromeda and a good place to start to trace out the constellation. The top of Cassiopeia also points to Andromeda and in particular to a puff of faint haze, the Andromeda Galaxy. It’s easily visible in binoculars on moonless nights 2.5 million light-years away.
Download the free Stellarium Mobile app for Android and iPhone to help you find and identify the planets, constellations and Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which is included in its database. Do a Google search then install the app, set it in night mode (red screen) and point your phone skyward. For a free October sky map and calendar go to www.skymaps.com/downloads.html
Events (a.m. indicates the event happens in the morning sky):
October 2 – New Moon. Observers in parts of South America will see an annular solar eclipse today. An annular or ring eclipse occurs when the moon is more distant from the Earth than average, which its apparent size smaller. When it passes centrally across the sun in an annular eclipse the lunar disk can’t quite cover the entire sun, leaving a ring or annulus of sunlight at mid- eclipse. A partial solar eclipse will be visible in parts of South America, Antarctica, Hawaii and part of the Baja Peninsula. See it livestreamed at timeanddate.com/live/eclipse-solar-2024-october-2 starting at 1:45 p.m. CDT.
October 5 – Thin crescent moon in conjunction with Venus low in the southwestern sky around 30 minutes after local sunset. Use binoculars. The moon will shine about 4 degrees to the lower left of Venus.
October 10 – First quarter moon. While half the moon is illuminated tonight, it’s completed just a quarter of its orbit around the Earth, hence the name.
October 13–31 – Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should be visible with the naked eye low in the southwestern sky during evening twilight and sport a longish tail, especially when viewed in binoculars. I’ll post updates and photos on my Facebook page at facebook.com/astrobobking The most important thing you’ll need is an unobstructed view to the west-southwest as the comet will hover very low in that direction for a time.
October 14 – Waxing gibbous moon shines to the left of Saturn tonight.
October 17 – Full Hunter’s Moon. Since the moon will be “most” full around 6:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time this morning, it will appear just as full the night before. Two full moons for the price of one!
October 20 – Waning gibbous moon pairs up with the bright planet Jupiter in Taurus tonight.
October 21 (a.m.) – Peak of the annual Orionid meteor shower this morning from 1 a.m. till dawn. On a moonless morning you might see some 15 Orionids per hour shooting out of the top of the constellation, but the moon will cut that number in half.
October 24 (a.m.) – Last quarter moon. Rises around 11:30 p.m. and stands approximately due south at sunrise. The moon will shine to the left of the planet Mars this morning.
October 26 (a.m.) – Waning crescent moon in conjunction with Regulus, Leo’s brightest star. The moon will pass about 3 degrees above (north of) the star.
Magnificent Aurora — A Comprehensive Guide to Nature's Greatest Light Show is now available. To purchase, visit shopatsky.com or if you’d like a signed copy, please contact Bob at duluthaurora@gmail.com
Bob King is an amateur astronomer, author, and passionate educator. He served as a photographer and photo editor at the Duluth News Tribune for 39 years and taught at the UMD planetarium. Bob’s work had a great impact on Voyageurs National Park. To achieve International Dark Sky Park certification, the park was required to host dark sky education events. Through the Night Sky Explorer webinars, the Conservancy was able to fulfill this component and help secure the certification for Voyageurs National Park. We can’t thank Bob King enough for sharing his talents and knowledge with the Conservancy community to support dark sky preservation.
