Astronomy Events for October 2021

*This article will enable you to observe many of this month’s astronomy-related events including the positions of planets as well as rocket launches. Due to variance in the weather, not all dates for rocket launches are finale. Additionally, some events, like the Draconid meteor shower, are only visible to observers in the northern hemisphere.

The zodiac constellation associated with this month is Libra. However since the locations of the constellations have drifted since astrology’s origins, the constellation that the sun rests in front of is actually Virgo. Uranus

The planet Venus will be visible just after sunset all month. Jupiter and Saturn will also be visible after sunset, dipping below the horizon sometime after midnight. From the seventeenth on, Mercury can be seen in the direction of the sun just before it rises.

Oct 5th: Russia will launch a crew capsule to the International Space Station transporting a cosmonaut named Anton Shkaplerov as well as two professionals in the film industry to film a movie.

Oct 6th: The new moon will provide clear stary skies on October 6th.

Oct 8th: This night will display the peak of the Draconid meteor shower. The shower has been known to produce 10 to 20 meteors per hour radiating from the constellation Draco. This constellation wraps between the iconic big and little dipper constellations, making it easy to find for those living in the northern hemisphere. The cosmic light show is produced when Earth maneuvers into the debris left in the orbit of a comet called 21P/Giacobini-Zinner.

Oct 12th: Waxing first quarter moon.

Oct 14th xi The OneWeb 11 mission, including 36 satellites to provide global internet, will launch from Russia.

Oct 16th: The Florida-based Kennedy Space Center will launch NASA’s Lucy mission which will study Trojan asteroids that follow behind, and in front of, Jupiter in its orbit. Within the span of 12 years, Lucy will visit seven different Trojan asteroids and one main-belt asteroid. These asteroids serve as time capsules that will help us understand the solar system’s evolution. This is what inspired the name, Lucy, which is also the name given to the remains of an ancient human ancestor that assisted scientists in learning about human evolution.

Oct 18th: Mercury and Jupiter will end their retrograde motions. Retrograde occurs when the positions of the planets seem to go backward from our perspective due to the Earth catching up with and passing the planet in its orbit.

Oct 20th: This day will display the full moon which was referred to as the Hunters moon by indigenous Americans. This is because animals like deer were preferred to be hunted around this time after a long summer of fattening up.

Oct 21st: The peak of the Orionid meteor shower will dazzle the sky. Since these meteors radiate from the constellation Orion, they can be visible from both hemispheres of the Earth. The shower will produce about 15 meteors per hour. This is due to the Earth moving into the orbit of Halley's Comet (officially known as 1P/Halley). Debris left in the orbit of this comet pelt Earth at 41 miles (66 kilometers) per second, causing them to burn up and produce the Orionid meteor shower every October.

Oct 22st: This day will see the launch of South Korea's Korea Space Launch Vehicle, containing a dummy payload.

Oct 24th: Mercury will be at its greatest elongation toward the direction west. This means that, from our perspective, it will be at its farthest possible distance away from the sun in the direction west. Since Mercury is the closest planet to the sun it always appears close to the sun in the sky and the planet's separation from the sun makes it easier to observe, especially when the planet rises just before the sun.

The same day will see an Ariane 5 ECA rocket will be used by Arianespace to launch the SES 17 and Syracuse 4A communications satellites.

This day will also see the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch a replacement satellite for the country's regional GPS system.

Oct 28th: Russia will aim for the International Space Station as it launches a cargo resupply that can be watched here:

This will also be the night of the waning last quarter moon.

Oct 29th: Venus will be at its greatest eastern elongation. Much like Mercury's western elongation on the 24th, Venus will be at its furthest possible distance from the sun in the direction East. This will allow the planet to be remarkably visible after sunset.

Oct 31st: This Halloween SpaceX will launch 4 astronauts to the International Space Station on a crew dragon spacecraft at NASA’S Kennedy Space Center in Florida.