October Stargazing

SkyTips: October 2011

Stargazing Summary

October offers some of the best skywatching conditions of the year. The nights are getting longer, while the weather is cooler but not bitter (for most of the country, at least). The evening sky offers such treats as Andromeda and her famous galaxy, M31, as well as several other constellations associated with her mythological story, and the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters in Taurus. Jupiter puts on its best show of the year, Mars continues its climb up the morning sky, and Venus just peeks into view in the evening twilight at month's end.

More stargazing information: http://stardate.org/nightsky

Radio Program Highlights

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October 3-9: Royal stars. The constellation Cassiopeia, the queen, is one of the highlights of autumn. We'll have details, including the story of one of its stars that exploded, and another one that's about to. Join us for the queen and much more.

October 10-16: Volcanic moon. One of the largest moons of Jupiter looks like a giant pepperoni-and-black-olive pizza. It's not that tasty, though — the pizza-like features are blobs of sulfur spewed out by giant volcanoes. Join us for Io and more.

October 17-23: Moon, Mars, and meteors. The Moon has a bright orange companion late this week: the planet Mars. We'll have details. And we'll also talk about an autumn meteor shower. Join us for these, plus an undersea adventure and much more.

October 24-30: Bright and dark. The giant, dazzling planet Jupiter is putting in its best showing of the year this week, and we'll tell you why. And we'll also tell you about a giant world that's darker than coal. Join us for this and more.

October 31-November 6: A great show. One of the brightest comets of the last few centuries lit up Earth's night sky two centuries ago. We'll have details. We'll also talk about an attempt to get back in the game of planetary exploration.

October Program Schedule: http://stardate.org/radio/calendars
Find an Affiliate: http://stardate.org/radio/affiliates

Coming Up In StarDate Magazine

The editors of StarDate bring you ideas for astronomy- or space-themed holiday gifts in our November/December issue in our feature "Astro Gifts for Everyone." And astronomer and author Barbara Ryden of Ohio State University returns to StarDate to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Grote Reber, one of the pioneers of radio astronomy, in her feature "Tuning into the Radio Universe."

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Black Holes: Stranger than Fiction

The concept of black holes has intrigued scientists for hundreds of years. For an introduction to the topic, watch "Black Holes: Stranger than Fiction," the latest video from the Texas Cosmology Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Narrated by StarDate radio's Sandy Wood, the video explains the different types of black holes, and speculates on how they form and evolve.

Watch: http://blackholes.stardate.org/basics

Visit the McDonald Observatory in the mountains of West Texas