courtesy of Sea & Sky
October 5 - Full Moon. Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 18:40 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Hunters Moon because at this time of year the leaves are falling and the game is fat and ready to hunt. This moon has also been known as the Travel Moon and the Blood Moon. This moon is also known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the September equinox each year.
October 8 - Draconids Meteor Shower. The Draconids is a minor meteor shower producing only about 10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was first discovered in 1900. The Draconids is an unusual shower in that the best viewing is in the early evening instead of early morning like most other showers. The shower runs annually from October 6-10 and peaks this year on the the night of the 8th. Unfortunately, the nearly full moon will block all but the brightest meteors this year. If you are extremely patient, you may be able to catch a few good ones. Best viewing will be in the early evening from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Draco, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
October 19 - New Moon. The Moon will located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This phase occurs at 19:12 UTC. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
October 19 - Uranus at Opposition. The blue-green planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view Uranus. Due to its distance, it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.
October 21, 22 - Orionids Meteor Shower. The Orionids is an average shower producing up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Halley, which has been known and observed since ancient times. The shower runs annually from October 2 to November 7. It peaks this year on the night of October 21 and the morning of October 22. The crescent moon will set early in the evening leaving dark skies for what should be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Orion, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
And check out StarDate.org.
And from Space.com
While the full Harvest Moon usually happens in September, skywatchers will be treated to a late Harvest Moon on Oct. 5 this year.
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the name of the full moon in October is usually "Hunter's Moon," as October is when people would hunt to store food for winter. However, this year is a bit out of the ordinary, and we'll have a Harvest Moon instead.
The Harvest Moon is defined as the full moon that falls closest to the autumn equinox, which happened on Sept. 22. Usually September's full moon is called the Harvest Moon, but this year, it just so happened that October's full moon is closer to the equinox. So, September's full moon was named the "Corn Moon" instead, and the next Hunter's Moon won't happen until October 2018.
Native people in North America had several different associations and names for the full moons. According to the Ontario Native Literacy Coalition, the Ojibwe peoples called October's full moon the Mskawji Giizis, or the Freezing Moon, as the weather changes and first frosts occur at this time. Cree people called it Pimahamowipisim, or the Migrating Moon, as in northeastern North America, many bird species start migrating south for the winter in October. In the Pacific Northwest, the Tlingit called the lunation of October the Big Moon, while the Haida called the month the Ice Moon.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the days are getting warmer and longer in October. The Māori of New Zealand described the lunar months in September to October as Whiringa-ā-nuku, which means, "The Earth has now become quite warm," according to "The Encyclopedia of New Zealand."
The full moon of October also marks an important holiday for Jewish people: Sukkot, the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. The holiday is also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, and is a celebration of the harvest and the exodus from Egypt.
Keep looking up!
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