Shropshire Star

Shropshire Sky At Night – October

The September equinox, heralding the start of autumn, slipped by without as much as a whimper.

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This image of Mars was taken by Shropshire Astronomical Society member Alan Jones from his back garden in Shrewsbury

The topic on stargazers' lips was the announcement of the 'discovery' of life on Venus, Earth's evil twin sister, as it is known. In fact it was confirmed that the biomarker Phosphine, a promising sign of life, had been detected in the atmosphere of Venus.

Phosphine is also found in the Earth's atmosphere, which originates from human activity or microbes, hence the link with possible life on Venus. A biomarker is a chemical compound that astronomers look for on other planets that might possibly indicate the presence of life. Don't get too excited – just watch this space.

Mars, on the other hand, is vying for the limelight this month being at opposition on the 13th. Opposition means that the red planet will be at its closest to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the sun, meaning it will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long.

With a medium-sized telescope you might be able to detect some of the dark details on the planet's orange surface. Look south during the evening and it will be the brightest object in the sky. To help you, just remember that stars may twinkle but planets never do.

We are graced with two full moons this month. The first one (first day of the month) referred to as the Hunters Moon by the early Native American tribes, is also known as the Travel Moon or the Blood Moon, but we call it the Harvest Moon as it is the closest full moon to the autumn equinox.

The 31st sees the second full moon of the month, as the lunar cycle is 28 days. This rare event occurs every so often and is referred to as a Blue Moon, hence the term 'once in a blue moon'.

Shooting stars, or to give them their correct term meteors, when spotted always put a smile on observers' faces.

Although it is down to luck it does help to know when certain meteor showers are due. Showers are produced when dust grains left behind by visiting comets enter the Earth's atmosphere, producing the familiar streaks of light.

The associated name for each shower gives the name of the constellation where they tend to appear from, so brush up on your night sky.

The 7th is the peak of the Draconids (Draco) as a result of comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, best seen in the early evening. Late on 21st is the peak of the Orioids (Orion) as a result of Comet Halley which should produce some good views against a dark sky, but we might have to wait until after midnight.

Finally the 21st sees the peak of the Southern Taurids (Taurus) courtesy of comet 2P Encke, but they will be hindered by the full moon. Even so, just wrap up warm, settle into your garden lounger and enjoy.

Steve Szwajkun of Shropshire Astronomical Society

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