Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

Wednesday, 26 October 2022 17:00

Monday 31st October to Sunday 6th November 2022

This month, Mars makes a great target as it approaches opposition when it will be at its brightest. This coming week the Red Planet will be located towards the east if you go outside around 10pm and shining at a magnitude of around -1.3 which is pretty bright - a similar brilliance to Sirius which is the brightest star in the night sky.

You could go outside a bit earlier after it's become dark to see Mars, but then it will be lower in the sky and won't look so good in a telescope as the light reflecting from the planet's surface will be passing through more of our atmosphere and this distorts the light waves.

At the same time, you could look to the right of Mars to see the constellation of Orion, with the constellation of Taurus above it and the Pleiades open cluster of stars M45 above that. Remember that the "sword" of Orion is the location of the Great Orion Nebula M42, so it would be worth aiming at that one too!

If you take your telescope out just before 9pm on Wednesday 2nd there is a chance to see two of Jupiter's moons, Europa and Ganymede, transiting across the face of the gas giant. Jupiter will be located towards the south, with the Moon to the right of it and Saturn further right again. Our Moon will have just gone past its First Quarter phase so will appear as a waxing Gibbous Moon.

Of course when you've had enough of watching Europa and Ganymede, you could have a go at Saturn's rings and then turn your telescope towards the east to view Mars that will be nice and high in the sky by then.

Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium