October is generally a great month for stargazing. If the weather's good, you can get in a good night of with your telescope or binoculars without staying up too late. The
Milky Way lingers in the west, finally ready to set for the season, the northern
autumn stars dominate overhead, and the northern
winter stars are
starting to poke above the eastern horizon after midnight. This year, the planets
Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars, which have dazzled stargazers for months, are finally moving out of view for the year. There are also a couple of
meteor showers, the Moon twice brushes by a famous
star cluster, and the planet
Uranus reaches opposition in the constellation Aries.
Here’s what to see in the night sky this month.