Hello ...
Here's your Cosmic Pursuits newsletter for October 2024!
1. The Milky Way and northern summer stars linger in the southwestern October sky. The autumn constellations take the spotlight overhead, while the northern winter stars are starting to poke above the eastern horizon in the late evening. Saturn remains prominent in the evening sky, while Jupiter and Mars rise high enough in the morning hours, both now big enough for promising telescopic
observation. Here's what to see in the Night Sky This Month...
2. Yes, it looks like Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is living up to its billing according to photographers in the southern hemisphere. Our guide to the comet will help you see it as it swings around the Sun and gets closer to Earth in about 10 days. But what's this... yet another bright comet on the way this month? A few days ago, astronomers discovered a potentially "sungrazing" comet on the way into the inner solar system with an expected close approach to the Sun on October 28. The comet is so new
that it only has a provisional name, A11bP7I. More details about this second potentially spectacular comet at this link. (Image at top of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) courtesy of Michael Matti).
3.
The redoubtable Alan Dyer captured some superb video of a surprise display of aurora borealis at the end of August. Enjoy the brief show here.
4. Have a look at
the spectacular Elephant Trunk Nebula, a stunning 20-light-year-long tunnel of star formation in the constellation Cepheus.
5. Finally, enjoy this piece at Sky&Telescope about Helen
Sawyer-Hogg, who over a long career as a writer and professional astronomer became "a gentle guide who swept her hand to the sky and promised that the stars are for everyone."
And the astronomy quote of the month:
“Old men and comets
have been reverenced for the same reason: their long beards, and pretences to foretell events.”
- Jonathan Swift
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Wishing you clear skies!
Brian Ventrudo
Publisher
CosmicPursuits.com
