Eyes on the sky in October: between swarms of stars and planets, what we will see

Venus will be the longest visible planet, but Jupiter and Saturn will also be observable, as well as the Camelopardids and Draconids. Many appointments of the month for stargazers.

An eventful sky is that of October with swarms of stars and numerous planets that will be visible on certain occasions. Venus is the brightest and the star that will remain observable for the longest time, but the Italian Astrophilic Union has revealed that some meteor showers will also keep her company. From the Camelopardidi to the Draconidi, from Jupiter to Saturn, up to the Festival of the autumn sky are many appointments of the month for sky enthusiasts.

What we will see in the sky in October

We start, among the first dates to be marked to observe the sky, from 5 and 6 October when the absence of the Moon will allow you to observe the Camelopardidi, a new swarm reported in 2005 by observations of the IMO Video Meteor Network, which recorded an outburst of meteors very bright. This is an interesting date to study because it is not yet clear whether the Earth has encountered the densest parts for now.

October 8 is the right time to observe the Draconids, meteors quite bright and persistent whose greatest number is expected in the daylight hours of the day, detectable in Italy in the radio domain. Will be disappointed instead those waiting to see the Orionids, which will have their peak on 21 and 22 October, but will be covered by the light of the full Moon. Meanwhile, on October 16, returns the International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN), an initiative promoted worldwide to observe the Moon through a telescope, which has the Uai as a partner. For the occasion were organized 860 events around the world, 42 of which in our country. In Italy, the Uai combines the initiative with the Autumn Sky Festival to observe the Moon, stars, constellations and planets of the sky in October.

Of the planets to be scrutinized Venus is the one that will be shown longer because it sets almost 2 hours and 20 minutes after the Sun. In October it will also be possible to see Jupiter and Saturn still observable in the first part of the night, while from October 8 until the end of the month Mars, in conjunction with the Sun, cannot be spotted. As for conjunctions between the Moon and the planets, on October 9 is expected that of our satellite with Venus, on October 14 with Saturn, while on October 15 with Jupiter.

Well visible from Italy, in the first part of the month, there will also be the International Space Station while, in the early hours of the night, you can still observe some of the constellations that have dominated the summer sky: Bootes with the bright star Arcturus, Ophiuchus, Hercules and the 'Summer Triangle', with at the top the stars Altair of Aquila, Vega of Lyra and Deneb of Cygnus. Finally, we point out the comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which became famous as the target of the historic Rosetta mission, whose brightness will gradually increase throughout the month of October.

In the meantime, scientists have discovered that some types of stars have an anti-aging secret.

Stefania Bernardini