Monday 14th to Sunday 20th October 2024
I'll start with something for the naked eye on the evening of Monday 14th - the chance to observe an 89%-lit waxing gibbous Moon, with Saturn just above and to the right of it. Around 8pm, the pair will be located towards the south east.
Saturn will have a magnitude of about +0.7 which is quite bright, but the Moon will be creating some light pollution and spoiling the contrast.
If you repeat the exercise at the same time the following evening, the Moon will be 95%-lit and to the right of it you will find planet Neptune.
Neptune will only have a magnitude of +7.7 so you will need to dig out those binoculars or a telescope.
Look towards the east just as it's getting dark on the evening of Thursday 17th to see what will then be a full Moon rising above the horizon. This happens to coincide with lunar perigee this month, when the Moon is closest during its orbit around us, so this particular full Moon is called a "Supermoon". At perigee, our celestial neighbour is 226,000 miles away from us.
A Supermoon appears to be 14% larger and 30% brighter than a "Micromoon" that occurs at apogee, when the Moon is furthest away from us at 253,000 miles.
Because the Moon will be near the horizon, your eyes and brain play a trick on you known as "Moon Illusion" which makes it artificially look even bigger!
www.starsoversomerset.com
Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2024
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