Astronomy Events in October 2017 The stars are 'back' ! If the clouds clear, grab your binoculars and take a good look this month.
October
1 M31 is well placed
5 Conjunction of Venus and Mars
5 Full Moon
13 Close approach of the Moon and M44
14 M33 is well placed
18 Conjunction of the Moon and Venus
18 Conjunction of Jupiter and Mercury
19 Uranus at opposition
20 Conjunction of the Moon and Mercury
21 Orionid meteor shower. The Orionids is an average shower producing
up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust grains
left behind by comet Halley, which has been known and observed
since ancient times. The shower runs annually from 2 October to
7 November. It peaks this year on the night between 21 and 22 October.
The crescent moon will set early in the evening leaving dark skies for
what should be a good show. Meteors will radiate from Orion, but can
appear anywhere in the sky.
26 NGC 869 is well placed
27 NGC 884 is well placed
For more ideas and information on what to observe this month, please also visit