2023-10-18 15:10:02
Jupiter and Saturn at the start of the night will be remarkable, very high on the horizon and very bright. Saturn is in the constellation Aquarius and Jupiter is in Pisces and Taurus. To find them easily, just look at them when they are close to the Moon. Our natural satellite will be very close to Saturn on October 23 and 24, and to Jupiter on October 28 and 29.
If you don’t have a telescope, we invite all of our listeners to observe Jupiter with a pair of binoculars. You will then see very bright Jupiter accompanied by these 4 moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. This period is very favorable for observing the transits of satellites in front of the planet. So with a small telescope, you might see the shadows of the satellites cast on Jupiter.
We also invite you to observe the beautiful Venus in the early morning before sunrise. You should not miss the very close approximation of Venus with a pretty lunar crescent, on the morning of November 9. You will be able to easily see the two stars in the same field with a pair of binoculars.
Shooting stars to admire
You will be able to see the Orionid meteor shower. You certainly know the Perseids in August, and I suggest you discover this less active swarm but which should give rise to beautiful shooting stars. Maximum activity is expected to occur during the night of October 21-22. The Moon in the first quarter will allow you to take advantage of the second part of the moonless night to observe around ten meteors per hour. These shooting stars which seem to come from the constellation Orion are dust from the famous Halley’s comet which enters the Earth’s atmosphere at 66 km/second.
Other astronomical phenomena not to be missed
We mightn’t not talk regarding the partial lunar eclipse which will be clearly observable across the entire African continent on October 28, in the early evening. A quick reminder, a partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon partially passes into the Earth’s shadow cone. On the evening of October 28, you will only see a very small piece of the Moon, regarding 12%, disappear into the Earth’s shadow cone. The phenomenon will last a little over an hour. Note that the Moon will rise eclipsed in western Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. In the rest of Africa, the eclipse will begin following moonrise. If you want the times of the phenomenon, I invite you to go to the website of the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and the Calculation of Ephemeris which offers you the ephemeris on the African continent every month in our web magazine L’Astronomie Afrique.
See you in December?
We remind you that a new astronomical telescope is once once more in play thanks to our partners SSVI and RFI. To participate, send to our page Facebook Astronomy Africa your most beautiful photos or videos or even a pretty text that you have written. The winner will be announced in January 2024. Good observations. Good skies to all and remember…the sky is the biggest screen, just look up.
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