The two brightest planets in the solar system are coming into view for the upcoming months. Jupiter starts the show off with its arrival in the east in October not long after Sunset. The largest of the gas giant planets will rise a bit earlier each night in the constellation Aries until it reaches opposition on October 28, rising as the Sun sets and gliding with the stars from one end of the sky to the other until Sunrise. Jupiter will shine at its maximum possible brightness of magnitude -2.9, easily more brilliant than any surrounding stars, including the twinkling Capella to the planet’s north.
On October 28, just after Sunset, look for the crescent Moon setting in the southwest. To the lower right of the Moon will be bright Venus, and just below Venus is a bonus planet: Mercury. Mercury stays about two degrees away from Venus from this date until November 14, but it will slide a bit to the lower left of Venus.
When Venus enters the constellation Sagittarius, it will appear close to some deep-sky objects. Even though they will be low on the horizon, try to spot them with binoculars or a telescope. On November 26, Venus will be just to the left of a crescent Moon, and just above Venus is the Lagoon Nebula at magnitude 5.0. On December 1, Venus nearly replaces the top star in the lid of the teapot of Sagittarius. On the next night, December 2, Venus will be just below the globular cluster M22, which shines at magnitude 5.2.
the Moon will be by the Pleiades cluster on October 14, November 11, and December 8. This is because it takes the Moon 27.3 days to orbit Earth. The lunar phases, however, take 29.5 days to complete a cycle. Therefore, the full Moon for October is on the 12th at 2:06 a.m. UT; in November the full Moon falls on the 10th at 8:16 p.m. UT; and for December the full Moon is on the 10th at 2:36 p.m. UT.
Five annual meteor showers occur over the last three months of the year, starting with the Orionids in October. Orionids can appear anytime between October 16 and 26, but the peak of activity should occur around October 21. The Orionids are named after the constellation Orion, from which they appear to emanate. These burning bits of debris were left behind by Halley's Comet; expect about 25 meteors an hour during peak activity.
November has two meteor showers, although neither of them is terribly strong. The first is the South Taurids that occur the weekend of November 5 to 6. Comet Encke is responsible for this shower. Expect about 8 meteors per hour at peak. The second shower is the Leonids overnight from November 17 to 18. The Leonids have had some very active years in the past, but this year is not expected to be substantial, with only about 10 meteors an hour. Comet Temple-Tuttle is the source of the Leonid meteors. December also has two meteor showers, the Geminids and the Ursids. The Geminids is one of the most active showers of the year, with up to 80 meteors an hour at peak on December 13; however, the Moon is just past full and will spoil the fainter meteors. The Ursid meteors, which come from the area around Ursa Minor, are quieter at about 9 meteors an hour. But the Ursids occur on December 22, which this year is just before new Moon, providing a nice dark sky.
There may be one other brief and dramatic meteor shower in this time period. One astronomer believes that on October 8, Earth will plow through a dense stream of debris triggering between 750 to 1000 meteors an hour in the Draconid meteor shower. It's certainly worth a look. The meteors should be emanating from the region around Draco the Dragon's head. Comet 2009 P1 Garradd will be shining at about magnitude 6 in October and throughout much of the rest of the year. Comet Garradd passed the Coat Hanger Cluster in early September and by October it has moved into the constellation Hercules. The comet is traveling in the general direction of the star Alpha all of October but will never reach it because in November it takes a sharp turn and then heads toward Delta Herculis. The comet's motion seems to have slowed down compared to August and September, and it takes Garradd until the end of December to finally draw even with the star Delta. A good finder chart is very useful in tracking Comet Garradd down. I found it in mid-September using an 8-inch scope, but smaller equipment should also reveal its fuzzy shape passing in front of distant stars.
On November 25, 2011, a partial solar eclipse will sweep across the South Pole. Besides Antarctica, not many other regions will get to witness it. Parts of South Africa and New Zealand will get a glimpse of the partially obscured Sun. In Antarctica, the Sun will be 90% covered by the Moon, but in New Zealand it will only be 20% hidden at Sunset. All partial solar eclipses are not safe to view without proper glasses or filters.
A more accessible eclipse occurs in December, but this one is a total lunar eclipse. On December 10, 2011, the Moon will slip completely into Earth's shadow, viewable for residents in Australia and Asia. Europe and most of Africa will get to see part of the lunar eclipse at Moonrise, while North America can watch some of the eclipse at Moonset.
The partial phase of the lunar eclipse begins at 12:45 UT with the total eclipse beginning at 14:06 UT. Totality lasts 51 minutes before the partial phase begins again at 14:57 UT. The partial phase will complete at 16:17 UT as light once again washes over the face of the Moon. This has been the third year in a row that a partial or total lunar eclipse has occurred in December.
The Decembersolstice occurs at 5:30 UT on the 22nd. The Northern Hemisphere begins their winter season while the Southern Hemisphere starts summer. The December solstice is when the Sun reaches its southernmost point in our sky and seems to stand still, resulting in short days and long nights for those in the north. The Sun will continue to cut an abbreviated path across the sky until it slowly creeps back northward in preparation for the next equinox.
For those up late on New Year's Eve, you can catch one more planet before the end of the year. Mars rises in the east in the constellation Leo, very close to the back leg of the lion. At magnitude 0.2, it shines more brightly than Leo's brightest star, bluish Regulus at magnitude 1.41. In another couple of months, Mars will be rising a bit earlier in the evening for more convenient viewing