| Date | |
| October 15th | Ganymede occults Io (2127) |
| October 16th | Mercury, Venus, Saturn and the moon all within 15 degrees looking ESE at 0725 |
| October 16th | Ganymede occults Europa (2210) |
| October 18th | New Moon (the first part of this period has the darkest evening skies) |
| October 20th | Orionid meteors reach their broad maximum. The radiant is near the Gemini border and culminates at 5am. With up to 20 meteors per hour expected at this time it should be a reasonable display with a dark moon this year. |
| October 21st | Moon occults Antares in daylight (1554) at an altitude of 12° |
| October 23rd | Ganymede occults Io (0012) |
| October 24th – November 1st | International Year of Astronomy Moonwatch week |
| October 25th | End of British Summer Time (2am) |
| October 25th | Society observing session at the Beaver camp at Garner’s Field, Sheephatch Lane, Tilford |
| October 25th | Jupiter sets before midnight. Jupiter is still easily visible in the early evening this month. Why not try sketching it? (An attempt of mine from 25th September is shown opposite). |  |
| October 25th | Neptune sets before midnight – in Capricornus. Uranus is even better placed at the moment – although hard to find in a barren area of Aquarius. |
| October 27th | Moon sets after midnight |
| November 2nd | Full Moon |
| November 2nd | Europa passes in front of Ganymede (1849) |
| November 5th | Mercury at superior conjunction (after the best morning apparition of the year) |
| November 6th | Mars culminates at dawn – in Cancer (near Praesepe). It is just at the end of the winter in Mars’ Northern hemisphere now and with its North Pole facing us the North Polar cap should be prominent. The visible diameter is growing (8”), so potentially quite imageable (or drawable!) |
| November 9th | Europa passes in front of Ganymede (2202) |
| November 11th | Moon rises after midnight |
| November 12th | Mirfak – Alpha Persei (magnitude 1.8) culminates at midnight. Perseus is a bright late autumn constellation. Lying in the Milky Way it is well known for its open clusters. However it is also home to a number of galaxies. Patrick Moore logged one as number 24 in his Caldwell catalogue. This peculiar 11½ magnitude galaxy (NGC1275) is part of the large Perseus Galaxy cluster which can provide fine images in large instruments (any offers?). Somewhat easier is NGC1023 (not in either the Messier or Caldwell catalogues). This elliptical galaxy is magnitude 9.5 and size 8’ x 3’, so should be visible in smaller scopes. |