What's up for astronomy - October 2014
by:
Dave Flynn
Two eclipses and the Orionid meteor shower should make October an astronomical month to remember!
October Highlights
* All times are in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)
Oct. 1. First-quarter moon is at 12:33 p.m. On this day in 1897, the Yerkes 40-inch refractor was dedicated. It was the largest telescope in the world at the time and remains the largest refracting telescope in the world.
Oct. 4. Sputnik 1 was launched on this day in 1957, beginning the space race. World space week begins today and this is the fall version of Astronomy Day.
Oct. 5. Edwin Hubble found Cepheid variables in the Andromeda Galaxy on this day in 1923.
Oct. 6. The moon is at perigee, or closest to the earth today.
Oct. 7. Neils Bohr was born on this day in 1885. He was one of the discoverers of quantum mechanics with Heisenberg, Dirac and many others.
Oct. 8. A total lunar eclipse takes place early this morning. The moon will begin entering the outer fringes of Earth's shadow at 1:15 a.m., and the total eclipse will last from 3:25 a.m. to 4:24 a.m. Also, the full moon will occur at 3:51 a.m. This particular full moon is called the Hunter’s Moon.
Oct. 9. Kepler’s supernova was first observed on this day in 1604.
Oct. 14. The world’s first supersonic flight took place on this day in 1947.
Oct. 15. Last-quarter moon is at 12:12 p.m.
Oct. 21. The Orionid Meteor shower peaks this morning and the next. Caused by Halley’s Comet, this shower will only produce about 20 meteors per hour. The other annual shower caused by Halley’s Comet are the May 4 Eta Aquarids. The moon is close to new for the Orionids this year, so it will be worth trying to see some of these tiny pieces of the most famous of all comets crashing into our atmosphere.
Oct. 23. There will be a partial solar eclipse today. It begins at 2:07 p.m. and ends at 4:40 p.m. Also, a new moon will occur at 2:57 p.m.
Oct. 30. First-quarter moon is at 7:48 p.m.
Sources:
http://www.pressherald.com/
http://www.space.com/27303-