October's night sky features a newly discovered comet, 2 meteor showers and 4 planets
A newly discovered comet is heading Earth's way, and should be visible from New York City.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will reach its closest distance to Earth – just 44 million miles away – on Oct. 12. If it doesn't break apart, it will be easily visible from the five boroughs.
"Comets are unusual, brilliant, beautiful objects to look at," said Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. "I tell people to keep an eye out and not to get everybody's hopes super high because comets can fizzle because as they get closer to the sun, they can break up."
Comet Tsuchinshan was first spotted in China in January 2023, and appears to have two tails: one white and the other blue. The best time to observe it is right after sunset. The comet appears to be in the area of the constellation Ophiuchus, which looks like a man holding a snake.
"The comet is coming closer and closer," Faherty said. "Now, people are watching this nonstop."
The comet headlines a very active month for astronomy buffs, which features two meteor showers, four planets and the rise of the fall constellations.
Just before the comet comes Earth's way, the Draconids meteor shower will begin on Oct. 6, and will peak the next night with about 10 shooting stars per hour. The cosmic lights, which are best viewed in the early evening. will appear to radiate from the Draco constellation and will last only five days. The meteors will cruise by at a leisurely – for meteors – 12.5 miles per second.
Meanwhile, the Orionids meteor shower will peak on Oct. 21, with twice as many shooting stars flying at 41 miles per second. The fireballs are the remnants of Halley's Comet. The meteors began appearing at the end of September and will continue until Nov. 22.
Faherty recommends stargazing from a high rooftop or along the Hudson or East Rivers – where there are few obstructions – for the best views of the shooting stars.
"The higher up you go, the better chance you have of seeing more of the sky," Faherty said. "You need to be able to see a lot of the sky so that you won't miss a bright one."
Venus is the brightest object in the night sky after the moon, and is best observed just after sunset. On Oct. 5, Venus will appear as a very bright dot next to the waxing crescent moon.
Jupiter, the third brightest celestial object, becomes visible around 9:30 p.m. Saturn is also visible with the naked eye. Mars is more challenging to spot because it appears later in the evening, just before midnight. By the end of the month, the red planet will rise earlier, just before 11 p.m.
"October is a good month for planet watching," Faherty said.
The fall constellations will also light up the night sky this month. One of the most visible is the hunter Orion, whose left foot includes one of the 10 brightest stars in the sky: Rigel, the blue-white supergiant.
Pegasus, one of the largest constellations, has four bright stars that make up the square of its body – Markab, Scheat, Algenib and Alpheratz. Its brightest star, Enif, is located on the Pegasus' nose.
"The rise of Pegasus in the eastern sky is really a signal that autumn has arrived," Faherty said.
