The moon's nightly path past Saturn#
On October 21 the gibbous moon, 81% illuminated, stands about 30 degrees above the southeast horizon and nearly 35 degrees to Saturn's upper right, When the Curves Line Up reports. By October 22 the moon reaches 88% illumination, sitting less than 30 degrees above the east-southeast horizon and over 20 degrees to Saturn's upper right.whenthecurveslineup.com 1 source for this line, starting with When the Curves Line Up
On October 23 the moon, nearly full at 94% illumination, rises over 25 degrees above the east-southeast horizon and comes within 8.6 degrees of Saturn, When the Curves Line Up states. The moon and Saturn stay visible together from around 9pm on October 24 until 3am on October 25, moving across the sky through the night, the Royal Observatory Greenwich says, according to Secret London as reported by A Little Spark of Joy.whenthecurveslineup.com+1 2 sources for this line, starting with When the Curves Line Up
Saturn itself, nearly three weeks past opposition, sits nearly 20 degrees above the east-southeast horizon during this stretch and appears to move westward against the stars, a motion called retrograde, as it passes in front of the constellation Cetus, according to When the Curves Line Up. Its icy rings appear tilted about 10 degrees along the viewer's line of sight, the report adds.whenthecurveslineup.com 1 source for this line, starting with When the Curves Line Up
Earlier in October, Jupiter vanished and Saturn neared Earth#
Earlier in the month, on October 4 around 8 a.m. EST, Saturn made its closest approach to Earth and was visible all night at its brightest, best spotted looking south and southeast around 11 p.m. US time, Travel and Leisure Asia reports. On October 6, before dawn, the Moon's thin crescent occulted Jupiter, hiding the planet from view for about an hour before it reappeared, NASA reports, an event visible across most of North America beginning around 4 a.m. EDT.travelandleisureasia.com+1 2 sources for this line, starting with Travel and Leisure Asia
The Draconid meteor shower, named for the constellation Draco, peaked the night of October 8 into October 9, with Travel and Leisure Asia estimating around 10 meteors per hour under dark skies, while NASA describes it as a relatively modest shower producing a few meteors per hour visible soon after darkness fell, aided by a nearly new moon that cut down on interfering moonlight.travelandleisureasia.com+1 2 sources for this line, starting with Travel and Leisure Asia
Mercury also reached its greatest eastern elongation on October 12, sitting just above the western skyline in the evening twilight with a thin crescent moon nearby, and Travel and Leisure Asia reports that viewing conditions favored the Southern Hemisphere, though US observers with a clear view west could also spot the planet.travelandleisureasia.com 1 source for this line, starting with Travel and Leisure Asia
