WHAT’S UP?

During October, Venus, refulgent in the western twilight sky, will keep moving away from the Sun to reach its furthest apparent separation at
the month’s end. On the 9th, the planet will appear to be caught in the claws of the constellation Scorpius, with a New Moon below, and reddish
Antares above. On the next evening these three bodies will form a striking triangle.

Popularly used star names for Western astronomers have generally been taken from Arabic, Greek, and Roman cultures, most stars using the name of their constellation. Prominent stars have their own name as well, e.g., Antares for Alpha Scorpii, the brightest star in Scorpius. However, the International Astronomical Union is aiming to give more stars individual names, drawn from a wider range of cultures, including, for the first time, Australian first nations.

For the Wardaman people of Northern Australia, the stars in the constellation Scorpius have long been important in their tradition of initiation ceremonies, each star representing a significant character. One such is Larawag, the signal watcher, who checks that none but legitimate participants in the ceremony are present, only giving the go-ahead when this is so. Now, the star in Scorpius which was previously known to Western astronomers as Epsilon Scorpii (i.e., fifth brightest star in Scorpius), will be formally and internationally known by its ages-old Wardaman name of Larawag.

The Southern Taurids meteor shower will peak on October 10th, with up to 5 sightings per hour- look near the V-shaped Hyades after midnight.

On the 14th, Saturn, and on the 15th, Jupiter, will each be separated by only a few degrees from the waxing Moon in the western evening sky.

On the 17th, Venus, still moving through Scorpius, will be within two degrees of Antares.

The planet Mercury will make a typically brief and difficult appearance on November 4th. Look low in the east at 6:30 am (DST) to see it lined up between the star Spica and the almost-New Moon, just risen.

On November 8th, in the evening western sky the crescent Moon and Venus will be very close, in the Teapot. This modest asterism in Sagittarius does not stand out in brightness, but to look at the Teapot is to look towards the Galactic Centre of our Milky Way Galaxy, a region so densely populated by massive stars that this area should shine out in our night sky brighter than the Full Moon – if it were not for all the interstellar dust blocking the light from us.

The Moon in its First Quarter phase will pass very close to Saturn on November 10th, and to Jupiter on the 11th.

In mid-November, there is a good chance of spotting a meteor in the night sky. On the 12th, the Northern Taurids shower peaks, with up to 5 sightings per hour; best viewing after 3am (moonset). On the 18th, the Leonids shower peaks (near ‘The Sickle’ asterism), and on the 21st, the alpha-Monoceratids shower (between Sirius and Procyon) – but the presence of the Full Moon will make it harder to see any but the brightest of these. This Full Moon will be going through a partial, near total, eclipse on November 19th. Catching the mid-eclipse at 8pm as the Moon rises in the twilight will be difficult, but the later stages of the eclipse will be easier viewing as light fades and the Moon ascends.

By Vlack