From the 4^th – 6^th Venus passes close to the
star Porrima (2.7 mag) in Virgo. On the 5^th at 6:15am in
the ESE Porrima is just 1 degree above left of Venus.

On the 4^th at 6:00am the star Zeta Tauri (2.9mag) in
Taurus is 4 degrees to the left of the moon and 1 degree above.

At 6:00am on the 5^th the Star Propus (3.3mag) in Gemini is
1¾ degrees below the moon and ¾ of a degree to the left.

On the 6^th at 6:00am the star Wasat (3.5mag) in Gemini is
3 degrees to the left of the moon and 1 degree below.

At 9:00pm on the 6^th the star Kappa Geminorum (3.5mag) in
Gemini is just 1¾ degrees above the moon low in the north east, then
at 11:45pm Castor (1.5mag) and Pollux (1.1mag) point the way to the
moon.

On the 7^th at 11:00pm the Beehive Star Cluster is 3
degrees to the right of the moon.

At 6:30am on the 9^th the star Eta Leonis (3.4mag) in Leo
is 2 degrees to the left of the moon.

Mercury reaches maximum western elongation from the Sun on the 10^th.

There
is a planned launch on the 10^th
at 7:31pm from Vandenberg Air Force base in California of the
Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Satellite. This ocean observation
satellite is part of the Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission. This U.S.-
European collaboration will add to a longterm sea level dataset.

The Taurids
meteor shower reach their peak on the 10^th/11^th
November, though they can be seen from the 19^th October -
9^th December.

On the 11^th at 6:30am the star Denebola (2.1mag) in Leo is
8½ degrees above left of the crescent moon.

From the 12^th
– 21^st Comet 88P Howell (9.5 mag – Oct 18^th)
will be passing below Jupiter and Saturn (from right to left). On the
19^th Howell will be just 1½ degrees below right of the
Crescent moon.

At 6:30am on the 12^th the star Porrima (2.7mag) in Virgo
is just 2 degrees to the lower right of the crescent moon with Venus
10 degrees to the lower left.

On the 13^th at 6:30am Venus is 5½ degrees above right of
a thin crescent moon. Mercury is 8½ degrees to the lower left of the
moon and 8 degrees above the horizon at 117 degrees azimuth.

From the 13^th
– 14^th Comet C/2020 M3 Atlas (8th mag - Oct 20^th)
is 0.358AU and closest to the earth. Its also in the constellation of
Orion. On the 15^th its less than ½ a degree from the star
Bellatrix (1.6 mag).

On the 14^th at 6.30am Mercury is 6 degrees upper right of
a very thin crescent moon which is 3 degrees above the ESE horizon at
113 degrees azimuth. The moon is at perigee (357,837km) on the 14^th
at 11:44am.

From the 15^th – 19^th Venus passes close to
the star Spica (1st mag) in Virgo. On the 17^th at 6:15am
Spica is 4 degrees to the upper left of Venus.

On the 16^th at 4:50pm a very thin crescent moon will be
seen low in the south west. It will be 3 degrees above the horizon at
236.5 azimuth.

Comet C/2020 S3
Erasmus (10.7 mag – Oct 20^th) is at perihelion on
December 13^th when it will be just 0.423AU from the Sun.
On the 16^th Erasmus is less than a ¼ of a degree from the
star Gienah (2.5 mag) in the constellation of Corvus.

At 5:00pm on the 17^th a thin crescent moon will be seen in
the south west. It will be 6 degrees above the horizon at 215.5
degrees azimuth.

Comet 156P Russell-Linear (11.5 mag – Oct 18^th) is at
perihelion on the 17^th. From the 27^th – 29^th
it passes close to the star Omega Piscium (4th mag) in Pisces. At
7:45pm on the 28^th its less than a ¼ of a degree from it
and due south. Its also 15 degrees to the right of Mars.

The Leonids
meteor shower reach their peak on the 17^th/18^th
though they can be seen from the 5^th – 29^th.

On the 18^th at 5:00pm the star Nunki (2 mag) in
Sagittarius is 1¾ degrees to the lower right of the crescent moon.
Jupiter is 10 degrees upper left of the moon with Saturn is 3½
degrees left of Jupiter.

At 5:00pm on the 19^th Saturn is 4 degrees above the
crescent moon. Jupiter is 5¼ degrees to the upper right of the moon.

From the 21^st – 23^rd Mercury passes close to
the star Zubenelgenubi (2.7 mag) in Libra. On the 22^nd at
6:45am Mercury will be 1¼ degrees to the upper left of the star.
Mercury is 4¼ degrees above the horizon and at 121 degrees azimuth.

On the 21^st at 8:00pm the star Delta Capricorni (2.8 mag)
in Capricorn is just 3¼ degrees to the right of the moon and 1
degree above.

At 8:00pm on the 22^nd the star Tau Aquarii (4 mag) in
Aquarius is 1 degree to the upper left of the moon. An occultation of
this star by the moon occurs at 10:10:54pm approx. (This time is set
for Langport).

From the 22^nd – 25^th the asteroid Ceres will
pass within 1½ degrees to the star Skat (3.2 mag) in Aquarius.

On the 23^rd at 9:00pm Neptune is 5¼ degrees to the upper
right of the moon. Neptune is also just 1 degree to the upper left of
the star Phi Aquarii (4.2 mag) in Aquarius.

At 6:00pm on the 24^th the star Iota Ceti (3.5 mag) in
Cetus is 4¼ degrees below the moon.

On the 25^th at midnight Mars is 5 degrees to the upper
right of the moon.

At 6:00pm on the 26^th the star Nu Piscium (4.4 mag) in
Pisces is less than half a degree to the upper left of the moon.

The moon is at apogee (405,894km) on the 27^th at 12:29am.
At 6:00pm Uranus is 3½ degrees above the moon and 1½ degrees to the
left. At midnight the star Mu Ceti (4.2 mag) in Cetus is 3 degrees to
the left of the moon with Uranus 3¾ degrees to the right and 1½
degrees above.

On the 28^th at midnight the star 16369 “Hipparcos Cat
ID” (4.1 mag) in Taurus is 3 degrees below left of the moon.

At 7:00am on the 30^th low in the WNW the star Ain (3.5mag)
is 2 degrees to the left of the moon and 1 degree above. Aldebaran
(0.8 mag) is 5 degrees to the left of the moon.

There is a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on the 30^th. As the
penumbral phase starts at 7:32:21am (and the moon setting at 7:47am)
its unlikely any of it will be seen from the UK. This is the last and
longest lunar eclipse of the year. The penumbral phase will last 4
hours 20mins 59secs. Greatest eclipse is at 9:42:49am.

* = Dates and times
are subject to change.

News:
Solar Orbiter: The
science payload is composed of 10 instruments.

8/10) STIX –
Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-rays (Switzerland): Provides
imaging spectroscopy of solar thermal and non-thermal X-ray emission
from 4 to 150 keV. STIX provides quantitative information on the
timing, location, intensity and spectra of accelerated electrons as
well as of high-temperature thermal plasmas, mostly associated with
flares and /or microflares.

News: It was
announced on 19^th October by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse
Tyson that an asteroid called 2018 VP1 is scheduled to zip path Earth
this month, on the 2^nd. Researchers discovered 2018 VP1
using telescopes at the Zwicky Transient Facility at Caltech's
Palomar Observatory in California. Because of its small size,
scientists have had a tough time keeping track of the object and
plotting its trajectory. It currently has a 0.41 percent chance of
entering our planet's atmosphere but if it did, it would
disintergrate due to its extremely small size.

Facts: The
closest ever recorded approach by an asteroid occurred on August
16^th, when 2020 QG flew 1,830miles above the surface of
the Earth. Scientists at Zwicky spotted the SUV-sized asteroid about
6 hours after the close call as it zipped away from Earth.