Saturn Shines Bright

Saturn reaches opposition on October 4th, offering one of the best viewing opportunities of the year for the ringed planet. This occurs when Earth moves between the Sun and Saturn, making the planet visible for much of the night.

Astronomers have long studied a hexagon-shaped jet stream stretching nearly 20,000 miles across Saturn's north pole. Recently, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope revealed a ten-sided atmospheric wave surrounding Saturn's south pole, which appears to be growing stronger.

The Orionid meteor shower peaks on the night of October 21st into the morning of October 22nd. These meteors come from small pieces of material left behind by Halley's Comet and can flash across any area of the sky.

Viewing conditions for the Orionid meteor shower will not be ideal due to a bright waxing gibbous Moon. The best opportunity to see the shower may arrive during the few hours before dawn, after the Moon has set.

On the night of October 27th into the 28th, the Moon passes close to the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters. The Pleiades can be seen from nearly every part of the world and have inspired stories in many ancient cultures.

To find the pairing, look toward the east during the evening as the Moon and the Pleiades rise higher in the sky. The Pleiades appear as a slightly fuzzy grouping of 6 to 7 stars and are visible to the unaided eye.

Raquel Villanueva from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says the Night Sky Network is a nationwide coalition that provides information on skywatching events. People can stay up to date on all of NASA's missions exploring the solar system and beyond at NASA Science.