A total lunar eclipse will take place in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The eclipse will be watched across the country and as far west as Hawaii and coincides with Election Day, a day for voting. This is when the full moon, the Bay Scallop Moon, slips into the earth's shadow.
The first evidence of the eclipse will take place at 4:08 a.m. The moon will start to move through the darkest part of the Earth's shadow, the Umbra.
On Halloween night, while goblins and witches roam the countryside, the bright moon will light their way. The moon is first quarter the following day. But on Halloween the moon will be fairly high in the southern sky. The moon is in the zodiacal constellation Capricornus, not far from the bright planet Saturn to the east. Use this moon as a reference when walking along with those wandering outside. Capricornus is a mythological horned goat. Inaddition there are old stories of the constellation depicting a sea goat.
Sunday night’s full moon, the Pumpkin Moon, rises about the same time as the sun sets. The moon is in the zodiacal constellation Pisces. Pisces is a large constellation and depicts mythological fishes.
If you step outside tomorrow night you get an even better view. The almost-full moon appears right next to the bright planet Jupiter. The two are brilliant. Jupiter reached opposition just last week, its closest to us in 70 years.
Tomorrow night, though, the two celestial objects are farther apart. They still command attention.
Tonight, you’ll see a crescent moon low in southern sky after sunset. The moon is moving through the constellation Scorpius, the mythological scorpion and in the nights ahead will pass two bright planets.
The first quarter moon appears Monday night and it is in the zodiacal constellation Sagitarius hugging the southern sky. Sagittarius is known by astronomers as the center of our galaxy, the center of the Milky Way.
The brightest planet in the evening sky is Jupiter. Jupiter hasn’t been this bright and close in 40 years. The planet is 362 million miles away, which is hardly close. Amateur astronomers will enjoy its proximity, as their telescopes will render it as large as it gets.
In opposition, Jupiter is in the zodiacal constellation Pisces, a constellation depicting mythological fishes. If you could see deeper into outer space you’d also notice that the distant planet Neptune is nearby.
Tonight, if you can step outside late, you’ll see the Moon in close proximity to the red planet Mars. Both are in the constellation Taurus. The bright star Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation is not far away. The view starts around midnight, when the the three are high enough to see above the eastern horizon.
You can draw an imaginary line through all three of them with Mars almost being in the middle. Take note of the brightness of Mars. The planet is growing in brightness as it gets closer.
The red planet Mars is worthy of attention this month as it both grows in brightness and gets easier to see after midnight. The planet has spent much of the year in the morning sky and faint. In the weeks and months ahead, the planet will brighten and become more notable.
