AMATEUR ASTRONOMY:

UPCOMING CONJUNCTION OCTOBER 7TH:

Look east between 5:00 am and 7:00 am this coming Sunday, October 7th to see an impressive sight. The waning crescent Moon will sit just below and a tiny bit to the right of the planet Saturn. A little bit further to the right and a bit towards the zenith the planet Venus will also be within a regular 7 degrees binocular field, along with the star Regulus in the constellation Leo. All these bright objects will come together at this time for a spectacular show. Venus, now the "morning star", reached it greatest magnitude on September 23rd, but it is still very bright in the morning sky. On October 14th and 15th Venus and Saturn will make their closest approach, being within 3 degrees of each other just slightly below Regulus.