National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Astronomical Information | 2016 | October

The sky of Tokyo

The sky of Tokyo (8:00 p.m. Mid-October)
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Calendar (October)

1New Moon
8 The October Draconid Meteor Shower peaks around this time. (The best time to observe is after sunset on the 8th. On the order of 1 meteor per hour is expected. The Moon is bright, so conditions are bad.)
9First Quarter Moon
10Health-Sports Day [Taiiku-no-hi]/ The Southern Taurid Meteor Shower peaks around this time. (The best times to observe are before midnight at the beginnings of October and November, when there is no effect from moonlight. On the order of 2 meteors per hour are expected.)
15Uranus at opposition
16Full Moon
21The Orionid Meteor Shower peaks around this time. (The best time to observe is before dawn for about 4~5 days around this date. On the order of 3 meteors per hour are expected. The Moon is bright, so conditions are bad.)
23Last Quarter Moon
28Mercury at superior conjunction
31New Moon

The days for the peak activities of the meteor showers are based on the predictions of IMO (International Meteor Organization).

Planets

Mercury
Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation on September 29. Until October 2, its elevation as seen from Tokyo exceeds 10 degrees at 30 minutes before sunrise. After that its elevation decreases, making observation difficult. On October 28, Mercury reaches superior conjunction.
Venus
Venus is positioned low in the southwestern sky after sunset. Its brightness is -3.9 magnitude to -4.0 magnitude.
Mars
Located in the constellation Sagittarius, Mars can be seen in the southwestern evening sky. Its brightness is 0.1 magnitude to 0.4 magnitude.
Jupiter
Located in the constellation Virgo, Jupiter can be seen low in the eastern sky before sunrise. Its brightness is -1.7 magnitude.
Saturn
Located in the constellation Ophiuchus, Saturn can be seen low in the southwestern evening sky. Its brightness is 0.5 magnitude.

Source: Ephemeris Computation Office, NAOJ

With the “Sky Viewer” you can easily explore the appearance of a typical urban night sky (planets and constellations are visible).The Celestial Phenomena section of the glossary explains the planetary phenomena terms: greatest elongation, opposition, conjunction, stationary, etc.

Glossary

Planetary Phenomena