Astronomical Information | 2016 | October
The sky of Tokyo
Calendar (October)
1 | New 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.) |
9 | First Quarter Moon |
10 | Health-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.) |
15 | Uranus at opposition |
16 | Full Moon |
21 | The 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.) |
23 | Last Quarter Moon |
28 | Mercury at superior conjunction |
31 | New 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.