The sky of Tokyo, Calendar, Planets (October, 2018)
The sky of Tokyo
Calendar (October)
| 2 | Last Quarter Moon |
| 5 | Venus at stationary point |
| 8 | Health-Sports Day [Taiiku-no-hi] (national holiday) |
| 9 | New Moon / The October Draconid Meteor Shower peaks around this time. (The best time to observe is after sunset on the 9th. On the order of 1 meteors per hour are expected. There is no effect from moonlight.) |
| 10 | The Southern Taurid Meteor Shower peaks around this time. (The best time to observe is before midnight October 5th to 20th. On the order of 2 meteors per hour are expected.) |
| 17 | First Quarter 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 5 meteors per hour are expected. Conditions are very good after the Moon sets around dawn.) |
| 24 | Uranus at opposition |
| 25 | Full Moon |
| 26 | Venus at inferior conjunction |
The days for the peak activities of the meteor showers are based on the predictions of IMO（International Meteor Organization).
Planets
- Mercury
- Mercury’s apparent position is close to the Sun and not suited for observation.
- Venus
- Venus’s apparent position is close to the Sun and not suited for observation. Venus reaches inferior conjunction on October 26. It is positioned in the southeastern sky just before sunrise.
- Mars
- Mars moves east (direct motion) in the constellation Capricornus. It can be seen after sunset in the southern sky and sets around midnight. Its brightness is -1.3 magnitude to -0.6 magnitude.
- Jupiter
- Jupiter moves east (direct motion) in the constellation Libra. It is positioned low in the southwestern sky just after sunset. In the end of October, it sets an hour after sunset. Its brightness is -1.8 magnitude to -1.7 magnitude.
- Saturn
- Saturn moves east (direct motion) in the constellation Sagittarius. It can be seen after sunset in the southwestern sky. Its brightness is 0.5 magnitude to 0.6 magnitude.
Reference: 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.