Quadruple Pleasure

Skywatching

October is a special month for planetary observers because four planets are visible at the same time in the evening sky.

Venus has been in the southwest after sunset for several months, and it will remain there through the month. It shines more brilliantly than the three planets with which it shares the evening sky, but it also sets first, leaving the sky to Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Mars is less bright than Venus and is not immediately visible in the evening twilight. It is to the upper left of Venus.

Venus and Mars move a little closer to each other every night until Oct. 26, when they will be only 2 degrees apart, low in the southwestern sky after sunset.

Jupiter shines brightly in the southern sky during October evenings. The giant planet is in the dim constellation Capricornus and is impossible to miss.

Saturn reaches opposition this month, meaning it is exactly opposite the sun in our sky, rising in the east just as the sun sets in the west and setting in the west just as the sun is rising again.

Saturn will be low in the east as the sky darkens, becoming easier to see later at night as it rises into the southern sky. It is in the constellation Pisces, below or to the lower left of the brighter Great Square of stars in the constellation Pegasus.

Early this morning, an eclipse of sorts occurred, as the moon crossed in front of Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation Taurus, the bull.