Pagasa lists celestial spectacles visible this month

MANILA, Philippines—October nights will offer a number of celestial spectacles for stargazers, such as the Square of Pegasus signaling the arrival of fall in the northern hemisphere, and the Orionids meteor shower in the middle of the month, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or Pagasa.

Pagasa’s astronomy section has just issued its monthly astronomical diary detailing what to expect across the evening skies.

“The Square of Pegasus takes center stage in the Philippine night sky after sunset, which is a sign of the arrival of the northern fall. Northeast of it lies the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the closest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way Galaxy,” it said.

“Under clear skies and with the aid of a star map and familiarity with the surrounding background stars, it can be seen as an elongated misty patch with the naked eye and can be easily viewed through binoculars and telescopes,” the diary prepared by Pagasa officer-in-charge Vicente Malano said.

Furthermore, astronomy enthusiasts will be able to see the splendid W formation of stars known as the constellation of Cassiopeia—the wife of King Cepheus and the mother of Andromeda in Greek mythology—which lies to the left of the Square of Pegasus. The constellation of Pisces, the Fish, may be found at its lower right.

The famous equilateral triangle in the sky known as the Winter Triangle rises after midnight, Pagasa added.

The Triangle formed by the stars is composed of Betelgeuse, the super giant red star and the prominent star of the famous constellation Orion (the Mighty Hunter), Sirius, the brightest star in the sky of the constellation Canis Major (the Big Dog), and Procyon, the brightest star of the constellation Canis Minor (the Little Dog).

On October 17-25, the Orionids meteor shower will be active, producing up to 15 meteors per hour that may be observed under favorable sky conditions, Pagasa said.

“But sometimes there are lulls even during the traditional maximum peak nights of October 21-22,” it said.

“Unfortunately, a waning bright moon in the sky during the morning hours will wash out fainter meteors and diminish the impact (radiance) of brighter meteors. The radiant of the shower will be observed north of Betelgeuse, the brightest star in the constellation Orion,” it added.

On October 7, two hours before sunrise, Jupiter will be shining luminously at magnitude -1.80 while the planet Mars glows at magnitude +1.6. Both planets will be observable in the early morning throughout the month of October, Pagasa said.

On the same date after sunset, Venus, Saturn, Mercury and the very thin Waxing Crescent Moon will be a good target for observation and astro photography under a favorable normal cloudless sky, it said.