Abstract
BETWEEN October 1 and 31, the days shorten by lh 48m in the southernmost part of the British Isles and by 2h 47m in the northernmost part. British Summer Time ends on Oct. 4d 2h U.T. The moon is new on Oct. 15d 10.3h, and full (the Hunter's Moon) on Oct. 30d 6.0h. Of the lunar occultations visible from Greenwich, the following may be noted: v Tauri (mag. 4.4) on Oct. 4d 20h 43.7, as a reappearance: T Tauri (mag. 4.3) on Oct. 5d 3h 2.8m as a disappearance and its subsequent re-appearance at 3h 44m: A Tauri (mag. 4-5) on Oct. 31d 21h 56-9m as a disappearance and at 22.1 55.7m as a reappearance of the star. The planets visible during October are as follows: Mercury as a morning star at greatest west elongation on October 16: Venus as an evening star in gibbous phase; Jupiter as an evening star. Saturn is visible throughout the night; its ring system appears nearly closed, the minor axis being about 2″. The apparent paths of Uranus (stellar magnitude at opposition 6.0) and Neptune (mag. 7.7) are given in graphical form in the “Handbook” of the British Astronomical Association for 1936. On October 31, Uranus is in opposition, when its distance from the earth will be about 1,745 millions of miles. Mars is in conjunction with Neptune on October 25, when the former planet will be only 0.4 ° north of the latter. The light variations of Algol (R.A. 3h 4m: Deo. 40° 43′ N.) may be observed at about the following times, which represent approximately the mid-epoch of diminished light: Oct. ld 19h, 16d 3h, 19s 011, 21d 21h and 24d 18h. A nova of the 8th magnitude at discovery on September 18 has been reported from Copenhagen, the discoverer being Mr. N. Tamm of Kvistaberg, Sweden. Its position in Aquila is” R.A. 19h 13, 59.58: Dec. 1° 36′ 31″ N., not far from the 4th magnitude star, 8 Aquilee. The nova is fading, and on Sept. 23.8d was reported by Steavenson as being of magnitude 8.8. The comet discovered on September 20 by Mr. C. Jackson at the Union Observatory, Johannesburg, is in Aquarius, but it is very faint, and invisible except to large telescopes.
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The Night Sky in October. Nature 138, 583–584 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138583e0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138583e0