Mercury - spends most of October in the evening sky, reaching greatest elongation east of (farthest from) the setting Sun Oct. 16, but the elusive planet never wanders far from the Sun during this apparition.

Venus - spends the month lost in the Sun's glare and reaches superior conjunction with (passes behind) the Sun Oct. 27.

Mars - obscured by the glare of the Sun, is at conjunction with (passes behind) the Sun Oct. 23.

Jupiter - is located in Libra this month. The "King" of the planets can be seen about 10 degrees up in the SW just after sunset during the first half of October. Look early, as Jupiter gets too low to observe well by mid-twilight. Jupiter will be magnitude -1.8 with an apparent diameter of 32 arc-seconds.

For detailed postions of Jupiter's Moons try this interactive javascript utility.

Saturn - located in Leo, the ringed planet can be seen in the ESE just before sunrise. Look for it about 40 degrees up at sunrise at the beginning of October and 60 degrees up by month's end. Saturn will be 0.5 magnitude during October with an apparent diameter of 17 to 18 arc-seconds. The rings will be 38 arc-seconds across and are currently tilted 13 to 14 degrees to our line-of-sight.

The Cassini spacecraft continues its observation of Saturn and its many moons and rings. For the latest images from Cassini, see:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm

For detailed postions of Saturn's Moons try this interactive javascript utility.

Uranus - located in Aquarius. Look for it 40 degrees up in the south around 11 pm EDT at mid-month. Uranus will be 0.5 degree south of 3rd magnitude Lamba Aqr for most of October. At magnitude 5.8, Uranus can be glimpsed with the naked eye from a moderately dark site. Through a telescope, Uranus has a 3.6" greenish disc.

A finder chart for Uranus can be found on page 66 of the May issue of Sky & Telescope.

Neptune - located in Capricornus. Look for it 33 degrees up in the south around 9 pm EDT at mid-month. At magnitude 7.9, Neptune can be seen with binoculars but a telescope is needed to see its 2.3" pale blue disc.

A finder chart for Neptune can be found on page 66 of the May issue of Sky & Telescope.

Pluto - is located in Serpens this month, having been sent down to the "minor leagues" on August 24. This "dwarf planet" will be due south around sunset and 33 degrees above the horizon. At magnitude 13.9, a 6 inch scope or larger will be needed to see Pluto.

A finder chart for Pluto can be found on page 66 of the May issue of Sky & Telescope.

Pleiades Occultation - the bright open cluster also known as M45 will be occulted by the waning gibbous Moon on the night of October 9-10. The Moon begins to pass in front of the cluster just before 12 am on the 10th. Stars will disappear along the bright limb of the Moon and reappear 30 to 60 minutes later along the dark limb. The dark limb reappearances will be the more interesting events to watch. But you have to be watching the correct part of the Moon's limb at the right time.

Comet C/2006 M4 (SWAN) - can be seen in the evening and morning sky moving through Canes Venatici, Bootes, Corona Borealis and Hercules. Currently near its peak brightness, 6th magnitude, this comet will slowly fade to 7th magnitude by late October.

For evening viewing, look about 15 degrees up in the NW around 8pm EDT in early October. For morning viewing, look 15 degrees up in the NE around 6:30 am EDT early in the month.

By late October, the comet will be visible only in the evening sky, 40 degrees up in the west at the end of twilight. The comet will pass 3 degrees south of M13 on the evening of October 28. A 0.5 degree long tail has been seen by some observers.

Orionid meteor shower - is active throughout October and the first week of November. This shower is produced by the inbound particles of the famous Halley's Comet, which last passed through the inner solar system in 1986.

As October arrives, the first of the Orionid meteors may be noticed. At this time the radiant (the area of the sky where the Orionids seem to originate) is located in northern Orion, just a few degrees north of the tight little group of stars formed by Lambda and Phi Orionis. As the month progresses the radiant travels slightly less than one degree toward the northeast each night.

On the morning of maximum activity, October 21, the radiant is then located on the Orion/Gemini border, three degrees west of the bright star Alhena (Gamma Geminorum). As we pass into November the radiant has moved well within the constellation of Gemini. The last traces of the Orionid meteor shower may be seen near November 7 when the radiant lies in south-central Gemini near the faint star Lambda Geminorum.