Mercury -visible in the morning sky during late October. Look for it 7 degrees up in the east a half hour before sunrise. Mercury will be 1st magnitude during this time..

Venus - climbs as high as it ever does in the dawn sky during October. An hour before sunrise, it is approximately 30 degrees in altitude in the southeast. A waning crescent Moon, Venus, Saturn, and Regulus form a tight group on the morning of October 6. Venus, Saturn and Regulus lie within a 5 degree circle for four days beginning October 9. A day later the trio forms a 4.6 degree wide circle. Venus is about 3 degrees due south of Regulus on October 9 and 2.9 degrees south of Saturn six days later. Venus is half-illuminated when it reaches greatest elongation on October 28.

Mars - is now large enough for fruitful telescopic observation. It grows from 10 to 12 arc seconds during October and increases in magnitude from -0.1 to -0.6. For several days, it passes approximately one degree south of the bright open cluster M35. As the eastward motion of Mars decreases, it passes north of Eta and Mu Geminorum between October 7 and October 12. In early October, the major Martian feature Syrtis Major is visible around midnight.

Jupiter - located in Ophiuchus. The "King" of the planets can be seen in the SSW just after sunset and is well-placed for viewing till about 7:30 pm at mid-month. Jupiter will be magnitude -2.0 with an apparent diameter of 35 to 33 arc-seconds. Jupiter's Great Red Spot, a large anti-cyclone, can be seen centered on the planet's disc at the following times (EDT):

10/01/2007, 08:00 pm; 10/06/2007, 07:10 pm; 10/13/2007, 07:59 pm; 10/18/2007, 07:09 pm; 10/30/2007, 07:09 pm

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

Saturn's - located in Leo. The ringed planet can be seen 30 degrees up in the east at sunrise early in the month and 50 degrees up in the SE by month's end. Saturn will be magnitude 0.7 during October with an apparent diameter of 17 arc-seconds. The rings will be 36 arc-seconds across and tilted 9 to 7 degrees to our line-of-sight. At least 6 of Saturn's many moons are bright enough to be seen with an 8" scope.

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 42 degrees up in the south around 11 pm at mid-month. Uranus will be magnitude 5.8 and can be glimpsed with the naked eye from a dark site. Through a telescope, the planet will have a tiny 3.7 arc-second pale green disc.

A finder chart for Uranus can be found Here.

Neptune - located in Capricornus. Look for it 33 degrees up in the south around 9 pm 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 Here.

Pluto - is poorly placed for observation during October.

Eris (pronounced "EE-ris") - formerly known as Xena, 2003 UB313, and "the tenth planet" - is magnitude 19 in central Cetus, high in the south during evening.

For detailed information please visit Astronomical Delights

Asteroid 2 Pallas - shines at ninth magnitude. It passes to the west of the fifth magnitude star 30 Aquarii on October 27.

Comet C/2007 F1 (LONEOS) - may brighten to seventh magnitude as it travels through Coma Berenices towards the first magnitude star Arcturus. The comet passes to the south of the elliptical galaxy NGC 4278 on October 8.

The Orionid Meteor Shower - peaks on the mornings of October 20 to 22. About 10 to 20 Orionids can be seen every hour radiating from an area near Orion's club. The waxing gibbous Moon will interfere somewhat with meteor watching, washing out the fainter meteors. The best times to watch are from 2 am till dawn. Face east or south for the best view. The Orionids are debris shed by Halley's Comet.

A lunar occultation of some of the Pleiads (i.e., the stars of the Pleiades) can be seen from eastern North America at dusk on the evening of October 27. The Moon is 19.5 days old on October 1 at 0:00 UT. The Moon reaches its greatest northern declination on October 2 and 29 (+28 degrees) and its greatest southern declination on October 16 (-28 degrees). Times and dates for the lunar light rays predicted to occur this month are available at www.lunar-occultations.com/