Night sky from Pittsburgh, PA 9 pm EST mid-October

Buhl Planetarium & Observatory

OCTOBER STAR CHART2020

Presented by:

Star Chart FAQ

How do I use the star chart?Hold it out in front of you with the direction you’re facing at the bottom of the chart. It works even better if you hold it above your head and look up at it.

Why are east and west switched?They are only switched because you’re used to looking at maps of the ground. Hold it above your head, and you’ll see the directions line up just right.

Why isn’t the Moon on the star chart?The star chart covers a whole month. During this time, the Moon travels all the way around the Earth, doing a full lap around the sky.

Try to see how far the Moon moves compared to the background stars from day to day.

What’s happening in October?

On Oct. 13, Mars enters opposition. Opposition is when the Earth comes directly in between the Sun and another planet. At this time, Mars appears in our night sky directly opposite where the Sun is – which means from our perspective Mars will rise exactly as the Sun sets. Because it takes Mars almost twice as long to take one trip around the Sun than the Earth takes, we see Mars at opposition every 26 months.

Look for Mars shining bright with an orange hue in our night skies towards the south over the next few months!

Space Fact of the Month

Due to a collision with a small planet sized object long ago, Uranus’ axis is tilted 97 degrees. Unlike other planets in our solar system that spin like tops as they orbit our Sun, the extreme tilt of Uranus’ axis causes it to roll around like a giant toilet paper tube. This causes the poles to receive 42 years of continuous daylight followed by 42 years of continuous night during the planet’s spring and fall.

Buhl Planetarium & Observatory

OCTOBER STAR CHART2020

Buhl Planetarium is closed for renovations through

early November. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook for

our weekly BITE-SIZED BUHL FACEBOOK LIVE programs, streaming every Thursday at 10:30 am!

Look for updates about the planetarium,

including a reopening date and future SKYWATCH dates, at CarnegieScienceCenter.org.

Photo Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

CarnegieScienceCenter

@CarnegieSciCtr