Look Up: Signs in the Heavens for October

October brings a number of stargazing treats, including eclipses of the moon and sun, a dependably dazzling meteor shower, and good opportunities to view planets such as Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. A comet will also make a dramatic flyby of Mars; though that event won’t brighten Earth’s skies, it should find its way onto computer screens around the globe, thanks to the phalanx of probes circling and studying the Red Planet.

The first big event comes on the morning of Oct. 8, when the moon will darken in the second total lunar eclipse of the year. (The first one of 2014 occurred in April.)

The moon will begin entering the outer fringes of Earth’s shadow at 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 GMT), and the 59-minute-long total eclipse phase will start two hours later, at 6:25 a.m. EDT. Observers throughout the Asia-Pacific region and the western portions of North and South America will have the best views; Europe and Africa, however, will be shut out.

A partial solar eclipse will follow on Oct. 23, as the moon’s shadow darkens much of Earth’s surface. This event also favors skywatchers in western North American; observers in Vancouver, for example, will see 66 percent of the sun’s disc obscured by the moon, according to NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak. More

Look Up: Signs in the Heavens for Octoberhttp://goo.gl/uMPnmJ http://2127news.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/blood-moons-hagee.pngOctober brings a number of stargazing treats, including eclipses of the moon and sun, a dependably dazzling meteor shower, and good opportunities to view planets such as Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. A comet will also make a dramatic flyby of Mars; though that event won’t brighten...October brings a number of stargazing treats, including eclipses of the moon and sun, a dependably dazzling meteor shower, and good opportunities to view planets such as Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. A comet will also make a dramatic flyby of Mars; though that event won't brighten Earth's skies, it...