October begins with a “ring of fire” annular solar eclipse, includes the year’s biggest “supermoon,” and ends with the Orionid meteor shower

Supermoon

Important Takeaways:

  • Comet
    • The first few mornings in October will be a good time to see Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) — and its single tail — visible to the naked eye. Skywatchers in the northern hemisphere should look eastward an hour before sunrise, but it’s best to keep expectations in check — it may well be a binocular target only.
  • ‘Ring Of Fire’ Solar Eclipse
    • When: Wednesday, Oct. 2
    • Today’s new moon coincides with a “mini-moon” — the opposite of a “supermoon” — creating an annular solar eclipse visible from the Pacific Ocean and southern Patagonia.
  • Year’s Biggest ‘Supermoon’
    • There are four “supermoons” — particularly close full moons — in 2024, but this one will be the closest. Called the “Hunter’s Moon,” it will be the tenth of the 12 full moons in 2024 and be best seen as it appears above the eastern horizon during dusk on Thursday and Friday.
  • Orionid meteor shower
    • When: early hours of Monday, Oct. 21
    • Plan on seeing around 10 to 20 meteors per hour, possibly up to 40, all of which originate from a cloud of dust debris left in the inner solar system by Halley’s Comet. You’ll see the most if you dark-adapt your eyes for about 30 minutes.

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