{"id":3655,"date":"2025-09-19T00:57:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T00:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3655"},"modified":"2025-10-01T14:02:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T14:02:15","slug":"astrocal-october-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3655","title":{"rendered":"AstroCal – October 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We begin this month\u2019s observations with a term that was unfamiliar to me.\u00a0 Maybe it has just slipped my mind as it only takes place every 18.6 years, but the event is known as \u2018lunistice\u2019 (also called a \u2018lunar standstill\u2019).\u00a0 Lunistice is kind of like a \u2018solstice\u2019 only it involves the Moon and not the Sun:\u00a0 \u201cA lunar standstill occurs when the Moon reaches its furthest north or south point during a tropical month (a \u2018tropical month\u2019 is the period of time it takes the Moon to travel from one specific celestial longitude to the next – about 27.3 days),\u201d according to our friends at Wikipedia.\u00a0 The October 6, 2025 <\/span>Full Moon<\/b> will be what is known as a <\/span>\u2018major lunar standstill<\/b>\u2019 and it has \u2018observable effects\u2019 that last at least 3 years.\u00a0 If one begins marking the spot on the horizon where the Moon rises in the ESE on Oct 3, each successive night will see it rise slightly further north until Oct 11 when it will rise in the NE*.\u00a0 It will also be the Harvest Moon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A <\/span>Harvest Moon<\/b> is defined as, \u2018the Full Moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox\u2019.\u00a0 The split between the September and October Full Moons is nearly an equal split so this pushes the Harvest Moon into October this year.\u00a0 Combined with the lunar standstill, the October Harvest Moon will display the Harvest Moon Effect described in the paragraph above (meaning for several days the Full Moon will rise at roughly the same time each night and provide light for an extended period*).\u00a0 If you note that the rising Full Moon looks especially large, it is an optical illusion called \u2018the Moon effect\u2019.\u00a0 To prove it is in the eye of the beholder, hold out a piece of paper with a hole punched in it so the Moon fills the circle as it rises.\u00a0 In a few hours, repeat this after the Moon is higher in the sky – you will notice the Moon fills the hole with the paper held at the same distance from your eye.\u00a0 The October Harvest Moon is sometimes called a <\/span>Blood Moon<\/b> not so much in reference to the color one sees (like during a Lunar Eclipse), but because of the blood shed during the fall hunts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Other dates in this month\u2019s <\/span>Lunar Cycle <\/b>include the <\/span>Last Quarter Moon<\/b> on Oct 13 and the <\/span>New Moon <\/b>on Oct 21.\u00a0 The New Moon will be timed perfectly so there will be dark skies for the annual <\/span>Orionid Meteor Shower <\/b>peak in the predawn skis of Oct 21.\u00a0 The Orionids can typically show increased numbers for a few days before and after the peak date of Oct 21.\u00a0 Look for the <\/span>Young Crescent Moon <\/b>for the new Lunar cycle low in the western sky beginning on Oct 24.\u00a0 The Moon will be at Perigee on October 8 (223,581 miles from Earth) and Apogee on October 23 (252,552 miles from Earth).\u00a0 The month ends with the Moon\u2019s <\/span>First Quarter <\/b>on Oct 29.\u00a0 If you are still waiting for that perfect convergence of a Full Moon taking place on Halloween night, do not hold your breath – it won\u2019t align like this again for your spooky Halloween fun until 2039.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As for the evening planets, look for <\/span>Mars<\/b> very low in the WSW (binoculars may be helpful in the twilight hours just after sunset) shining at magnitude +1.6.\u00a0 Mars is 2.2 AU (Astronomical Units) or 222 million miles from the Earth\u00a0 and will reach conjunction with the Sun on January 9, 2026.\u00a0 <\/span>Mercury<\/b> will join the party at mid-month in the WSW shining slightly brighter than the Red Planet at mag -0.1.\u00a0 Mercury reaches its greatest elongation from the Sun on October 29.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Saturn <\/b>rises in the ESE 22 minutes to an hour and 42 minutes after sunset from beginning to the end of the month.\u00a0 It is well positioned for viewing throughout the night but its rings will only be tilted 1 degree from edge on this month making them hard to see.\u00a0 At mag +7.8, <\/span>Neptune<\/b> will be difficult to see without a telescope, look for it 3 to 4 degrees NE of Saturn.\u00a0 <\/span>Venus<\/b> and <\/span>Jupiter <\/b>can be seen low in the eastern sky two hours before sunrise and higher in the sky near the twin stars of <\/span>Castor <\/b>and <\/span>Pollux<\/b> in <\/span>Gemini – the Twins<\/b>, respectively.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/b>Venus will be very close to the <\/span>Old Crescent Moon<\/b> on Oct 19.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Our historical note this month goes back to the 11th century and Arab mathematician and physicist Ibn al-Haytham.\u00a0 He is credited with the first written explanation of this thing we call \u2018the Moon illusion\u2019(the phenomenon that makes the Moon appear larger when it rises near the horizon and smaller when it is high overhead).\u00a0 al-Haytham proposed, \u201c[that] our perception of an object\u2019s size depends on its perceived distance.\u00a0 Because objects on the horizon appear farther away due to intervening terrain, our brain scales them to appear larger.\u00a0 The Moon high in the empty sky, lacking these reference points, appears closer and therefore smaller.\u201d\u00a0 This effect would later be called the \u2018size-distance invariance hypothesis\u2019 (historical reference – Wikipedia – I do not usually promote any particular reference source, but I often use Wikipedia.\u00a0 By making an occasional donation, I am one of the\u00a0 <\/span>2 percent<\/span> of Wiki users who donate to keep them in operation.\u00a0 If you Wiki, you should consider donating).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Compiled by Ken Raisanen of WOAS-FM 91.5 – information provided by <\/span>Abrams Planetarium Sky Calendar<\/span><\/i>, Michigan State University.\u00a0 More information and subscription information can be found on their website at <\/span>http:\/\/abramsplanetarium.org\/<\/span><\/a>skycalendar\/<\/span>.\u00a0 Yearly subscriptions cost $12 and can be started anytime. Comments and questions can be emailed to kraisanen@oasd.k12.mi.us<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Top Piece Video: Just can’t get enough BTO after the Sledgehammer gigs article.\u00a0 Why not?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We begin this month\u2019s observations with a term that was unfamiliar to me.\u00a0 Maybe it has just slipped my mind as it only takes place every 18.6 years, but the event is known as \u2018lunistice\u2019 (also called a \u2018lunar standstill\u2019).\u00a0 Lunistice is kind of like a \u2018solstice\u2019 only it involves the Moon and not the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-from-the-vaults","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3655"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3663,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3655\/revisions\/3663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}