Space.com’s Joe Rao has a Halloween skywatching guide, and it pairs nicely with a Space.com column on why the quiet Taurid meteor shower is worth loving.
What to look for tonight
- Saturn: around 7 p.m. local time, about two fists up from the east-southeast horizon, a bright yellow-white “star.” A small telescope at 30x shows the rings, tilted nearly edge-on this year.
- Taurids, the “Halloween fireballs”: the debris is a little larger than average and hits slowly, about 18 miles per second, so you can get bright fireballs. They only manage about five an hour at best. The two branches peak around Nov 4-5 and Nov 11-12, and the Nov 9 new moon helps.
- A space station: not the ISS but China’s Tiangong (its Tianhe core module), which passes on a track from Chicago to New York tonight. Check Heavens-Above for your town.
My take
I like the Taurid writer’s advice: stop counting meteors and just enjoy the sky. If a fireball shows up, bonus. Show the trick-or-treaters Saturn’s rings. That beats candy.
God Bless, and May the Source Be with You!
