"The Moon Pays a Visit to Saturn, Winter's Stars Make a Midnight Preview, and Mars is Still Fabulous, But Not for Long"

Scheduled air date: 2003 Oct 06-12

Although it has been more than a month since the planet Mars was at its closest to us, it is still very bright and visible most of the night.  As this week begins, the Waxing Gibbous Moon appears to pass Mars in the evening sky.
(Shown about an hour after sunset for mid-Northern latitudes.)

Looking East around midnight, the Winter constellations can now be seen, joined by the ringed planet Saturn.  On the nights of October 16-17 and 17-18, the Waning Gibbous Moon appears to pass by Saturn.
(Shown at midnight for mid-Northern latitudes.)

If you wish to view illustrations for other episodes, please see our Star Gazer Illustrated directory.

Illustrations on this page were created using TheSky Astronomy Software, an advanced desktop planetarium program designed for Windows. Copyright © 1999-2006 by Software Bisque, Inc.