Mercury is visible during dusk until the 25th around 6 pm, but it is low and difficult to find.
Venus is 20 degrees to the upper left of Mercury, setting around 8 pm. It is finally setting well after the end of twilight so that it becomes very obvious.
Saturn transits 50 degrees high around 8 pm and earlier later this month. Its rings are 5.4 degrees open, quite thin compared to the average view. From now until next spring, the rings will close completely.
Jupiter is rising in Taurus about when Saturn transits. Its magnitude of -2.8 can cause visible shadows on the ground at very dark sites.
Mars is rising around 10 pm, so that all bright planets are visible in the evening sky this month. Its magnitude goes negative, and its size becomes larger than 10 arc-seconds this month. This is the start of the good period to observe Mars with telescopes.
Uranus and Neptune are located between Jupiter and Saturn with Uranus closer to Jupiter and Neptune closer to Saturn. Uranus is just 6 degrees south of the Pleiades.
Minor planet (15) Eunomia of magnitude 8 transits 87 degrees high in Auriga.
The Moon is new twice this month, on the first and the last day of the month. It is first visible on the 3rd near Mercury, then on the next day near Venus. On the 12th, it occults Neptune at 6:40 pm, an event that lasts around 5 seconds compared to milliseconds for occultations of stars. On the night of the 15th-16th, it occults many stars of the Pleiades, although the Full Moon makes them hard to see. On the 27th, it occults Spica for most of North America, although Tucson is a near miss with both extremely close together at 4 am at the eastern horizon.
Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS moves from Ophiuchus to Aquila as it fades more and more from being visible in binoculars.
Join TAAA for a Star Party at St. Francis Church in the Foothills Church, Tucson AZ
Located near River Rd. and Swan Rd at 4625 E. River Road, this venue is well located for many in the central Tucson and Foothills communities.
Join us as we observe Planets (Saturn is now visible after many months being in the morning skies), Nebulas, Galaxies, and more!
Viewing will be from 7pm to 9pm at the far north end of the parking lot. (Stay to the left all the way to the end).
Truely dark skies at a scenic location – Picacho Peak State Park
Star Party is open to the Public. Event is free but park admission fees apply.
The Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have several telescopes for astronomical viewing. We will observe Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Star Clusters and lots more.
Great opportunity to look through a variety of telescopes at a really dark location.
Weather dependent. For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page: (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/).
The Grand Canyon Star Party (GCSP) will be held this year from June 1 – 8 at the Grand Canyon National Park. Telescope observing typically goes from 8-11 pm at the Visitor Center of the South Rim. There will also be a GCSP at the North Rim.
We will have up to 60 telescopes each night observing planets, galaxies, multiple star systems, star clusters, nebulae, and much more.
Join the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) and Pima County Natural Resources Parks and Recreation for some stargazing at Historic Canoa Ranch. We will observe planets, star clusters, multiple star systems, nebulae, galaxies, and lots more.
FREE but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED: Go to Eventbright and search for stargazing Canoa Ranch. May fill up quickly, so recommend registering as early as possible (event may not show up in Eventbright until about two months before).
Evening Under the Stars Observing at the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) Chiricahua Astronomy Complex. Want to stargaze from a dark site where the band of the Milky Way is clearly visible across the sky? You see so many stars it is hard to pick out the constellations. Twice per year, we open our TAAA Chiricahua Astronomy Complex (Turkey Creek area near Chiricahua National Monument) to the public for an observing session. You can observe through a telescope with a 40″ mirror and see galaxies over 100 million light years away. We will have several large telescopes to observe with.
Our Fall “Evening Under the Stars” will be Saturday October 7th 2023. The gate will be open at 6:00 pm with activities starting 7:00 pm. Observing will be from 7:00-9:00 pm. Come join us for an exciting evening of astronomical observing. The site is about 90 minutes SE of Tucson near the Chiricahua National Monument. If you have friends/family that live in that area, let them know. The event is weather dependent. Reservations are required. Please email euts[at]tucsonastronomy.org for reservations and directions. Please include number of people & vehicles in your group, and email address.
Evening Under the Stars Observing at the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) Chiricahua Astronomy Complex. Want to stargaze from a dark site where the band of the Milky Way is clearly visible across the sky? You see so many stars it is hard to pick out the constellations. Twice per year, we open our TAAA Chiricahua Astronomy Complex (Turkey Creek area near Chiricahua National Monument) to the public for an observing session. You can observe through a telescope with a 40″ mirror and see galaxies over 100 million light years away. We will have several large telescopes to observe with.
Our Spring “Evening Under the Stars” will be Saturday April 8th 2023. The gate will be open at 7:00 pm with activities starting 7:30 pm. Observing will be from 7:30-9:30 pm. Come join us for an exciting evening of astronomical observing. The site is about 90 minutes SE of Tucson near the Chiricahua National Monument. If you have friends/family that live in that area, let them know. The event is weather dependent. Reservations are required. Please email John Kalas at jckalas[at]cox.net for reservations and directions. Please include number of people & vehicles in your group.
The 40 inch StarStructures Dobsonian telescope on the deck of the Reynold-Mitchell Observatory.
Star Party-Oracle State Park
Tucson, AZ
Viewing Location: Kannally Ranch House
Information: Great dark skies just north of Tucson at Oracle State Park. Star Party open to the Public. Admission cost for entrance into Oracle State Park may apply. Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have several telescopes for astronomical viewing. We will observe Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Star Clusters and lots more. Great opportunity to look through a wide variety of telescopes. Weather dependent.
For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/). There is generally a talk and other events also taking place. Check the Oracle State Park website for additional information. Check TAAA Facebook Page or here for any updates as we get closer.
TAAA Stargazing to view amazing solar system and deep sky objects from a Dark Sky Park. You will see planets, nebulae, star clusters, double stars, galaxies millions of light years away, and lots more. We will have several telescopes for public viewing.
Observing location will be at Faraway Ranch just inside the entrance gate. Please try to use red light flashlights and minimize white light (to include cell phones) that will hinder your night vision.
Chiricahua National Monument website: https://www.nps.gov/chir/index.htm. Weather dependent — Follow the event on the TAAA Facebook page to get weather and other updates: https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/.
Check back here or on our Facebook page closer to the event for any updates.
Jupiter is the most obvious planet, shining brightly at magnitude minus 3 all night. It just had its closest opposition in 50 years.
Saturn is 40 degrees to the west of Jupiter. It is first magnitude in an area of the sky without bright stars.
Mars rises at 10 pm and later in the month by 9 pm. It outshines all surrounding stars of the winter constellations until Sirius rises in the morning. It becomes interesting to observers with a telescope as its diameter reaches 15 arc-seconds, sufficient to see its surface detail.
Uranus rises after dusk in the constellation of Aries. It can be found naked eye if you know exactly where to look and have fairly dark skies.
Neptune is a binocular object 10 degrees to the west of Jupiter.
Mercury is visible during dawn in the first three weeks of October. It is often a challenge when it becomes visible, but around the center of its visibility period it should be quite obvious around 5:30 am low in the eastern sky.
Vesta is at 7th magnitude and thus even brighter than Neptune. It finishes its retrograde opposition period in Capricornus.
The Moon covers two planets. It occults Uranus on the 11th from 9:54-10:29. Ingress and egress take about 12 seconds due to the 4 arc-second disk of Uranus. On the 24th, it occults Mercury after sunrise. Only specialists will be able to locate Mercury in their telescope, and the moon will be invisible as it is not illuminated. Mercury will suddenly dim over 10 seconds and then be gone.
Orionid Meteor Shower. Parent Comet: Halley’s Comet. Peak is the early morning hours of October 21st around 3 am. Some may be visible late evening on the 20th. Comets will appear to radiate from the constellation of Orion. Will need a dark sky to see very many (10-20 per hour).
