Monthly Observing Information
This page provides charts, and text concerning what is visible in the night sky during the month noted. All information is for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but they can still provide useful information for most other areas of the U.S.A. Sky charts, Saturn ring plane, and Venus phase images are for Midnight, on the 15th day of the month. Sky charts are 100 degree field of view, and show objects down to 12th magnitude. Times in the Astronomy Lab 2 text information are in 24 hour format and have been adjusted for Daylight Savings Time. Subtract 12 hours from those over 12 to get the equivalent PM. RA and DEC given are for Epoch 2000.
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Baton Rouge Clear Sky Clock
Click on image for more info and details. This clock is for the Baton Rouge area only.
October
Moon Calendar
Sky charts
Saturn’s Ring Plane
Venus Phase
Sun and Moon Rise and Set
Date Moonrise Moonset Sunrise Sunset Twilight Twilight ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- 10/1/2018 23:57 13:14 06:58 18:50 05:39 20:10 10/2/2018 ------ 14:13 06:59 18:49 05:39 20:08 10/3/2018 00:56 15:09 06:59 18:47 05:40 20:07 10/4/2018 02:00 16:00 07:00 18:46 05:41 20:06 10/5/2018 03:06 16:47 07:01 18:45 05:41 20:05 10/6/2018 04:12 17:30 07:01 18:44 05:42 20:04 10/7/2018 05:18 18:10 07:02 18:43 05:42 20:02 10/8/2018 06:22 18:48 07:03 18:41 05:43 20:01 10/9/2018 07:26 19:26 07:03 18:40 05:44 20:00 10/10/2018 08:28 20:04 07:04 18:39 05:44 19:59 10/11/2018 09:29 20:44 07:04 18:38 05:45 19:58 10/12/2018 10:28 21:26 07:05 18:37 05:45 19:57 10/13/2018 11:25 22:09 07:06 18:36 05:46 19:56 10/14/2018 12:19 22:56 07:06 18:34 05:47 19:55 10/15/2018 13:10 23:45 07:07 18:33 05:47 19:54 10/16/2018 13:58 ------ 07:08 18:32 05:48 19:53 10/17/2018 14:41 00:36 07:08 18:31 05:48 19:52 10/18/2018 15:21 01:29 07:09 18:30 05:49 19:51 10/19/2018 15:58 02:21 07:10 18:29 05:50 19:50 10/20/2018 16:33 03:16 07:11 18:28 05:50 19:49 10/21/2018 17:07 04:10 07:11 18:27 05:51 19:48 10/22/2018 17:40 05:06 07:12 18:26 05:52 19:47 10/23/2018 18:14 06:03 07:13 18:25 05:52 19:46 10/24/2018 18:50 07:01 07:13 18:24 05:53 19:45 10/25/2018 19:29 08:01 07:14 18:23 05:53 19:44 10/26/2018 20:11 09:03 07:15 18:22 05:54 19:43 10/27/2018 20:59 10:06 07:16 18:21 05:55 19:42 10/28/2018 21:52 11:09 07:16 18:20 05:55 19:42 10/29/2018 22:50 12:09 07:17 18:19 05:56 19:41 10/30/2018 23:53 13:07 07:18 18:18 05:57 19:40 10/31/2018 ------ 13:59 07:19 18:18 05:57 19:39 Object Right ascensio Declination Azimuth Altitude Earth distance Sun distance ------------ -------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- --------------- --------------- Sun 13h 20m 34.3s -08° 29' 27" 329° 06' 07" -65° 03' 46" 0 0 Mercury 14h 20m 40.9s -15° 09' 04" 294° 52' 51" -60° 23' 13" 199,430,616 69,789,374 Venus 14h 16m 37.9s -21° 32' 37" 284° 05' 01" -64° 30' 52" 43,909,690 108,536,968 Mars 21h 02m 30.9s -20° 06' 28" 231° 22' 25" +19° 00' 12" 101,335,259 207,541,984 Jupiter 15h 30m 42.3s -18° 16' 09" 275° 50' 51" -47° 23' 04" 924,485,100 803,587,159 Saturn 18h 16m 13.8s -22° 46' 13" 251° 37' 55" -14° 06' 49" 1,544,944,661 1,505,415,552 Uranus 01h 55m 56.6s +11° 15' 54" 129° 18' 11" +62° 20' 15" 2,825,268,781 2,972,659,263 Neptune 23h 03m 06.2s -07° 09' 42" 212° 34' 54" +47° 00' 23" 4,359,929,931 4,478,942,452 Pluto 19h 21m 26.1s -22° 06' 07" 244° 36' 06" -00° 44' 20" 5,041,306,225 5,035,726,890 Moon 18h 17m 34.7s -21° 26' 15" 252° 41' 51" -13° 13' 06" 399,938 0 Object Rise: Tran Set: Phase Constl Magnitud ------------ ----- ----- ----- ------- --------- -------- Sun 06:06 11:51 17:35 0.00% Vir unknown Mercury 07:23 12:50 18:17 90.22% Vir -0.3 Venus 07:41 12:49 17:57 5.16% Vir -4.3 Mars 14:20 19:33 00:47 86.95% Cap -1.0 Jupiter 08:45 14:02 19:19 99.74% Lib -1.8 Saturn 11:42 16:47 21:52 99.78% Sgr 0.6 Uranus 17:57 00:30 06:58 100.00% Ari 5.7 Neptune 15:49 21:33 03:22 99.99% Aqr 7.8 Pluto 12:44 17:51 22:58 99.98% Sgr 14.3 Moon 11:18 16:37 21:56 35.60% Sgr unknown Moon Data --------- Distance (km): 399,938.3 Distance (miles): 248,510.8 True Equatorial: 18h 20m 58.7s -21° 01' 25" Angular diameter: 0° 29' 46" Total libration (l,b): 4° 05' 17" , 2° 59' 37" Optical libration: 4° 03' 41" , 3° 01' 11" Physical libration: 0° 01' 36" , 0° 01' 34" Position Angle: 3° 28' 44" Pos. angle (bright limb): 106° 44' 26" Phase angle: 3° 28' 44" Age: 6.05 Mars Data --------- Declination of earth: 16° 55' 06" Declination of Sun: 25° 11' 32" Longitude of the central Meridian:125° 58' 55" Pos. Angle: 1° 22' 12" Jupiter Data ----------------- Declination of earth: 2° 53' 31" Declination of Sun: 3° 02' 30" Longitude of the central Meridian:353° 10' 10" Pos. Angle: 14° 27' 50" Saturn Data --------- Declination of earth: 26° 33' 50" Declination of Sun: 25° 44' 06" Longitude of the central Meridian: 0° 00' 00" Pos. Angle: 5° 41' 12" Meteor Radiant Report Name Month/Day RA Decl Hourly Rate ----------------------------- ------------ ---------- ---------- ----------- Southern Annual Andromedids 10/03 0.3 8.0 13 Northern Annual Andromedids 10/03 1.3 34.0 10 October Draconids/Giacobinids 10/09 17.5 54.1 2 Northern Piscids 10/12 1.7 14.0 6 Epsilon Geminids 10/19 6.9 27.0 5 Orionids 10/21 6.3 15.8 30 Leo Minorids 10/24 10.8 37.0 3
Information and images in this section from TheSkyX Student Edition
Solar System Information
Planet View Info Report for 10/ 1/2018 to 10/31/2018
Mercury
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
10/ 1/2018 7:36 19:14 12h57m45s -5°33'06" 7°41'35" 0.976 1.40558
10/ 8/2018 8:02 19:15 13h39m14s -10°33'25" 12°10'09" 0.944 1.38239
10/15/2018 8:26 19:17 14h19m32s -15°01'47" 16°02'14" 0.903 1.33488
10/22/2018 8:47 19:19 14h59m03s -18°51'00" 19°18'08" 0.851 1.26416
10/29/2018 9:06 19:22 15h37m25s -21°52'58" 21°50'47" 0.778 1.16949
Venus
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
10/ 1/2018 9:37 19:54 14h22m47s -21°24'10" 33°15'49" 0.172 0.36084
10/ 8/2018 9:11 19:25 14h23m26s -21°59'21" 27°01'00" 0.110 0.32325
10/15/2018 8:35 18:52 14h16m55s -21°34'10" 19°01'54" 0.053 0.29422
10/22/2018 7:50 18:16 14h04m22s -19°59'55" 10°03'45" 0.015 0.27651
10/29/2018 7:01 17:41 13h49m31s -17°28'03" 6°57'55" 0.007 0.27246
Mars
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
10/ 1/2018 15:55 2:09 20h37m26s -22°32'37" 118°06'14" 0.885 0.59242
10/ 8/2018 15:36 1:57 20h49m10s -21°24'11" 114°09'33" 0.876 0.63315
10/15/2018 15:18 1:46 21h02m08s -20°08'33" 110°31'10" 0.870 0.67606
10/22/2018 15:01 1:36 21h16m06s -18°46'02" 107°08'11" 0.865 0.72090
10/29/2018 14:44 1:27 21h30m48s -17°17'05" 103°57'26" 0.861 0.76753
Jupiter
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
10/ 1/2018 10:24 21:02 15h19m28s -17°32'53" 44°18'51" 0.996 6.04577
10/ 8/2018 10:02 20:39 15h24m53s -17°54'09" 38°45'23" 0.997 6.11596
10/15/2018 9:41 20:16 15h30m33s -18°15'33" 33°13'31" 0.997 6.17777
10/22/2018 9:21 19:53 15h36m25s -18°36'54" 27°43'01" 0.998 6.23062
10/29/2018 9:00 19:31 15h42m29s -18°57'58" 22°13'22" 0.999 6.27409
Saturn
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
10/ 1/2018 13:30 23:40 18h12m53s -22°45'06" 85°11'57" 0.998 10.11644
10/ 8/2018 13:04 23:14 18h14m15s -22°45'37" 78°37'07" 0.998 10.23142
10/15/2018 12:38 22:48 18h15m55s -22°45'57" 72°04'52" 0.998 10.34380
10/22/2018 12:13 22:23 18h17m53s -22°46'03" 65°35'13" 0.998 10.45204
10/29/2018 11:47 21:58 18h20m08s -22°45'53" 59°07'47" 0.998 10.55484
Uranus
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
10/ 1/2018 19:50 8:52 1h58m02s 11°27'14" 156°18'33" 1.000 18.95339
10/ 8/2018 19:21 8:23 1h57m02s 11°21'45" 163°27'54" 1.000 18.91355
10/15/2018 18:53 7:54 1h55m58s 11°15'58" 170°39'32" 1.000 18.88805
10/22/2018 18:25 7:25 1h54m53s 11°10'03" 177°50'08" 1.000 18.87738
10/29/2018 17:56 6:56 1h53m47s 11°04'06" 174°48'00" 1.000 18.88169
Neptune
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
10/ 1/2018 17:41 5:15 23h04m20s -7°02'11" 156°40'17" 1.000 29.01836
10/ 8/2018 17:13 4:46 23h03m43s -7°06'00" 149°36'55" 1.000 29.07399
10/15/2018 16:45 4:18 23h03m09s -7°09'26" 142°32'36" 1.000 29.14239
10/22/2018 16:17 3:50 23h02m39s -7°12'26" 135°27'50" 1.000 29.22250
10/29/2018 15:49 3:22 23h02m14s -7°14'56" 128°22'46" 1.000 29.31309
Pluto
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
10/ 1/2018 14:36 0:54 19h21m13s -22°05'08" 100°58'58" 1.000 33.44738
10/ 8/2018 14:09 0:27 19h21m16s -22°05'41" 94°06'00" 1.000 33.57084
10/15/2018 13:42 23:55 19h21m26s -22°06'03" 87°12'46" 1.000 33.69535
10/22/2018 13:14 23:28 19h21m42s -22°06'11" 80°19'31" 1.000 33.81910
10/29/2018 12:47 23:01 19h22m04s -22°06'08" 73°26'10" 1.000 33.94042
Planet Apsides Report for 2018
Mercury
10/16/2018 Aphelion Distance from Sun: 0.47 AU
Planet Conjunction/Opposition Report for 10/ 1/2018 to 10/31/2018
Venus
Date Hour Event
10/26/2018 18 Inferior Conjunction
Uranus
Date Hour Event
10/23/2018 19 Opposition
Planet Data Report
Planet Mean Dist Period of Inclination Equatorial
From Sun Revolution Diameter
(AU) (km)
Mercury 0.39 88 days 7° 4880
Venus 0.72 224.7 days 3.4° 12100
Earth 1.00 365.24 days 0° 12756
Mars 1.52 687 days 1.9° 6794
Jupiter 5.20 11.86 years 1.3° 143200
Saturn 9.54 29.46 years 2.5° 120000
Uranus 19.18 84 years 0.8° 52290
Neptune 30.06 165 years 1.8° 50450
Pluto 39.44 248 years 17.2° 2200-2300
Moon Apsides Report for 10/ 1/2018 to 10/31/2018
Date Hour Apsis Distance (km) Diameter
10/ 5/2018 18 Perigee 366399 0.5436°
10/17/2018 14 Apogee 404215 0.4927°
Moon Nodes Report for 10/ 1/2018 to 10/31/2018
Date Time Node Illuminated Fraction
10/ 3/2018 22:09 Ascending 0.33
10/17/2018 7:02 Descending 0.55
10/30/2018 22:45 Ascending 0.59
Meteor Showers Report for 10/ 1/2018 to 10/31/2018
Date Meteor Shower ZHR RA DEC Illum. Frac. Longitude
10/13/2018 Piscids ?? 1h44m 14° 0.23 200°
10/22/2018 Orionids 25 6h24m 15° 0.96 209°
Twilight Report for 10/ 1/2018 to 10/31/2018
Date Sun Astronomical Nautical Civil
Rise Set Begin End Begin End Begin End
10/ 1/2018 6:58 18:50 5:35 20:13 6:03 19:46 6:30 19:18
10/ 8/2018 7:02 18:42 5:39 20:05 6:07 19:37 6:35 19:09
10/15/2018 7:07 18:34 5:43 19:57 6:11 19:29 6:39 19:02
10/22/2018 7:12 18:26 5:48 19:50 6:16 19:22 6:44 18:54
10/29/2018 7:17 18:20 5:52 19:44 6:20 19:16 6:48 18:48
Information for this section is from Astronomy Lab 2.03
Last updated on Monday, October 1, 2018, 02:50 PM.