October 12 — SAS Board Meeting | 7:00 - 9:00 PM
In-person at Museum of Flight Second-Floor Board Room
Online via Zoom link from president@seattleastro.org Event Details October 19 — SAS General Meeting | 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Speaker and location to be announced! Event Details
COMMUNITY EVENT October 1 — International Observe the Moon Night | 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Allan Yorke Park, Bonney Lake Event Details
STAR PARTIES October 15 — Bonney Lake | 8:00 PM October 15 — Paramount Park | 7:00 PM October 22 — Rattlesnake Ledge Trailhead | 7:00 PM SAS members only October 22 — Snoqualmie Point Park | 7:00 PM Open to public
Find all Star Party details here
Astronomy Photographer of the Year: 'Once in a lifetime' picture of comet wins award September 15 — A rare photograph of a comet that will never be seen from Earth again has won a prestigious photography prize
JWST snaps clearest image of Neptune’srings since Voyager 2 September 21 — NASA’s latest and greatest space telescope recently set its sights on the solar system’s most distant planet — and the results are stunning.
NASA will roll the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft back to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Monday, Sept. 26. First motion is targeted for 11 p.m. EDT.
Managers met Monday morning and made the decision based on the latest weather predictions associated with Hurricane Ian, after additional data gathered overnight did not show improving expected conditions for the Kennedy Space Center area. The decision allows time for employees to address the needs of their families and protect the integrated rocket and spacecraft system. The time of first motion also is based on the best predicted conditions for rollback to meet weather criteria for the move.
NASA has continued to rely on the most up to date information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Space Force, and the National Hurricane Center throughout its evaluations and continues to closely monitor conditions for the Kennedy area.
NASA continues to provide a live stream of the rocket and spacecraft on the launch pad.
With the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft safety in the Vehicle Assembly Building after rolling back from Launch Pad 39B Monday night, NASA continues to prioritize its employees as Hurricane Ian approaches the Kennedy Space Center area.
As part of NASA’s hurricane preparedness protocol, a “ride out” team will remain in a safe location at Kennedy throughout the storm to monitor centerwide conditions. After the storm passes, they will conduct an assessment of facilities, property, and equipment. Once it is safe for additional employees to return to Kennedy, engineers will extend platforms to establish access to the rocket and spacecraft.
Managers will review options on the extent of work that will be conducted in the VAB before returning to the launch pad or identifying the next opportunity for launch. Technicians will swap out batteries on the rocket’s flight termination system and retest the system prior to the next launch attempt.
See what our celestial neighbors are up to this month
October 1 — International observe the moon night
NASA TV Broadcast
Tune in to NASA TV or nasa.gov/live on Saturday, October 1, 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT to catch up on NASA lunar exploration and science from the past year, discover what’s on the horizon, and explore the ways in which participants from around the world celebrate International Observe the Moon Night.
Join the CTSGC 2022 International Observe the Moon photo contest!
NASA CT Space Grant Consortium (CTSGC) is sponsoring a Photo Contest for this event. Participants may submit original photos taken during this event on or before October 8, 2022 by posting to social media (Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter) using #ObserveTheMoon, #CTObserveTheMoon and #CTSpaceGrant. Photos may be for anything that is related to the moon, moon observation, or culturally significant activities related to the moon. Up to $350 in prizes will be awarded to winners!
To see a complete list of contest rules or register your photo, click here.
Find more information about International Observe the Moon Night here.
Mars Opposition Approaches
Earth is the third planet from the sun, and Mars is the fourth. As the two planets move along their orbits, the Earth overtakes Mars about every 2 years and 50 days. This event is known as an opposition because Mars lies in the opposite direction as the sun. Mars will reach opposition on December 8th, 2022. As the date of opposition approaches, Mars grows remarkably in brightness and apparent size.
During October, Mars rises in the evening and is visible relatively low in the eastern sky until after midnight. Mars rises a bit earlier each day and by Halloween, Mars should be visible above the trees by about 9 PM. Look for a bright star with a distinct orange color. The best viewing times during October occur during the early morning, pre-dawn hours (about 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM) when Mars is high in the south (55° to 66°), almost two thirds of the way up to the zenith.
The diameter of Mars grows from 12 arc-seconds on October 1st to nearly 15 arc-seconds in diameter by the end of the month, which is large enough to show details in a good telescope.
On October 1st , Mars shines at magnitude -0.6* and will appear slightly brighter than the star Capella (located above and to the left of Mars this month). By the end of October, Mars will have brightened to magnitude -1.2, about the same brightness as Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
*Smaller magnitude indicates a brighter star, and most of the very brightest stars are between magnitude 0 and 1. A few objects, like Venus, Mars, and Jupiter, can be brighter than magnitude 0 and are assigned a negative magnitude.
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