Minnesota Starwatch for October

This year, the moon and planets dominate October’s skies.

The month opens with Venus outshining everything else in the predawn sky. Look for it low in the east, just before dawn starts to break. Don’t wait too long, as our sister planet will soon be lost in the rising sun’s glare. To Venus’s upper right, three bright objects form a diagonal line. Highest is Jupiter; in the middle is Procyon, in Canis Minor, the little dog; and holding the anchor position is brilliant Sirius, in Canis Major, the big dog.

At nightfall, a waxing moon opens the month in the south, below the big Summer Triangle of stars. The moon glides steadily eastward to keep a rendezvous with Saturn on Oct. 5. The moon’s glare will probably wash out the Circlet of Pisces, a dim ring of stars above Saturn and below the Gre