Tour October's Sky! | September 30th, 2010

Late October brings great observing weather. The temperatures are usually pleasant, the bugs have vanished, and there’s plenty to look at up above. So when trick-or-treaters invade your neighborhood, take a moment to show them around the night sky.

Although the summer's long-running parade of planets has sunk from view in the west, there's a new king of the evening sky rising in the east. It's mighty Jupiter, a dazzling "star" that far outshines all the real stars around it.

Hanging upside down above Jupiter is the winged horse Pegasus, and off to its left are the dysfunctional mythological family of King Cepheus, his vain wife Cassiopeia, and their daughter Andromeda.

Take a leisurely stroll through all these sighets, and more, by downloading October's audio sky tour. It's a 5-megabyte MP3 file that's 5½ minutes long.