Space Calendar October 2020: Events Occurring in Space
Space Calendar October 2020: Events Occurring in Space
Space Calendar October 2020: These dates are subject to change. Launch dates are taken from Space.com.
October 1: The full moon of October, known as the "Hunter's Moon," occurs at 5:05 p.m. EDT (2105 GMT).
October 2: The waning, gibbous moon will make a close approach to the Red Planet in the early morning sky. It will be in conjunction with Mars at 11:25 a.m. EDT (0325 GMT).
October 4-10: World Space Week
October 7-8: The Draconid meteor shower peaks.
October 13: Mars is at opposition, which means it's bigger and brighter than any other time of year. Look for the glowing Red Planet above the eastern horizon after sunset.
October 14: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the crewed Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft to the International Space Station with members of the Expedition 65 crew: NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. It will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Watch it live.
October 16: New moon
October 16: An Arianespace Soyuz rocket will launch the Falcon Eye 2 Earth-imaging satellite for the United Arab Emirates. It will lift off from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, at 9:33 p.m. EDT (0133 GMT on October 17).
October 17: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch a Glonass K navigation satellite from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.
October 21-22: The Orionid meteor shower peaks.
October 22: Just a day before reaching first quarter phase, the moon will be in conjunction with Jupiter at 1:12 p.m. EDT (1712 GMT). That same day, it will be in conjunction with Saturn at 11:42 p.m. EDT (0324 GMT on October 23). Look for the trio in the evening sky.
October 23: SpaceX will launch its first operational Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station, called Crew-1, with NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker and Japan's Soichi Noguchi. The mission will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, at 5:47 a.m. EDT (0947 GMT).
October 29: The waxing, gibbous moon will be in conjunction with Mars at 12:16 p.m. EDT (0325 GMT). Look for the pair above the eastern horizon after sunset.
October 31: Uranus is at opposition. This is the best time of year to view the planet, as it is at its biggest and brightest. If the sky is dark enough, you may be able to spot it with your bare eyes.
October 31: This month has two full moons, which means we'll have a "Blue Moon" on Halloween. The moon reaches full phase at 10:49 a.m. EDT (1449 GMT).
Source: SPACE.com