October will provide several celestial shows in the night sky. The first one is the full moon on Oct. 1. This moon is called the "Harvest Moon" because it's the closest to the Autumnal Equinox.
It gets its name because the bright moonlight would help farmers to harvest their summer grown crops. Next to the full moon will be a red shiny star, but it’s not a star. It’s the Earth’s planetary neighbor, Mars.
But wait, there’s more! October will have a second full moon and it happens on Oct. 31. Yes, a Halloween full moon! Because it’s the second full moon in a calendar month it’s called a Blue Moon. The last time a Halloween full moon happened for all of the US time zones was in 1944. The next time it will happen is 2039.
Finally, the Draconids meteor shower will peak on Oct. 7. The Draconids are produced from dust and debris from the Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. Expect 10 meteors per hour anywhere in the sky and they are at their best just after sunset.
Happy viewing!
