October StarDial Jehana Sun Oct 3 21:25:11 1999 October 1999 StarDial*p* Oct 01 - Asteroid 1999 RC32 Near-Earth Flyby (0.338 AU) This is going to be a month of near-Earth flyby's. One AU = 1 Astronomical Unit, ie, the average distance from the Sun to the Earth. The year mentioned in the asteroid name is the year of its discovery, which gives you an idea of how much warning we're getting on these things. Ducking would be advised, but ... *p* Oct 02 - Asteroid 1999 RK45 Near-Earth Flyby (0.108 AU)*br* Oct 02 - Asteroid 1999 GK4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.321 AU)*p* Oct 03 - Asteroid 1999 CU3 Near-Earth Flyby (0.231 AU)*br* Oct 03, 1986 - The shortest possible duration of a total solar eclipse may be a fraction of a second. The solar eclipse of October 3, 1986 was annular along most of the central track, but was total for about a tenth of a second over a restricted area in the North Atlantic Ocean.*p* Oct 06 - Asteroid 1999 HP11 Near-Earth Flyby (0.201 AU)*br* Oct 06 - Asteroid 1999 RV2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.239 AU)*br* Oct 06, 1836 - Believe it or not, 26 inches of snow fell in Auburn New York on this date; one assumes it snowed elsewhere as well. *p* Oct 07, 2135 - Next total solar eclipse in the Netherlands. Totality is in the north part of Holland. Utrecht will have a magnitude of 0.965. The eclipse of May 25, 2142 will be total in the Netherlands, south of the line Rotterdam-Zwolle, and including a large part of Belgium.*p* Oct 09 - The Dark Moon falls at 7:34 a.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time)*br* Oct 09 - Draconids Meteor Shower peaks. This is a pretty minor one.*br* Oct 09 - Asteroid 1999 RP36 Near-Earth Flyby (0.307 AU)*br* Oct 09 - Leif Eriksson Day.*p* Oct 10 - Moon passes 7° north of Mercury at 11 pm EDT*p* Oct 11 - Asteroid 1999 RU2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.248 AU)*p* Oct 14 - Moon at apogee (251,814 miles from Earth) at 9:50 am, EDT*br* Oct 14 - Asteroid 1994 TF2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.292 AU)*p**br* Oct 15 - Moon passes 5° north of Mars at 9 am, EDT*p* Oct 16 - Asteroid 1999 LF6 Near-Earth Flyby (0.088 AU)*p* Oct 17 - First quarter Moon at 11:00 am, EDT*p* Oct 21 / 22 - Orionid Meteor Shower peaks. Check the south, especially in the hours before sunrise.*br* Oct 21, 1790 - The first official American total eclipse expedition when a party went to Penobscot, Maine. It was led by Samuel Williams of Harvard, and was given 'free passage' by the British forces, but*br*unfortunately a mistake in the calculations meant that the party remained outside the track of totality. He did not see the corona but only an effect what we call today Baily's beads.*p**br* Oct 22, -2135 (2136 BCE) - The first record of a solar eclipse was made in China during the reign of the Emperor Chung K'ang. The Chinese*br*considered this event to be an attack on the Sun by a dragon, and they*br*endeavored to scare the dragon away by making as much noise as possible. It is not sure if this description was a prediction or an observation.*p* Oct 23 - Jupiter At Opposition, 3 pm, EST*br* Oct 23 - Asteroid 1990 UA Near-Earth Flyby (0.223 AU)*p* Oct 24 - Moon passes 4° south of Jupiter at 1 pm, EDT*br* Oct 24 - Full Moon at 5:02 pm, EDT. This is Hunter's Moon. *br* Oct 24 - Mercury Greatest Eastern Elongation (24 Degrees)*br* Oct 24 - Comet Schuster Closest Approach To Earth (0.777 AU)*p* Oct 25 - Moon passes 2° south of Saturn at 2 pm EDT*p* Oct 26 - Moon is at perigee (224,284 miles from Earth) at 8:58 am, EDT*p* Oct 27 - Moon passes 1.2° north of Aldebaran at 8 am, EDT*br* Oct 27 - Asteroid 1999 RQ28 Near-Earth Flyby (0.127 AU)*br* Oct 27 - Asteroid 3838 Epona Near-Earth Flyby (0.374 AU)*br* Oct 27 - Asteroid 1997 GO27 Closest Approach To Earth (0.462 AU)*br* Oct 27, 1780 - Saros 120. Samučl Williams, prof. Harvard led expedition to Penobscot Bay, Maine (during Revolutionary War! - and Bay was behind enemy lines). British granted the party safe passage.*p* Oct 28 - Comet C/1999 J3 (LINEAR) Closest Approach To Earth (0.441 AU)*br* Oct 28 - Comet C/1999 J4 (LINEAR) Perihelion (3.862 AU)*p* Oct 29, 0840 - The only emperor to have died of fright because of an*br*eclipse was Louis of Bavaria, in 840. His three sons then proceeded to indulge in a ruinous war over succession.*br* October 29, 0878 - Total solar eclipse of which London was just in the path of totality. King Alfred wrote The sun was eclipsed the first hour of the day. Also Tycho Brahe mentioned in his Historia Coelestis to the Annales Fuldenses, of which the sun was eclipses after the 9th hour and the stars were visible. Ref. Sint Laurensklok June 1999.*p* Oct 30 - Venus at Greatest Western Elongation (46.5 Degrees), 8 pm, EDT*br* Oct 30 - Comet C/1999 K2 (Ferris) Perihelion (5.163 AU)*p* Oct 31 - Daylight Savings - Set Clock Back 1 Hour (USA)*br* Oct 31 - Last quarter Moon at 7:04 am, EST (Eastern Standard Time)*p*REFERENCES:*p*SPACE CALENDAR:*br*http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/*p*SOLAR ECLIPSE NEWSLETTER:*br*http://www.MrEclipse.com*br*http://www.MrEclipse.com/SENL/SENLinde.htm*p*ASTRONOMY MAGAZINE:*br*http://www.astronomy.com*p*MOTHER EARTH NEWS. *p*