October is a month of changes. The weather changes, the time changes at the end of the month, autumn finally sets in, which officially began on September 22 at 2:44 p.m. Meanwhile, the lunar cycle continues to advance. In other words, the Moon orbits the Earth, on a “path” that lasts approximately 29.5 days.
In this cycle, the moon goes through four phases – full moon, new moon, waxing moon and waning moon – due to the changes in appearance it adopts during its rotation and depending on the position of the Sun and the Moon in relation to the other. Earth. .
The cycle begins with the new Moon, when the satellite is between the Earth and the Sun and its illuminated side is hidden from our view. Then, as it moves, a small band of light appears, giving way to the crescent Moon. As the days go by, the Moon “fills” until it reaches the Full Moon phase, when its visible side is completely illuminated. After reaching its maximum point, it begins to “decline” until giving birth again to a new Moon, ending this cycle.
In order not to miss the phases of the Moon in October, here are the dates to take into account, according to data provided by the National Geographic Institute (IGN):
New moon
On October 2 at 8:49 p.m. (peninsular time, like all those expressed in this article) there will be a new Moon. The Moon and Sun will be aligned, so the sky will be dark, making it a good time for astronomical observing.
On the same day, October 2, a solar eclipse will take place. It will be visible as an annular eclipse from Chile and Argentina, and as a partial eclipse from the south of the American continent.
Croissant
It will be Thursday October 10, at 8:55 p.m. During this period, lunar illumination visible from Earth begins to increase.
Full moon
On October 17, the Moon will reach fullness at 1:26 p.m. It is the tenth full Moon of the year.
last quarter
The Moon will return to the Last Quarter phase on October 24 at 10:03 a.m. The Moon continues its cycle, showing less light and moving closer to the next new Moon.
When will the next meteor shower be?
Like every year in October, the sky offers us a new shower of stars. In the tenth month of the year we will be able to enjoy two phenomena of this type: the Dracomides, which take place from October 6 to 10 and whose peak occurs on Tuesday 8; and the Oriomides, which will be visible between October 2 and November 7, with October 21 being their busiest day.
Also this month it is worth taking into account the time change. On October 27, we will have to turn the clocks back: on the night of Saturday to Sunday, at 3 a.m. – peninsula time -, it will be 2 o’clock.
