Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday, October 13 and 14, 2025, written by Alan French
This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday, October 13 and 14, 2025, written by Alan French.
The Sun rises at 7:07 A.M. on Monday and sets at 6:16 P.M. On Tuesday it rises at 7:08 A.M. and sets at 6:14 P.M.
The Moon was full late on October 6 and reaches last quarter Monday afternoon. On Monday the Moon rises at 11:38 P.M., the same time Jupiter is rising. By 1:00 A.M. Tuesday morning the pair will be pretty sight 12 degrees above the east northeastern horizon with Jupiter about 5 degrees from the Moon.
If you are up before dawn Tuesday, around 6 A.M., look for brilliant Venus low toward the east (just under 7 degrees high at 6 A.M.) and the Moon and Jupiter high toward the southeast. Bright Jupiter will be 7 degrees from the Moon. By 6:30 A.M. Venus will be 12 degrees high.
The Moon does not rise at all Tuesday, with the Moon rising at 12:51 A.M. Wednesday.
Saturn rises at 5:27 P.M. Monday and by 9 P.M. is 34 degrees above the southeastern horizon. Saturn is not alone; the planet Neptune is about 3 ½ degrees northeast of Saturn. Although Neptune is never visible by eye alone, little optical aid is needed to find it. Modern Smart telescope can find it for you, but with Saturn as a starting point, and a good star chart, it is not hard to spot with any telescope. There are apps that allow you to create customized star charts to aid in your search.
At low powers it is hard to distinguish Neptune from a star. Under steady skies, a magnification of 80 to 100 or so will show Neptune’s tiny bluish disk and show it is not a star. The best time to look is around 11:25 P.M. when the planet is highest. In a month Saturn and Neptune will be highest around 8:20 P.M. Neptune will then be a little over 4 degrees from Saturn. The outer planets move slowly against their starry background.
If you have a good view south and are outside at 10 P.M., the constellation Piscis Austrinus, “The Southern Fish,” will be about 17 degrees above the horizon. Although not generally a familiar constellation, it is one of the 48 ancient constellations recognized by Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It is of older Babylonian origins. (There are 88 officially recognized constellations, 40 were added later by
cartographers and astronomers.)
Piscis Austrinus is not well known because it has only one bright star, Fomalhaut, magnitude +1.23 and the 18th brightest star in the night sky. The remaining stars are fourth magnitude, stretching out in a rough 15-degree oblong to Fomalhaut’s west. Its second brightest star, Epsilon Piscis Austrini, is magnitude +4.17. Its low altitude from our northern latitude also helps keep it infrequently observed. In addition, it lacks any Messier objects or other bright deep sky objects to attract an
observer’s attention. Bright Fomalhaut is the constellation’s one well-known landmark.