Shortly said, Uranus and Neptune can be seen during early night, while Jupiter can be seen already on twilight, and Saturn climbs to the sky on early morning.

What planets can be seen in October 2008 in northern hemisphere?

Next we’ll describe how you can find planets in October 2008, but before that you might ask, “which planets CANNOT be seen in October 2008″? Well, Mars, Mercury, Venus and Pluto cannot be seen in this month. So, let’s continue with those that can be observed.

October 2008 planets – Jupiter

Planet Jupiter is located in constellation Sagittarius in October 2008. You can see this huge planet already on late twilight, shining in South-West direction. Jupiter is located pretty low on sky, so make sure you don’t have obstacles such as trees between you and Jupiter. The best time to observe Jupiter depends on your location, but for example on 60 degrees of latitude Jupiter will disappear four after after sunset. This means you won’t have much time to observe Jupiter.

October 2008 Planets – Neptune

Planet Neptune can be seen in constellation Capricornus on early night. Because Neptune is a small planet and located far from us, it is not as bright as planet Jupiter, for example. Therefore you need binoculars or a telescope for observing planet Neptune. Neptune is not as fascinating planet such as Saturn, but observing planet Neptune provides some alternation with your astronomy hobby.

October 2008 Planets – Saturn

Probably the most interesting planet for most of us is Saturn. This awesome planet with beautiful disks is probably the most photographed planet. You can see the magnificent planet Saturn on Eastern sky in constellation Leo. Saturn can be seen on early night during October 2008. Remember to observe Saturn with your binoculars, because you cannot see the disks naked-eye.

October 2008 Planets – Uranus

Fourth planet we can observe in northern hemisphere in October 2008 is Uranus. This rather distant planet can be seen on early night in constellation Aquarium. Usually you need binoculars for watching planet Uranus, but sometimes you can see it even naked-eye.

By the way, did you notice that the planets you can see in October 2008 are actually the same planets you can see in September 2008?

Other interesting phenomena with planets in October 2008

Notice that there are also few other interesting phenomena with the planets in October 2008. The moon will be located close to Jupiter on October 7th. on late evening. The moon will also be located close to Saturn on October 25th. on early morning. Planet Mercury will be in low conjunction on October 6th. On October 22 nd. the planet Mercury will be in its highest western elongation.

Photo: jeffrey beal

Before going through the planets we can be seen in northern hemisphere in September 2008,let’s narrow the scope by stating which planets CANNOT be seen in September 2008. Those are

- Mercury

- Pluto

- Mars

- Venus

So, we have four planets left we can observe in September. Let’s go them through next.

Planets in northern hemisphere in September 2008

Jupiter can be seen in early night in constellation Sagittarius. Direction is South-West, low above the horizon. If you wish to observe Jupiter, start immediately after the sunset, because Jupiter fades away around midnight.

For those who wake up early, I recommend observing Saturn which rises up on eastern sky early morning. Saturn is a very interesting planet to observe because of its awesome disks, so check out the weather forecast, and if it looks good, wake up early and go out to observe Saturn.

Neptune can also be seen in northern hemisphere in September 2008. Turn your telescope towards constellation Capricornus on early night. Neptune is pretty dim, so you really need a telescope or at least binoculars to see it.

Uranus is the fourth planet one can observe in northern hemisphere in September 2008. Uranus is located in constellation Aquarius, and it was in opposition just two days ago (13.9. in Helsinki). This means that Uranus was located directly in South at midnight. Uranus is also a dim planet, so you should use at least binoculars. Sometimes Uranus can be seen with the naked eye.

So, these four planets you can observe in northern hemisphere in September 2008. Additionally I would like to remind you that Saturn will be located close to the Moon on 27.9. Planets and stars are not going to meet during September 2008.

Notice also that few days ago I wrote about the stars in northern hemisphere in September 2008.