We get good views of the Milky Way as it passes overhead after rising from the North-eastern Horizon. We then see the “W” of Cassiopeia and, after it reaches “overhead” it descends via the constellation Cygnus down towards the South-western Horizon.

Roughly halfway below “overhead” towards the Southern Horizon is the Great Square of Pegasus. From the top left-hand star marking the square, look for two lines of fainter stars, this is Andromeda, and if you now count two stars from here and use a pair of Binoculars, slowly move them upwards until you see a fuzzy patch of light. (You may have to do this a few times before getting it right but it will be worth the effort).

The fuzzy patch is the Andromeda Galaxy. It has a diameter of at least 150,000 light-years and is 2.5 million light-years from Earth. Furthermore, in around 4/5 billion years it will collide with our galaxy and eventually merge to form one giant galaxy. That must be something worth waiting to see.

If you have a good Southern Horizon, you can look for Fomalhaut, the lonely star. One way to help is look again at the square of Pegasus, fix your eye on the bottom right-hand star and draw an imaginary line down towards the horizon. It’s the brightest star in the constellation of the “Southern Fish”.

It’s not that far away, roughly 25 light-years and it is hot and blue. We know it’s much younger than our Sun and is estimated to be about 400 million years old. This star is known to have several rings of gas/dust surrounding it which may indicate planets are forming. There are no other bright stars around to confuse you. All you require is a low, clear horizon.

On Saturday October 1 it is International Moon Night, when we are encouraged to view our very own Moon. At the beginning of the month, it will be a crescent and you should direct your gaze at the “Terminator”, this is the line between the light and dark portion of the lunar disc. There are plenty of craters of all shapes and sizes.

The “Terminator” will move night by night because the Moon has no light of its own and shines by reflecting sunlight, as the Earth, Moon, and Sun’s position changes over the month.

By October 9 the Moon will be full. One object to look out for with the naked eye is a large basin called Grimaldi. It’s 175 km in diameter and roughly 3 km deep. You will see it very close to the left-hand limb and is easily identified because it is the darkest feature on the Moon.

On October 11 a star will reappear from behind the Moon. You will need binoculars to see this and they must be mounted on a tripod so your hands will not shake. Think of the moon as a clock face and concentrate on the 3 o’clock position - this is where it will appear.

It is timed to do so at 10.21pm but you should begin observing 20 minutes before as the time is approximate. Try and keep as much of the moon as possible out of your view because it is bright and the star much fainter.

Dominating the late evening sky looking East is mighty Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. It has not one moon but more than 60, most are small and faint but the big four can be seen with Binoculars looking like faint stars strung out either side of the planet. Their names are Callisto, Europa, Io, and Ganymede.

They will be in different positions relative to the planet every night. Sometimes one or more will be missing as they orbit behind Jupiter. If you have a telescope the planet offers much to see. It has no solid surface and you will be watching clouds and even a large storm high up in its atmosphere. Discovered shortly after the invention of the telescope by Galileo it was the first indication that the then current theory that the Earth was at the centre of things, and everything revolved round it was incorrect.

Do keep an eye on our website at www.barryastronomical.wordpress.com

We cater for the beginner so you will not be alone. Why not come along to one our fortnightly meetings? If I can be of help, please do get in touch.