October 29
The Ram's Little Belly
Sun Position
The Sun is in Scorpius near -17.5° declination. Across Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, nights are now approaching 13 hours in length; Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude nights are approaching 11 hours.
Sky Highlight
Late October into early November is the Southern Taurid meteor shower's most active period. These slow meteors (among the most likely shower members to produce bright fireballs) can appear anywhere in the sky on October 29, tracing paths back toward Taurus, which rises in the east after dark.
Deep Sky Object
M45 (Pleiades), an open cluster about 440 light-years away. The Pleiades is arguably the most recognized star cluster in human history, cited in texts from ancient Greece, China, and indigenous traditions on nearly every inhabited continent. It rises in the east on October evenings and is best observed with the naked eye or binoculars, which reveal the full extent of its blue-white stars and surrounding nebulosity. Visible from both hemispheres; from Southern Hemisphere it appears higher in the northern sky in spring.
Featured Star
Botein (δ Ari) is an orange giant (K2III) about 168 light-years away, the third star in Aries's short, dim main line after Hamal and Sheratan. Its name comes from the Arabic for the little belly of the ram. In several Islamic astronomical traditions it was associated with a lunar mansion, serving as a reference point in calendrical and agricultural systems. Botein, the little belly of the Ram, ancient marker of the lunar calendar.
Around This Date
- October 29, 1998John Glenn flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery at age 77, becoming the oldest person to fly in space, the mission also carried experiments studying the parallels between spaceflight's physiological effects and aging.
- October 30, 1981The Soviet Venera 13 spacecraft launched toward Venus, eventually transmitting color images of the Venusian surface for 127 minutes before the extreme heat and pressure destroyed it.
Botein is the kind of star that matters more because of where it sits in the sky's coordinate system than because of what it is.