Mighty Jupiter dominates the sky nearly all night as it makes its best appearance in nearly 50 years for the next few months. October is also a prime time for viewing Uranus, although you'll need binoculars to see it clearly. The seventh planet lies within 2° of Jupiter all month. The eighth planet, Neptune, lies about 30° west of this pair. Closer to home, Venus and Mars lie in evening twilight near Virgo's brightest star, Spica.
Look south and east just after sunset. You cannot miss the brightest object that you will ever see at night in this region of the sky. With binoculars you will see four of the moons of Jupiter. Through a small telescope you will see the bands and zone markings on the planet. Through a larger telescope you will note that the planet actually buldges at the equator from its fast spin. The south equatorial belt has disappeared within the last few months which has puzzelled Astromoners. Will it reappear? This belt harbours the giant red spot that is still visible nightly. If you notice through a larger instrument a small black dot on the face of Jupiter, this will be one of the four moons shadows cast on the planets gaseous face by our sun as it transits across the planet.
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