what changes in October!

full moon
The full moon rises behind Rocca Calascio in Abruzzo.

October is really rich in astronomical events, with a new full moon, fall stars falling and a partial solar eclipse that will be visible from France at the end of the month. October will also be the month of the time change with the transition to winter time. We review these October appointments one by one.

When is the October full moon?

The day of the tenth full moon in 2022 is Sunday, October 9. The full moon is a spectacular time for those who like to observe the starry sky. Far from the artificial city lights, the night is illuminated by Earth’s satellite, which is at its brightest on this occasion. Even in urban areas, the spectacle is assured, the lunar disc emerging from behind the buildings.

On average, 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes elapse between two full moon moments. This interval of time is called synodic month, or lunation, or lunar month. This is the time it takes for the Moon to realign its position relative to the Sun and Earth.

This time, it will not be a “supermoon”, because the October full moon will not occur at one of the times of maximum proximity between the Earth and the Moon, where the satellite appears largest and brightest. The “supermoons” of 2022 are a thing of the past, we had two in the middle of summer.

Shooting Stars in October

The month of October also has its shooting stars. In Earth’s northern hemisphere, the Draconids meteor shower will be visible October 6-10. The origin of these shooting stars is in the constellation of Draco and they come from comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner.

It will be followed by the Orionids, which are fragments of Halley’s Comet. These shooting stars will be visible until November, the peak being reached on the night of October 21 to 22. Between 15 and 70 meteors per hour are expected, with the maximum being reached this year four days before the new moon, October 25.

The October 25 partial solar eclipse

Note this date: Tuesday, October 25, 2022. On this day, we will indeed witness a partial solar eclipse in Europe. The percentage obscuration of the solar disk by the Moon will be greatest in Eastern Europe and in Scandinavian countries. In Helsinki, the obscuration will exceed 50%, in kyiv it will be 51%, in Stockholm 46%, in Bucharest 40%.

Darkening will be less in Central Europe (at Berlin, 32% of the sun will be obscured, while in Paris and London it will be only 13 and 15%). and even less in Western Europe (imperceptible in western Spain and Portugal).

In Italy, the solar eclipse will be visible in the morning: it is essential to protect your eyes!

The partial solar eclipse, informs the National Institute of Astrophysics INAF, will be visible from all over Italy. About 20% of the solar disk will be obscured. It won’t be much, but it’s still a rare event.

In Italythe darkening will only exceed 20% in the most eastern areas, especially in the northeast (eastern Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia), and in Puglia, as shown in the map available on the Time and Date website. However, the difference between the western and eastern zones will not be very marked. The use of certified eye protection devices to observe the eclipse will be essential.

In Francethe solar eclipse on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 will begin at 10:58 a.m. Paris time (8:58 a.m. UTC) with an expected peak between 11:55 a.m. and 12:12 p.m. depending on the region of France.

October time change

On the night of Saturday October 29 to Sunday October 30, 2022, solar time will return and we will abandon daylight saving time used during the summer months. The time change will set our clocks back one hour, even though most electronic devices now change the time automatically, and so we’ll sleep an hour longer. Standard time will continue until Sunday, March 26, 2023, when we will revert to daylight saving time.

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