A trio of spooky green comets will come our way

Three glowstick green comets, all discovered this year, could make a spectacular naked-eye appearance this month.

The fiery triplets could not have come at a better time. The nights are dark, crisp and not too cold – an ideal combination for gazing up at the October sky. The chances of seeing a meteor are good because there are two overlapping meteor showers, the Orionids and Draconids.

Sky watchers can also count on looking up and seeing the winter constellations and planets such as Saturn and Jupiter this month.

“ I really like October sky viewing. It's like crisp nights,” said Jackie Faherty, astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. “It brings on the other part of the sky that I really love, which is the [constellations] Andromeda, Casseiopia, Perseus and Cepheus.”

Spotting comets and meteors can be an unpredictable venture.

Comets, hurtling frozen rock, dust and gas that are leftover debris from the solar system’s formation can become super-bright without warning and just as easily fizzle out into anonymity, Faherty said. But seeing one of the cosmic snowballs hurtling through the universe with the naked eye is well worth the trouble. Currently, the comets C/2025 A6 Lemmon, C/2025 R2 Swan and C/2025 K1 Atlas have favorable forecasts to turn brighter, visible with binoculars and possibly even the naked eye.

According to NASA, comet Swan was observed for the first time last month. The fiery debris has a greenish head and tail, but it’s currently very close to the sun, which makes it difficult to see. It could become more visible as it moves farther away from the sun's glare during October.

The comet will be at its closest approach to Earth on Oct. 20 and is visible with binoculars. The comet may also produce a faint meteor shower in its wake around Oct. 5.

The green-headed comet Lemmon will also be at its closest distance to the Earth around the same time as Swan’s nearest approach. The fireball is brightening up and getting lots of buzz among astronomers. It was discovered earlier this year and is visible with binoculars. The comet is visible in the predawn skies until the middle of the month. After that, it may be visible in the evening.

In NASA telescope images, Comet Atlas appears near comet Swan. Comet Atlas is the faintest of the three comets, but is predicted to be at its brightest in early October.

Bart Fried, a member of the American Astronomical Society, recommended getting out of the city for darker skies to view the comets. Serious comet chasers should check for regular updates for position and brightness on NASA or the Stellarium app.

“This stuff is very hard to predict. It could be the comet of the century, but until it happens, you never know,” Fried said.

Meteor showers are not as elusive as comets, but they still require patience, a dark sky and some luck to see. Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through the debris left behind by a comet or asteroid. The meteorites burn up in Earth’s atmosphere causing streaks of light, also called shooting stars.

The two showers that overlap this month are small.

The Draconids meteor shower is visible after dusk in the northern portion of the sky. The shooting stars will run from Oct. 6-10, with a peak on Oct. 8 with 10 meteors per hour. The meteors can be easier to spot because they are considered slow at about 45,000 miles per hour. The peak will be close to the full moon, which will make viewing difficult.

The Orionids meteor shower has more favorable viewing chances because it peaks on Oct. 22, which is also the same night as the new moon, when the sky will be the darkest. That shower runs from Thursday to Nov. 12. During the peak, there will be about six shooting stars hourly. The meteors are the debris left over from Halley’s Comet on its 76-year orbit around the sun.

“ You don't need binoculars, you don't need a telescope. You just need a really comfortable chair and a blanket,” Fried said.

In contrast, the planets are very dependable celestial sights. Just before sunrise, Venus, also known as the morning star, is big and bright with Jupiter high above it in the southeast. By the end of the month, the gas giant will be visible around 10:30 pm.

After sunset, Mercury is visible, but it’s difficult to see because it’s very low on the horizon and often drowned-out by the setting sun.

At the same time, Saturn is on the eastern horizon. On Sunday, the planet will be right next to a waxing gibbous moon. However, its rings will not be visible this month because of its position.

With a telescope, stargazers can see the shadow transits, which are when Saturn’s major moons cast a shadow on the planet as they orbit. Through a telescope, it looks like a sharp black dot across the planet. After this month, there won’t be any lunar transits for the next 15 years, which is also when the rings will disappear from view.

“Saturn is really well-placed. This is the time to observe Saturn,” Fried said.

The Andromeda Galaxy is the most distant object that a naked human eye can discern, located 2.5 million light years away. October is a good time to observe the fuzzy patch of light. Locating the neighboring galaxy is also a good way to observe some of the season’s brightest constellations.

Andromeda is located in the northern portion of the sky, in a constellation with the same name. Nearby are the “W” shaped Cassiopeia and square-shaped Pegasus constellations. The Perseus and Cepheus star patterns are also located in this cluster of constellations.

For a closer view of the Andromeda galaxy, the 30th annual Autumn Starfest, hosted by the Amateur Astronomers Association, is a good opportunity to zoom in on planets and the cratered surface of the moon. The event is held in the East Meadow at Central Park on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 7 to 11 p.m. The program is free and open to the public of all ages. Experts will give lectures and assist stargazers with the dozens of telescopes that will be pointing at ringless Saturn and star clusters.