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16 | THE COLONY NEWS | OCTOBER 2022 | By Mike Vergara, 951- 461-2889 October! The Orionids meteor shower will peak on the nights of Friday, the 21st and Saturday, the 22nd. Been feeling weird lately? I know why! Three of the five visible planets (and Pluto too!) of our solar system are – or will be soon – in retrograde. You've probably heard a phrase like "Mercury's in retrograde" before. So, what does it mean? To start with, the word "retrograde" means to move backwards. Planets normally move across the sky from west to east with respect to the background stars. When a planet is going through a period of apparent retrograde motion (the correct term), it moves in the opposite direction, from east to west. To an observer on Earth, this looks like the planet is moving backwards. How does this happen? When Earth in its orbit catches up to a planet with a slower and larger orbit like Jupiter, it overtakes from the inside of Jupiter's orbit, and from our viewpoint, this results in Jupiter appearing to zigzag across the sky. Think of it like passing another car on the freeway. You catch up to the other car, then you are level with them, and then the other car appears to move backwards as you pull ahead. This is apparent retrograde motion. Seriously, the retrograde motion of the planets doesn't really have a tangible effect on our lives, but it sure makes a good excuse, right? October's full moon is on Sunday, the 9th. Known as "Full Hunter's Moon," this is the time of year when game is fattened up for winter and hunters need to lay in a store of provisions for the coming winter. I mentioned in September that Palomar College's Planetarium might be opening "soon." (Full disclosure, I am a lecturer there.) Alas, there have been some unexpected issues that have delayed the opening. We are working hard to make the reopening happen. Stay tuned! Visit http://skymaps.com/index.html to print your own map of the sky for the month. For information about satellites or the ISS, go to https://heavens-above.com. Clear skies! October Sky October Sky Betty McKee In Memoriam