October 1999

OCTOBER -- Mars lingers in the southwest sky after sundown; Jupiter rises a short time later and commands the night sky. Saturn rises soon after Jupiter. 5, 6 - Waning crescent Moon, Venus and Regulus in the eastern AM sky. 9 - New Moon -- 4:34 A.M. PDT, 15 degrees Libra. 14, 15 - Waxing crescent Moon conjunct Mars. 23 - Jupiter opposes the Sun. It rises at sundown and sets at dawn. It is visible the longest tonight. 24 MUST SEE -- Full Moon 2:02 P.M. PDT, 1 degree Taurus, in between Jupiter and Saturn. Mercury is at its greatest eastern elongation, but is not well visible. 30 - Venus at greatest western elongation; it will be visible as a morning star through the autumn. 31 - Moonless Halloween.

November 1999

NOVEMBER - Jupiter and Saturn dominate -- they rise early in the evening and dominate the night sky. 3, 4 - Waning crescent Moon conjunct Venus. 4 - Mercury stationary retrograde 2 degrees Sagittarius. 6 - Saturn opposes the Sun; rises at sunset and sets at dawn and is visible for the longest time tonight. 7 - New Moon 7:53 A.M. PST, 15 degrees Scorpio. 12, 13 - Waxing crescent Moon conjunct Mars in southwest sky after dusk. 15 - RARE EVENT; Mercury transits the face of the Sun. When properly viewed (NEVER look at the Sun with the unaided eye), Mercury will cross the inside of the Sun's north edge. 17 - Leonid meteor showers -- this is expected to be another bumper year for this event. Excellent visibility and many falls/second are expected. 20-23 - Watch the Moon with Jupiter, Saturn and Aldebaran. 23 - Full Moon -- 11:04 P.M. PST, 0 degrees Gemini. 24 - Mercury stationary direct -- 16 degrees of Scorpo

May 1999

MAY - Watch for Mars and Venus in the western sky after sundown; Mars will be a ruddy orange spot near the horizon, while Venus is brilliant white and continues out-of-bounds all month. 1 - Watch for Mercury and Jupiter close together 30 minutes before sunrise. Mars is a perigee -- closest to the Earth -- retrograde and at its most visible now. 12 - Waning crescent Moon conjunct Jupiter in the Eastern pre-dawn sky. 15 - New Moon 5:05 A.M. PDT, 25 degrees of Taurus. The Moon is also at perigee, making higher than normal tides. 17, 18 - Waxing crescent Moon near Venus. 22 - Moon occults (blocks) Regulus. 24 - 26 Moon near Spica. 29 -- Moon conjunct Antares. 30 -- Full Moon 11:40 P.M. PDT, 8 degrees Sagittarius. Venus is near Pollux and Castor -- the heads of the Gemini Twins

June 1999

JUNE - Mercury is out-of-bounds from May 31 to June 17. It is visible in the evening sky all month, culminating at its greatest eastern elongation on the 28th. It will be found north of the ecliptic. Look for evidence of extreme Mercury issues during this period. 4 - Mars stationary direct at 24 degrees of Libra. 8 - Mars conjunct Spica. 10 - Watch the waning crescent Moon near Jupiter and Saturn in the eastern sky before sunrise. 11 - Venus at greatest eastern elongation. It is at its brightest now as an evening star. 13 - New Moon 12: 03 P.M. PDT, at 6 degrees Capricorn. 15, 16 - Waxing crescent Moon conjunct Venus; Mercury is also visible as an evening star now. 17 - Moon near Venus and Regulus. 21 - Solstice at 12:49 P.M. Sun enters Cancer. The Sun is at its maximum declination now and will spend about 3 weeks at 23 degrees north. 22 - Mars conjunct Spica. 28 - Full Moon 2:37 P.M. PDT, 6 degrees of Capricorn. Mercury at its greatest eastern elongation and is at its most visible at dusk far to the lower right of Venus.

July 1999

JULY - Venus sinks lower and lower into the western sky each week until it has almost disappeared by the end of July. 7, 8 - The waning crescent Moon is with Saturn and Jupiter before dawn. 9 - Just before dawn, the Moon Saturn Jupiter and Aldebaran are in the east. 10, 11 - Venus with Regulus in the evening. 12 - New Moon 7:24 P.M. PDT, 20 degrees Cancer. Mercury Stationary Retrograde 4:33 P.M. 9 degrees Leo - Mercury will be disappearing from the western sky by the 18th. 14, 15 - Waxing crescent Moon forms a beautiful triangle with Venus and Regulus. 28 - Full Moon - Partial Lunar Eclipse visible from much of North America. 4:25 A.M. PDT, 4 degrees of Aquarius/Leo. 29 - Venus stationary Retrograde 5 degrees Virgo. Of all the planets, Venus is retrograde the smallest percentage of time -- only 7 per cent.