Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, becomes steadily more prominent during October as the Earth nears its closest point in its orbit to the gas giant planet, which takes place on November 3.

In mid-month Jupiter will be in the East and about 30 degrees above the horizon by 10pm, shining very brightly

Full Moon is on the evening of the 28th and Jupiter will be nearby the Moon on that night.

Almost all the stars and planets in the sky become “lost” in the glare of the Full Moon, but Jupiter is one of the few objects bright enough to stand out even when near the Moon.

Also on the 28th the Full Moon will be partially eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow. The eclipse starts at 8.30pm and lasts until just before 10pm.

In mid-eclipse at 9.15pm only about 10 per cent of the Moon will be eclipsed, but that should be noticeable as the Moon will be well placed at the time in the South East.

Hours of daylight continue to reduce through the month and on Sunday, October 29, clocks revert to GMT, with sunset that afternoon falling at just after 4.30pm.

Saturn is a bit past its best but still visible in the evening sky and will be in the South at 9pm.

Venus is very well positioned for those up early in the morning. The brightest planet will be joined by the waning crescent Moon in the pre-dawn Eastern sky of October 10, best seen at 6am.

By the end of October, the constellation of Orion is clear of the Eastern horizon before midnight. The top left star of the familiar shape of Orion (see map) is the red supergiant star Betelgeuse.

About 15 times the mass of our Sun and hundreds of times larger, Betelgeuse will one day explode as a supernova, but astronomers cannot say exactly when.

The brightness of Betelgeuse varies and this is thought to be caused by huge clouds of dust that partly obscure the light from the star.

The dust comes from Betelgeuse itself, puffed out into space on an irregular basis.