The ruddy Red Planet, in the constellation Pisces, begins the month at -2.5 magnitude (very bright) and grows slightly brighter to -2.6 magnitude at mid-month. Mars dims slightly to about -2.5 at month’s end, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Mars reaches its closest approach to Earth on Oct. 6, when it will be 38.6 million miles away. It will not get this close again until 2035, according to NASA.

On Oct. 13, Mars and the sun — from Earth’s perspective — are opposite each other. Thus, Mars reaches opposition.

Jupiter and Saturn play the dynamic duo — the two large gaseous planets are destined to be sky-gazing treasures for the rest of the year. Find them now after dusk, relatively high above the horizon in the southern sky. But which planet is which? Easy: Jupiter is the brighter object at -2.3 magnitude (bright), and Saturn is the much dimmer 0.5 magnitude. Both loiter close to the teapot-shaped constellation Sagittarius, but bright Jupiter is closest to the teapot’s handle.

As autumn progresses, Jupiter and Saturn will inch closer to each other in the night heavens until Dec. 21, the winter solstice, when they will be 0.1 degree apart. It will be their closest conjunction since 1623, according to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

Early-morning dog walkers may appreciate Venus as another luminous spot in the carnival. Look to the east before sunrise Oct. 1 to see the effervescent Venus slightly above the bright star Regulus at the front of the constellation Leo, the Lion. A few mornings later, you might notice that Venus will be slightly below Regulus. Venus is easily seen at a bright -4.1 magnitude, according to the observatory.

Ever the social butterfly, the waning crescent moon visits Venus on Oct. 13, and the barely visible moon appears to pass bright Venus on Oct. 14.

Hope for clear skies, as the Orionid meteors peak Oct. 20 and 21. With the waxing, young crescent moon setting Oct. 20 in the southwest about 9:30 p.m., you can see these humble shooting stars in the late evening and morning. At their peak, there will be about 20 meteors an hour, according to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. You’ll probably see fewer than 20 at the peak.

These falling stars are the dusty remnants of Halley’s comet. As Earth goes around the sun, our atmosphere strikes the dusty trails of comets gone by, and we see these tiny pebbles burn, giving us meteor showers.

With an Oct. 1 full Harvest Moon, the month’s second full moon is Oct. 31, Halloween. You may know it as the Hunter Moon — but consider it a blue moon, too. As ghoulish as it may be, our next blue moon to land on Halloween will be 2039, said astronomer Geoff Chester of the Naval Observatory.

Mere hours after Halloween ends, we turn our clocks back officially on Nov. 1 at 2 a.m. — giving us an extra hour to sleep.

● Oct. 5 — “Hubble’s Troublesome Constant,” an online talk by researcher Chris Burns of Carnegie Science. He will discuss how galaxies move away from us. 7 p.m. carnegiescience.edu/events

● Oct. 10 — “Deep Blue Planet,” an online talk by petrologist Michael Walter, of Carnegie Science. Hosted by the National Capital Astronomers. Online doors open at 7 p.m. For meeting details and online registration: capitalastronomers.org

● Oct. 28 — “Our Origins in Space,” an online Kavli Prize Laureate Lecture by Ewine F. van Dishoeck, professor, Leiden University, Netherlands. Hosted by Carnegie Science. 4 p.m. For details: carnegiescience.edu/events

Blaine Friedlander can be reached at PostSkyWatch@yahoo.com.