Looking like a giant celestial baseball diamond, the Great Square of Pegasus stands proudly in eastern skies. Mythology has it that Perseus the hunter, along with Andromeda who he recently saved from the sea monster Cetus, rode off on this winged beast. As early fall nights slowly announce themselves with earlier sunsets and cooler temperature keeping mosquitoes at bay, telescopes should be working overtime, as Pegasus is peppered with faint galaxies.  

On the morning of October 9th, the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will crash land into the moon. Is this spacecraft out of control you might ask? On the contrary. This deliberate impact is a planned end to a mission that had a bit of a hiccup last month.

The biggest story of the month is the unexpected outburst of 17P/Comet Holmes. This outburst occurred over a short 24 hour period starting October 23rd. By the 24th, the comet had increased its brightness from magnitude 17.5 to magnitude 2.5, which is an order of one million times. At the time of writing this article, the comet halo is still growing but the inner portion is fading a bit. It is still a very impressive object.