October is the month to begin watching Mars. The only star brighter than the Red Planet this winter is Sirius, the Dog Star in Canis Major. Look for Mars rising around midnight in the north-northeast, between the horns of Taurus the Bull.

As the year progresses, so too will the apparent diameter of Mars from 9.7 seconds of arc on Oct. 1 to almost 16 seconds of arc when the planet is at opposition on Christmas Eve. While not appearing as large in a telescope as it did in 2003, some of the prominent Martian features should be visible. The best views will be during the early morning hours when Mars is high above the atmospheric haze on the horizon.

Mercury is lost in the glare of the sun for most of the month. Venus rises in the east about 4 a.m., followed by Saturn a half-hour later. By mid-month both planets rise simultaneously, forming a triangle with Regulus, in the constellation Leo. At 5 a.m. Oct. 7, Regulus, Venus and Saturn will surround a sliver of the waning crescent moon all within the field of a pair of binoculars.

Saturn appears dimmer this month because the ring system appears to move to a more edge-on view than earlier this year, reflecting less light back to Earth. Jupiter remains bright but low in the southwest after dusk throughout the month.

The moon is at perigee (closest to the Earth) on Oct. 26, and will appear to be the largest full moon of 2007. In the morning hours of Oct. 5, the crescent moon will be about a degree from the Beehive (or Praesepe) in the middle of the constellation Cancer providing another great binocular view. Train your binoculars again on the almost full moon at 2 a.m. Oct. 28, and you will see the Seven Sisters (the Pleiades) only a degree south.

October's Orionid meteor shower has a prolonged peak over a week in duration, centering on Oct. 21. Again, the best viewing will be in the pre-dawn hours, as the gibbous moon sets before then. The Orionids are another unpredictable shower, so expect five to 20 an hour, which appear to trace back to Orion's head.

Q&A

Q: How can you determine if the object in the night sky you are seeing is a star or a planet?

R.J., Canal Fulton

A: The only certain way to distinguish a planet from a star (without a star chart) is to notice the position of the object over a period of nights. If the object appears to move against the starry background, it's a planet (or a planetoid, if your eyesight is excellent). That's how the Greeks discovered there were five ''wanderers,'' or planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn amongst the stars.

It has been said that stars twinkle, and planets shine with a steady light. This is quite unreliable, as the ''twinkling'' of stars and planets is a function of many atmospheric variables. It is a lot easier to buy a star chart or go to a Web site such as http://www.heavens-above.com, or http://www.space.com.

Program

The Hoover-Price Planetarium is showing a new program, ''Radio Eyes,'' produced by planetarian and amateur radio astronomer Jason Shinn, through Nov. 4. The programs are shown at 1 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. The planetarium is included with admission to the William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum. Call 330-455-7043.