The Night Sky - October 2026
As equinox passes us by, our nights lengthen noticeably and the sky becomes clearer as it dries. It is a good time to be observing. Too bad it can get so cold. There are lots of things to share with friends and family this month. Meteors and the dance of the planets are all on display.
All of the naked eye visible planets can be seen for at least part of the month. Our inner planets, Mercury and Venus, are approaching the Sun, from Earth’s point of view, and will not be safe to observe before the Sun has set. Searching could leave you open to eye damage if you find the Sun instead of the planet. Venus will be the first to be lost in the Sun’s glare. Venus is extremely low in the WSW and lost in twilight before mid month. Mercury will follow. It is low in the WSW during evening twilight. Mars will be visible in the SE during the morning all month. Jupiter will be rising after 2 AM in the ENE and will be high in the E by dawn. Saturn will rise in the E before 7 PM during dusk. It will transit at Midnight and set in the W after 6 AM.
On the first of the Month, the Moon will be at perigee (it’s closest approach to Earth). On the second, Venus will appear stationary. Gegenschein (an oval shaped patch of light directly opposite the Sun) may be visible high in the S at midnight over the next two weeks. On the 4th, Saturn will be at Opposition. (The Earth will appear in the middle of a line drawn between Saturn and the Sun), the Lunar Curtis X should be visible and you might be able to follow Sirius into the morning sky for the rest of the week. The Moon will occult Mars on the 5th but will not be visible in this part of Canada all we can see is a close pass. Mercury will be 5 degrees N of Venus. Galilean moon shadows crossing Jupiter at 7:03 PM and 3:24 AM would require a telescope. The Moon will occult Jupiter on the 6th at 4:33 AM and this should be visible to most of the country. The Moon will be at a waning crescent so Jupiter will disappear near the tip. Binoculars or a telescope would show if the planet disappears in a flash or lasts a few seconds. From the 8th through 22nd, Zodiacal light may be seen in the E before morning twilight.
New Moon is on the 10th and the S Taurid Meteor shower will peak. Best viewing is in the pre-dawn. Venus will be 3 degrees S of the Moon on the 11th. Two shadows will cross Jupiter (2:42 AM) and you might be able to see Vega (unaided) before sunset this week. Mercury will reach its greatest elongation from the Sun at 25 degrees on the 12th and be just 2 degrees N of the Moon. That should make it easier to find and observe. Jupiter will have shadow crossing at 9:12 PM. Venus will be at Opposition on the 13th. Antares, a large red star in Scorpius, will 0.4 degrees N of the Moon the next day. The Moon will be at apogee on the 16th and First Quarter on the 18th and the Lunar X should be visible. The Orionid Meteor shower peaks on the 21st, Venus at inferior conjunction (when an interior planet passes between the Earth and the Sun) the next day, and Mercury appears stationary on the 23rd. The Full Moon (animal fattening Moon) is on the 26th with the Moon at perigee on the 28th.
Hallowe’en is astronomical in its origin. It is a cross-quarter day, half way between Solstice and Equinox. The date was known as Samhain with the Celts and there are some monuments that mark this point in the calendar. As it was neither winter nor summer, mysteries developed around the date. Some places avoided travelling alone in winter because a ‘hag’ that lived in the sky would take their soul. You could protect yourself by carving a turnip or squash to look like a face and hanging it off your wagon at head level. Sound familiar?
Clear Skies.
