09/30/2026
Grab a blanket and a warm drink, and head somewhere dark for these October's sky events!
On October 4th, Saturn sits opposite the Sun, so it rises at sunset, stays up all night, and is at its closest and brightest of the year. Look southeast after dark for a steady yellowish light that barely twinkles. A small telescope shows the rings!
The modest Draconid Meteor Shower peaks October 8th and 9th and is best in the early evening. Look northwest toward Draco under a nearly new Moon.
The new Moon on the 10th brings the darkest night of the month, your best chance to see faint stars and the Milky Way, so get away from bright lights if you can.
The Orionid Meteor Shower peaks October 21st and 22nd with fast, bright meteors from Halley's Comet debris, best after midnight and visible anywhere overhead. The Moon will be bright, so block it with a building or tree and give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust.
The Full Hunter's Moon rises October 26th, the first full moon after the Harvest Moon. Near moonrise it often looks large and golden-orange because we see it through more atmosphere.
How to find the constellation Pegasus: Pegasus rises in the east after dusk and climbs high in the southeast to south by mid-evening. Face south and look about halfway up the sky for the Great Square, four fairly bright stars forming a big box, often tilted like a diamond early in the evening. Few other bright stars are nearby, so it's easy to spot. The Andromeda Galaxy sits close by, and the square's stars can guide you to it.
Moon Facts:
Size: About 2,159 miles (3,474 km) across, a quarter of Earth's width, with 1/81 of its mass.
Makeup: Rocky, with a small iron-rich core. Water ice hides in shadowed craters near the poles.
Features: The dark maria are solidified lava plains. The far side holds the huge South Pole-Aitken Basin.
Orbit: 27.3 days, tidally locked, and drifting away about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) a year.
Origin: Likely formed 4.5 billion years ago when a Mars-sized body hit early Earth. No moons, no rings, no global magnetic field.
Role: Its gravity drives our ocean tides and steadies Earth's tilt.
