What’s Up in the Sky in October?
Nights are getting darker in the Northern Hemisphere, bringing better conditions for stargazing and plenty to look out for in the night sky.
October could be a good month for spotting shooting stars, as it hosts not one but two well-known meteor showers: the Draconids and the Orionids.
Saturn and Mercury will be easier to spot this month. And from certain locations on Earth, some planets will briefly disappear behind the Moon in a series of occultations.
The Pleiades, a star cluster long associated with Halloween, makes a ghostly appearance close to the Moon near the beginning and end of the month.
*Naked-eye events—although you should NEVER look directly at the Sun without proper eye protection. The Night Sky Map links generally use New York City, USA, as an example location, but other locations may be used where they provide a better view of an event.
October’s Shooting Stars
October brings two good opportunities to look for shooting stars, beginning with the Draconid meteor shower, which peaks on October 8–9.
Can you spot the Draconids?The Draconids are usually a modest shower, producing only a handful of meteors per hour under dark skies. Unlike many meteor showers, they are best seen in the evening hours, rather than after midnight. Their meteors are also relatively slow-moving, meaning there is a little more time to spot them.
Skywatching conditions are particularly good this year, with the New Moon on October 10, meaning there will be little moonlight to interfere with the view around the peak.
Later in the month, the Orionids take over. They peak on October 21–22 and generally offer a better chance of spotting shooting stars than the Draconids. However, a bright Waxing Gibbous Moon may obscure some of the fainter meteors this year.
The Orionids are known for fast-moving meteors and are said to be one of the most beautiful meteor showers of the year.
For both meteor showers, find the darkest location you can, give your eyes time to adjust, and look across a wide area of the sky. You don’t need to look directly at the radiant—the point in the sky from which meteors appear to originate.
Planets to Watch
There are plenty of planetary moments worth looking out for this month, with Venus, Saturn, and Mercury all gracing the evening and night skies.
The Moon and Mars cozy up together on October 5, appearing either as an occultation or a stunning duo, depending on your location. It’s a similar story for the Moon and Jupiter the following day.
Saturn at Its Best
Saturn reaches opposition on October 4, when Earth passes between the planet and the Sun.
At opposition, Saturn rises around sunset and remains visible throughout the night. It’s also at its brightest, making this one of the best times of the year to observe it.
Mercury and Venus Meet
On October 7, Mercury and Venus appear close together in the evening sky.
The pair will be low above the horizon after sunset, so you’ll need an unobstructed view toward the west. Viewers in the lower-latitude parts of the Northern Hemisphere can catch the pairing. Observers in the southern half of the globe will be even better placed to enjoy this planetary meetup.
See the pair meet in Miami, USAVenus is by far the brighter of the two and can help you locate the fainter Mercury nearby.
Venus is visible in the evening sky at the start of October, but disappears into the Sun’s glare later in the month. It reaches inferior conjunction on October 24, when it passes between Earth and the Sun, before reappearing in the morning sky in the following weeks.
A Good Time to Find Mercury
Mercury reaches its greatest elongation east on October 12, when it appears at its farthest distance from the Sun in the evening sky, making the surrounding days or weeks a particularly good time to look for the elusive planet.
Mercury also has some company that evening. From lower-latitude parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the barest sliver of the Crescent Moon and Mercury appear close together, low in the west after sunset.
Farther south, observers are even better placed: the Moon, Mercury, and Venus form a striking twilight trio. See what it looks like from Perth, Australia, on our Night Sky Map.
This is pretty amazing, if you ask me. Looking at Mercury, Venus and the Moon together in the sky, you are seeing all the major celestial bodies between us and the Sun at the same time. Not bad for a casual October evening.
Renate Mauland-Hus, Astrophysicist
mungfali.galihkartiwa07.workers.devThe Pleiades: A Halloween Star Cluster?
October begins and closes out with the Moon passing close to one of the night sky’s most recognizable star clusters: the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters.
The Pleiades are easy to recognize as a small, tightly packed group of stars with a milky, misty appearance. Look out for the Sisters near the Moon on October 1 and October 27–28. From some locations, several stars of the Pleiades will be hidden behind the Moon during an occultation.
The cluster also has an intriguing connection with Halloween. Its prominent position in the autumn skies of the Northern Hemisphere has long been linked with Celtic festivals such as Samhain. For the Celts, this timing coincided with festivals honoring the dead, reinforcing their belief that the cluster served as a window to the Otherworld.
For October stargazers, this connection can add a haunting layer of folklore to an already beautiful sight.
Where Is the Sun in the Zodiac in October?
As Earth completes one orbit around the Sun each year, the Sun appears to travel through constellations within the zodiac, which astronomers define as a strip of sky on either side of the ecliptic.
These include the 12 “traditional” constellations of the zodiac—such as Aquarius and Leo—plus the lesser-known constellation Ophiuchus, through which the Sun passes each year around December.
In October 2026, the Sun remains in the constellation Virgo for nearly the whole month, before crossing into Libra on October 31.
Readers familiar with horoscopes may notice these dates don’t match the zodiac sign dates they’re used to—in Western astrology, Virgo typically runs from late August to late September.
This offset is a consequence of axial precession, a slow wobble in Earth’s rotational axis that has shifted the stars’ apparent positions since Western astrological signs were defined more than 2,000 years ago. Back then, the signs matched the constellations the Sun appeared in more closely—but the two have since drifted apart by about 30°, or roughly one month.
(*) Image by Mike Lewinski , licensed under CC BY 4.0 .
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Frequently Asked Questions
What meteor showers happen in October 2026?
October 2026 brings two notable meteor showers. The Draconids peak on October 8–9, followed by the Orionids on October 21–22. The Orionids generally offer a better chance of seeing shooting stars; however, moonlight may reduce the number of visible meteors.
When is the Hunter's Moon?
In 2026, October’s Full Moon, known as the Hunter’s Moon, falls on October 26 at 04:11 UTC.
What is an occultation?
An occultation occurs when one celestial object passes in front of another and temporarily hides it from view. For example, the Moon can occult a planet or star as seen from certain locations on Earth.