10/05/2026
The night sky is putting on quite a show this month!
🌙 Celestial Report: We start off October with a few conjunctions. On October 5 the Moon and Mars will get together. Early in the morning around 1:30 look to the southeastern horizon. They’ll be visible until 6:30 when they’ll fade from view.
The Moon and Jupiter will join up on the 6th, passing within 9.5 arcminutes of each other, so, REALLY close visually. But because Jupiter is 1,800 times farther away than the Moon, this “close approach” is actually an illusion of perspective. This will happen early in the morning, 2:30 - 3:00 a.m. Look east-northeast just above the horizon. With a 20% crescent moon in play it should be quite a show.
From October 6-10 the Draconids meteor shower will be active, with a peak on the 7th. Although this shower is not a blockbuster, it can produce up to 10 meteors per hour, the best viewing is in the early evening. With a new moon on the 10th the sky will be very dark and should provide good viewing conditions. Generally you have to stay up late to see a meteor shower but this one will start just after nightfall around 9 p.m. Look to the north.
You may also get to see meteors from the Southern Taurid meteor shower, it peaks on the 10th. Look to the eastern horizon from 10 p.m. to dawn the next day. The radiant point gets higher in the sky as the night turns into day so staying up late, or getting up early, is your best bet for this event.
