Whats up in the October 2026 skies?

October is here, and the longer nights and cooler temperatures make it a great month to spend some time outside under the stars.

This month, Saturn reaches opposition, Mars passes through the Beehive Cluster, and the Moon has an interesting encounter with Jupiter. We’ll also look at asteroid Vesta, the October meteor showers, this month’s Lunar Feature of the Month, and then head into Cepheus for a deep-sky tour.

Free October 2026 Observing Guide

Download the October 2026 AstroGuy Observing Guide for the Moon phase calendar, planetary information, finder charts, observing notes, and this month’s deep-sky targets:

https://astroguypod.com/downloads/October-2026-Observing-Guide.pdf

Episode Chapters

00:00 Intro01:05 Planetary Roundup09:00 Meteor Showers10:34 Lunar Feature of the Month13:06 Deep-Sky Objects19:43 Conclusion

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Image and Video Credits

Wayne ZuhlNASAESANSF/NOIRLabStatis Kalyvas – VT-2004 programmeDawn SpacecraftDominic Ford / In-The-Sky.orgVirtual Moon Atlas — Patrick Chevalley and Christian LegrandLunar data and imagery displayed in Virtual Moon Atlas and used for educational commentary.Sky simulations created with Stellarium Desktop, free open-source planetarium software: https://stellarium.orgStellarium is licensed under GPL-2.0.

Planetary illustrations created with AstroChron:https://astrochron.app/

Audio Credits

“Hymn to the Dawn” — Scott Buckley“The Long Dark” — Scott Buckleywww.scottbuckley.com.auMusic promoted by ChosicCreative Commons licensing as applicable.

Until next time, may your skies be clear, and as always, Carpe Noctem, Seize the Night!