The Night Sky in October is Scary Fun!

The night sky in October is marked by Mercury, Venus, and a pair of meteor showers — and did we mention Astronomy Day?

This October, amateur astronomers will delight in fabulous views of Mercury and Venus, along with a pair of meteor showers.

Throughout the month, skygazers will see Venus soon after sunset, shining in the western sky. The stunning brightness of Venus makes it the easiest object in the night sky to find, other than the Moon. Each evening, as October progresses, Venus will rise further from the Sun, with the best views coming on 29 October (but more on that later!).

In the southeastern sky during the evening, Jupiter and Saturn are shining down. These two planets are easily visible to the naked eye (and will be among the first objects to appear as the sky darkens in the early evening). For skygazers with access to a telescope, Jupiter and Saturn present delightful views to amateur astronomers.

Most objects in the night sky are best seen during new moons, when our planetary companion is absent from the sky. (Except, of course, for those looking to view the Moon!)

The next new Moon on 6 October will provide us with dark skies for the Draconids Meteor Shower peaking the following evening — 7 October.

Most of the shooting stars will appear to come from the constellation Draco, but a few stragglers may be seen in random patches of sky.

Look for this display centered about halfway up the sky, above the northwestern horizon early in the night. The Draconids present a relatively slow show for skygazers, typically producing around 10 shooting stars per hour under extremely dark skies.

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