October 4th - Saturn reaches opposition, opposite the Earth from the Sun. This makes for prime viewing, as the planet rises around sunset, is highest in the sky around midnight, and sets around sunrise.

 

October 5th (AM) - The Moon, Mars, and the Beehive Cluster will meet in the predawn skies, offering a great view for binoculars or small telescopes. The trio will be visible toward the east beginning around 3AM through dawn.

 

October 6th (AM) - A rare chance to see Jupiter occulted by the Moon. Jupiter will appear very close to the Moon's limb as they rise in the east around 3:30AM. Around 4:19AM, Jupiter will disappear behind the Moon's illuminated crescent. Jupiter will re-emerge about an hour later, around 5:18AM. As an added treat, use binoculars or a small telescope to watch Jupiter's Galilean moons disappear and reappear one by one.

 

October 8th - The Draconid meteor shower peaks on this evening with little to no interference from the Moon. The typical rate of meteors produced by this shower is not high, but it has produced outbursts in the past. 

 

October 24th - The Moon and Saturn will pair up in the sky, visible after sunset and throughout the evening.

 

October 27th - The nearly full Moon will be passing through the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters. The Moon will be in front of the cluster as it rises around 10PM and will remain near the cluster throughout the evening - best viewed with binoculars.

 

 

October 1st - NASA is planning to launch four new crew members to the International Space Station via a SpaceX Falcon 9. The crew includes NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.

 

October 19th - The next testflight for SpaceX's Starship vehicle, Flight 15, is scheduled to launch no earlier than this date.

 

October 1st, 1958 - The National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) was created on this date, replacing the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).

 

October 4th, 1957 - The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 on this date as humanity's first artificial satellite.

October 3rd - 3rd Quarter

October 10th - New

October 18th - 1st Quarter

October 26th - Full (Hunter's Moon)

 

Mercury - Difficult to spot in the Sun's glare most of the month; it will be very low on the western horizon after sunset.

 

Venus - Difficult to see at the beginning of the month, the planet transfers to its "Morning Star" status toward the end of the month, visible low on the eastern horizon just before sunrise.

 

Mars - Rising in the east around 2 AM and visible until sunrise throughout the month.

 

Jupiter - Rises around 2AM in the east and is visible until dawn.

 

Saturn - Visible throughout the evening near the constellation Pisces.