What’s Up: October 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA
NASA highlights October skywatching events including Saturn at opposition, the Orionid meteor shower, and the Moon near the Pleiades star cluster.
On October 4th, Saturn reaches opposition, placing it directly opposite the Sun in Earth’s sky and providing optimal visibility for much of the night. This alignment allows skywatchers to observe the ringed planet at its brightest and highest point in the sky for the year. Saturn’s opposition occurs when Earth moves between the Sun and the planet, making it visible from sunset until dawn.
A rare ten-sided atmospheric wave was recently detected around Saturn’s south pole using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, adding to the planet’s known hexagonal jet stream near the north pole. This southern feature appears to be intensifying, offering scientists a chance to study the development of large-scale atmospheric patterns on gas giants.
The Orionid meteor shower peaks on the night of October 21st into the morning of October 22nd, produced by debris from Halley’s Comet. While the waxing gibbous Moon may obscure fainter meteors, observers can improve their view by waiting until just before dawn when the Moon sets and skies darken.
On October 27th and 28th, the Moon passes close to the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters. Visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy grouping of six to seven stars, the cluster is best observed in the eastern sky during the evening, with binoculars or a telescope revealing additional detail.