October 4: Saturn at opposition
Opposition occurs when Earth passes between the Sun and Saturn, placing Saturn on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun. In practical terms, Saturn rises around sunset, reaches its highest point near midnight, and sets around sunrise, so it is visible throughout the night. Look toward the southern sky after sunset; a telescope should reveal its rings.
Image courtesy of JPL
October 7–8: Draconid meteor shower
The October Draconids, in the past also unofficially known as the Giacobinids, are a meteor shower whose parent body is the periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. They’ll peak shortly after nightfall and are usually modest, but 2026’s timing is favorable because the peak falls close to the New Moon, producing dark skies.
October 21–22: Orionid meteor shower
The Orionids, produced by debris from Halley’s Comet, peak around these dates and can produce fast meteors with persistent trails. A waxing gibbous Moon will interfere somewhat, so try viewing later in the month’s early-morning hours when possible.
Images courtesy of Old Farmer's Almanac
October 31: Halloween
Sure, Halloween may be the modern-day descendant of Samhain, a sacred festival of the ancient Celts and Druids in the British Isles. And, yes, Halloween is short for All Hallows’ Eve. But, at its heart, Halloween is an astronomy holiday. It’s a day rooted in Earth’s orbit around the sun. It’s a cross-quarter day and a testament to our ancestors’ deep understanding of the sky.
The cross-quarter days fall more or less midway between the equinoxes (when the sun sets due west) and solstices (when the sun sets at its most northern or southern point on the horizon). Halloween, October 31, is approximately midway between our Northern Hemisphere autumn (September) equinox and winter (December) solstice.
Image courtesy of NASA
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