Observing | Astronomy.com

Telescopic simulation of Saturn and its moons, dated October 16, 2026, 11:35 P.M. CDT. Saturn is shown ringed and filling most of the frame, with Tethys labeled at upper left of the globe alongside a small dark shadow, and Enceladus labeled near the top of the globe. A 10 arcsecond scale bar sits at lower right.

The Sky Today on Friday, October 16: Tethys and its shadow transit

Composite photograph of a deep blue night sky above a grove of dark pine and deciduous trees beside a small pond on a grassy, golf-course-like landscape. Nearly a dozen thin green-teal Orionid meteors streak across the sky, most angled diagonally from upper left to lower right. The constellation Orion, including its Belt and the glowing Orion Nebula, appears at left of center. A pale glow of light pollution along the horizon, with a few orange and white lights reflecting on the pond, brightens the sky behind the trees.

Sky This Week, The Sky This Week

The Sky This Week from October 16 to 23: The Orionid meteor shower peaks

A golden Full Moon in a dark blue sky seen through the branches of a foreground tree.

Observing, The Moon

2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases

Black-and-white photograph of a region of the Moon's surface, showing a broad, dark, smooth lava plain at center bordered by rugged, heavily cratered highlands at left. Numerous small craters dot the plain, a bright ray-like streak runs near a pair of craters at center left, and a large, shallow crater with terraced walls sits at lower right. A small dark smudge or speck appears at upper right.

The Sky Today on Thursday, October 15: Double crater Messier

Telescopic simulation of Jupiter and its moons, dated October 14, 2026, 5:35 A.M. CDT. Jupiter appears at upper right with its tan, brown, and white cloud bands, while Europa is labeled as a bright point at center. Io and Callisto are labeled close together at left, with Io glowing yellow-white and Callisto appearing as a small gray disk. A 15 arcsecond scale bar sits at bottom center.

The Sky Today on Wednesday, October 14: Io covers Callisto

Features, Gear Guide, Telescopes and Equipment

Our 16th annual star products

Path of asteroid Vesta in October 2026

The Sky Today on Tuesday, October 13: Vesta at opposition

Deep-Sky Objects

Autumn observing targets for large telescopes

The sky on October 12, 2026, 20 minutes after sunset, looking southwest

The Sky Today on Monday, October 12: Mercury at greatest elongation

Photograph of the Beehive Cluster (M44) as a loose scattering of blue-white stars with a few orange stars across the lower center of the frame, set against a black sky filled with fainter stars. Mars appears at upper right as a bright, glowing orange-red disk.

The Sky Today on Sunday, October 11: Mars meets the Beehive

Photograph of a star-filled night sky over the dark silhouette of a hill, with a bright green-yellow Orionid meteor streaking diagonally at center right. The Milky Way is visible at upper right, a faint tan glow of zodiacal light rises from the horizon, thin clouds lie low at right, and a few distant town lights appear at lower right.

The Sky Today on Saturday, October 10: Catch the zodiacal light

Grayscale astrophotograph of a dense globular star cluster at center, appearing as a bright concentrated ball of tightly packed stars that thins into a loose scattering of stars toward the edges, set against a sparse field of background stars.

The Sky Today on Friday, October 9: Dense, ancient M30