Watch the NightTonight's sky
What's worth looking at, updated daily. Monthly highlights below — positions shift through the season, so confirm details in a free planetarium app (Stellarium, SkySafari) before you go out.
Tonight's sky 2026-10-08
🌘 Waning Crescent — 8% illuminated
Tonight's tip: Give your eyes 20 minutes in the dark. One glance at a white phone screen resets the clock.
October 2026
Orionids — peak night of Oct 21–22. Debris from Halley's Comet, roughly 20 fast meteors an hour. The Moon is bright early in the night (waning gibbous), so wait until after moonset — roughly 3am — for the best hours before dawn. Best with just your eyes and a reclining chair; binoculars help sweep the sky between meteors.
Saturn is just past its early-October opposition — this is prime ring-viewing season. Any of our telescopes under $500 will show the rings.
November 2026
Leonids — peak night of Nov 16–17. Swift meteors, about 10 an hour, with occasional bright fireballs. Best after midnight; the Moon is out of the way this year.
Mars meets Jupiter. The two planets share the pre-dawn sky all month and pass close together around Nov 14 — a fine binocular sight. Venus climbs back into the morning sky as the month goes on, brilliant before sunrise.
December 2026
Geminids — peak night of Dec 13–14. The year's best meteor shower: up to ~100 multicoloured meteors an hour under near-moonless skies. Dress warm, bring a red flashlight and a planisphere, and give it at least an hour.
Mars at opposition (Dec 8). The red planet at its biggest and brightest of the year — small telescopes show surface shading and the polar cap. Jupiter keeps brightening in the evening sky behind it.