Sky Diary October 2026

Saturn at opposition – 4 October

Saturn 2026-09-18, David Brett, DaveRO Spain

Saturn reaches opposition on 4 October. This is when Earth lies between Saturn and the Sun, making the ringed planet brighter than at any other time this year and visible for most of the night.

Even a small telescope will show its beautiful rings, while larger instruments reveal cloud belts and some of its brighter moons. If you’ve never seen Saturn through a telescope before, now is the perfect time. The rings are now opening up again, making them easier to see than they were last year.

Draconid meteor shower – 9 October

The Draconids peak on the evening of 9 October. Unlike most meteor showers, they’re best seen soon after darkness falls, so you don’t need to stay up until the early hours.

The shower usually produces up to about ten meteors an hour under dark skies, although every so often it surprises us with a much stronger display.

Mars visits the Beehive

Between 10 and 12 October, Mars passes through the Beehive Cluster (M44) in Cancer.
A pair of binoculars will show the orange planet passing through the Beehive Cluster in one of the nicest binocular sights of the month.

Orionid meteors

Stack of Orionid meteors from 2024, Ian A Smith

The Orionid meteor shower reaches its peak on the nights of 21–22 October.

These fast-moving meteors are tiny pieces of Halley’s Comet burning up in Earth’s atmosphere. Under dark skies you can expect to see around 10 to 20 meteors an hour, although a bright Moon will reduce the number visible this year. The Orionids are famous for their fast meteors, many of which leave glowing trails across the sky.

Moon and Saturn – 24 October

Look towards the south-east on the evening of 24 October to see the waxing Moon close to Saturn. It’s a lovely naked-eye sight, and both will fit comfortably in the same binocular field.

Full Moon 2026-09-26 M. Phillips

Hunter’s Moon – 26 October

October’s Full Moon is traditionally known as the Hunter’s Moon. It rises shortly after sunset and makes a beautiful photographic subject as it climbs into the autumn sky.

Clocks go back

Don’t forget that British Summer Time ends on Sunday 25 October. At 2:00 am, the clocks go back one hour to 1:00 am GMT. The good news for astronomers is that it gets dark much earlier by the clock, making weeknight observing much easier.

The evening sky at 20:15 BST on 15 October 2026

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Much of the material is provided with thanks to Dominic Ford on his excellent site in-the-sky.org.