The new moon will see dark skies above the peak of the Orionid meteor shower, while three days later the young moon will pass in front of the red star Antares for observers in South America and the Falkland Islands.
A new moon This phase occurs when the sun and moon lie on the same line that runs from one celestial pole to the other. The exact time of this month's full moon is on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 8:25 a.m Eastern Daylight Time (1225 UTC), according to the US Naval Observatory.
Normally, when viewed from above, the moon appears to be above or below the sun Earth – its shadow “misses” our planet – but about twice a year the two are aligned just right, so we see a solar eclipse, the only time a new moon is visible. (The next solar eclipse will occur on February 17, 2026 and will be visible from Antarctica.) This new moon will not obscure the sun, but the three-day-old moon will obscure the red supergiant Antaresthe brightest star in Scorpio, the Scorpion.
Occultations such as eclipses are not uncommon, but it can be difficult to be in the right place to observe them because the shadow the Moon casts on Earth's surface is relatively small compared to the size of our planet. Because the Moon is relatively close to Earth, it has a slightly different position relative to the background stars depending on where it is observed. This difference can be up to two degrees or four lunar diameters.
During the October 24 occultation, the Moon will appear below Antares (although it will be below the horizon at this time) to Northern Hemisphere skywatchers in New York City, which is north of the zone from which the occultation will be visible.
This occultation will still occur near the horizon, just before sunset. A major city from which it is visible is Ushuaia, Argentina. This is where the coverage begins Oct. 24, 10:35 p.maccording to the International Occultation Timing Association. At this time, the Moon appears to be in the low southwestern sky, about 15 degrees high. Antares appears to disappear behind the upper right quadrant of the Moon. Antares will reappear on the moon's left side, which is about 9 degrees above the horizon, at 11:23 p.m. The moonset occurs on October 25th at 1:02 a.m.
In Punta Arenas, Chile, the occultation will begin at 10:37 p.m. on October 24, and there too Antares will disappear behind the upper right quadrant of the Moon and reappear on the left side at 11:28 p.m. As in Ushuaia, the moon's occultation begins at about 15 degrees altitude and ends at about 9 degrees.
Visible planets
For those who can't see the occultation, the night planets still exist at the end of October. At the latitude of New York City, Chicago, or Sacramento, Saturn will be the first visible planet; Saturn rises in New York at 5:54 p.m. local time on October 21 and will be 27 degrees above the southeastern horizon at 7:30 p.m., as the sky darkens. Saturn crosses the meridian (or transits) at 10:47 p.m. and reaches an altitude of 46 degrees. The planet sets at 4:36 a.m. on October 22nd. Saturn is in Aquarius, a dimmer constellation, meaning Saturn will be prominent.
Jupiter rises at 11:16 p.m. EDT on October 21st, transits at 6:37 a.m. on October 22nd, and reaches an altitude of 71 degrees. Jupiter is located in the constellation Gemini, the Twins, and appears directly below and to the right of Pollux, the second brightest star in Gemini. Jupiter can be distinguished from Pollux because planets tend to shine with uniform light while stars twinkle.
Venus rises just before dawn on October 22nd at 5:37 a.m. Venus is the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon and will be visible until just before sunrise at 7:15 a.m., although at 7 a.m. it will be lonely, about 14 degrees above the eastern horizon (a good observing exercise is to see how close to sunrise you can still see Venus in the sky before it disappears into the background).
Further south, Saturn, Jupiter and Venus will all appear higher in the sky. From Miami, Saturn will rise at 5:14 p.m. local time. Sunset in Miami is at 6:48 p.m. and around 7:30 p.m. Saturn will be at 29 degrees in the east. Jupiter rises at 12:17 a.m. on October 22 and transits at 7:02 a.m. at an altitude of 86 degrees. Venus rises at 6:01 a.m.; at 7 a.m. it is 13 degrees in the east. (Sunrise is at 7:24 a.m.)
In the Southern Hemisphere, as summer approaches, days become longer and sunsets later. In Santiago, Chile, Saturn rises at 5:17 p.m. during the day; Sunset is at 8:00 p.m. local time. At 8:30 p.m. the sky will be dark enough that Saturn will be easier to see and the planet will be about 38 degrees high in the northeast. Saturn transits at 11:30 p.m., reaching an altitude of 60 degrees above the northern horizon. Jupiter follows at 2:21 a.m. local time on October 22 and transits at 7:25 a.m., although after the local sunrise of 6:52 a.m. However, at 6 a.m. Jupiter will be about 31 degrees high in the northern sky. Venus rises in Santiago at 6:09 a.m., but by 6:30 a.m. it is so close to the horizon – just 4 degrees high – that it is not visible in the bright sunlight.
Unlike in the Northern Hemisphere, Mars and Mercury will be more visible in the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere, where they will not be lost in the light of the sunset. From Santiago, local sunset will be at 8:00 p.m. on the evening of October 21, and at 8:30 p.m. Mercury will still be 15 degrees above the western horizon, with Mars just below and to the right of Mercury. At 8:45 a.m. both planets will be about 12 degrees high and the sky will be dark enough to see them.
Stars and constellations
At the end of October, in the mid-northern latitudes, the summer constellations Sagittarius, Ophiuchus and Scorpio leave the sky to make way for the autumn stars. At 8 p.m. the Summer Triangle, consisting of Vega, Altair and Deneb, is near the zenith; Vega is to the right (to the west) and Altair is on the horizon, just over halfway up the zenith at 53 degrees.
Looking east, to the left and toward the horizon, one encounters the Great Square, above and to the left of Saturn. The Great Square is an asterism composed of the stars of the constellations Pegasus and Andromeda. At 8 p.m. it looks like the square is on a corner. The three stars on the far right are Pegasus' wings, while the left corner represents Andromeda's head. If you look down and to the left, you will see a curved line of four stars, the body of Andromeda. From there you can turn further left, north and east, and see a “W”-shaped line of stars: Cassiopeia, the queen (and, according to legend, Andromeda’s mother). Following the curve of stars that describes Andromeda and continuing toward the horizon, one finds Perseus, the hero who saved Andromeda from a sea monster, riding Pegasus to save her.
Turning north, one sees the Big Dipper close to the horizon, with the dipper appearing right side up (the bowl faces up). One can use the pointers, stars called Dubhe and Merak on the right side – the “front” of the bowl – to find Polaris, the North Star. Dubhe is the supreme star; Merak lies below. Polaris is the brightest star in Ursa Minor, the Little Dipper, and when the sky is dark and you are away from city lights, the curvature of the Little Dipper's handle is easier to see.
As the night progresses and one looks to the northeast one can see Capella; In mid-northern latitudes, the star rises in the late afternoon of October 21 (at 5:49 p.m. in New York), but by 10 p.m. it is high enough – about 26 degrees – to be easily seen. Capella is the brightest star in Auriga, the Charioteer.
In the Southern Hemisphere the sky gets really dark around 9 p.m. Observers from as far away as Santiago, Chile, Cape Town, or Melbourne, Australia can see the Southern Cross low in the south-southwest, with its brightest star, Acrux, just 13 degrees above the horizon. If you follow the crossbar up, you can see Hadar and Rigil Kentaurus, Hadar being the star closer to the horizon.
If one turns left and looks southeast, one sees Achernar, the end of the Eridanus River, about 41 degrees high. In areas with less interference from city lights, some fainter stars can be seen to the left of Achernar; This is the constellation called the Phoenix; The “backbone” of the bird shape is a line of five fainter stars that runs roughly north-south.
Looking west from the Southern Cross, Antares, the Heart of Scorpio, can be seen at an altitude of about 25 degrees. The scorpion is “upside down” – the scorpion's claws point toward the horizon and the tail curves toward the zenith, creating a fishhook shape that ends about 45 degrees above the horizon.