October 5, 2026: The crescent moon passes Mars and the Beehive Cluster before a Jupiter occultation. Saturn is in the sky all night, while Uranus and Neptune are visible with a binocular.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:52 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:25 p.m. CDT. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Almanac for Sun, Moon, and Planets
Sun, Moon
Sun: At Chicago’s latitude, daylight spans 11 hours, 33 minutes, compared to 11 hours, 48 minutes in Miami. Farther northward in Anchorage, the sun is in the sky for 11 hours. South of the equator in Auckland, daylight grows to 12 hours, 36 minutes. The sun is overhead at local noon at 2° south latitude. In Nashville, daylight spans 11 hours, 39 minutes.
Beginning October 8, at Anchorage’s latitude, darkness is longer than daylight until March 5, 2027. Darkness occurs after the end of evening twilight and before morning twilight begins. The same occurs in Chicago on Halloween for 104 days until nearly mid-February — approximately from mid-autumn to winter’s midpoint. In Miami, darkness is longer than daylight for about 40 days beginning November 30.
Moon: Before sunrise, the crescent moon, 29% illuminated, is over halfway from the east-southeast horizon to overhead, 3.3° to Mars’ lower left. It is near the Beehive star cluster. See the Mars section.
Inner Planets
Mercury: The Elusive Planet nears greatest elongation on October 12, but the planet’s visibility is poor at the mid-northern latitudes for this apparition. This evening, the planet sets 45 minutes after sunset.
Venus: The Evening Star continues to depart the evening sky, setting 35 minutes after sundown. It passes between Earth and Sun on October 23 and quickly moves into the pre-dawn morning sky in the east-southeast.
Bright Outer Planets
Mars: The Red Planet marches eastward in front of Cancer, 3.3° to the crescent moon’s upper right. The moon is near the Beehive star cluster. Mars, Moon, and Beehive easily fit into the same binocular field. Mars is closing the gap to bright Jupiter, 16° to the lower left.
Jupiter: The Jovian Giant shines brightly from the east-southeast before sunrise. It is brighter than all the stars in the sky. With Venus disappearing into evening twilight, Jupiter is temporarily the brightest planet visible in the sky. Jupiter slowly rambles eastward in front of Leo, 10° to Regulus’ upper right, the Lion’s brightest star. Tomorrow morning, the moon occults (eclipses) this bright planet.
Saturn: The Ringed Wonder is in the sky all night. Rising in the east at sunset, it appears in the south near midnight and in the west before sunrise. The planet is not exceptionally bright like Jupiter, although it is brighter than all the stars in its region of the sky. Its rings are pretty through a telescope. They are tilted only about 10° along our line of sight, reflecting sunlight away from Earth.
Faint Outer Planets
Uranus: The Tilted World is in the same binocular field of view with the Pleiades star cluster. At two hours before sunrise, before morning twilight begins, the star cluster is high in the southwestern sky. Resembling a tiny dipper, it is likely first observed with averted (peripheral) vision. Look at the stellar bundle through the binocular. Then move it toward the right side of the field. Stars 37 Tauri (37 Tau) and 39 Tauri (39 Tau) are left of the field’s center. Appearing about the same brightness as 39 Tauri, aquamarine Uranus is near the field’s left edge. Shift the binocular so that Uranus is easier to see. If moved far enough, Omega Tauri, slightly brighter than 37 Tauri and nearly twice as bright as the planet, appears to Uranus’ left. Uranus is about one-third of the way from Omega to 37.
Neptune: The Distant Blue World is challenging to see through a binocular, especially in suburban areas. It is 10° west of Saturn. Look when it is high in the sky before midnight. The planet is in front of a dim Pisces starfield. In the binocular field, it is to the upper left of stars 27 Piscium (27 Psc) and 29 Piscium (29 Psc). Neptune appears as a faint bluish star and is likely first observed with averted vision.
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