October 15, 2026: Mars continues to close the gap to Jupiter before sunrise while the waxing crescent moon appears near Antares after sunset. Track both scenes this week.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:03 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:09 p.m. CDT. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Before sunrise, Mars continues to approach Jupiter for their November 16 conjunction, while after sunset, the moon waxes in the western sky.
Jupiter, Mars, Regulus in a Line
Step outside an hour before sunrise. Bright Jupiter is about halfway from the east-southeast horizon to overhead. It outshines all the stars in the sky during the night until Venus returns to the eastern sky before sunrise next month.
The Jovian Giant slowly rambles eastward in front of Leo, 8.2° to Regulus’ upper right, the Lion’s brightest star.
Mars, noticeably dimmer than Jupiter, marches eastward in front of Cancer’s dim stars, 12° to Jupiter’s upper right. It slowly overtakes Jupiter, appearing to pass by on November 16. The Red Planet cuts the distance to Jupiter by about the moon’s diameter each morning, making the changing separation easy to see from day to day.
Jupiter is nearly midway from Mars to Regulus, but closer to the star than the planet. This arrangement slowly changes each morning.
Moon, Antares After Sunset
Meanwhile, in the evening sky, the crescent moon, 26% illuminated, is low in the south-southwest 45 minutes after sunset. The moon is brightening and earthshine, sunlight reflected from Earth’s clouds, oceans, and land that softly illuminates the lunar night, is fading. Tomorrow evening’s moon is bright enough to cast shadows and remains visible longer after sunset.
The lunar orb is 13° to Antares’ upper left, Scorpius’ brightest star, representing the arachnid’s heart. The star is slowly disappearing into evening twilight, passing behind the sun on December 1. About Christmastime, the star reappears low in the east-southeast before sunrise. This year, brilliant Venus is over 20° to the star’s upper right.
Watch the changing separation between Mars and Jupiter each morning, while the moon brightens and moves eastward from Scorpius during the evening.
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