The Planets
Planet Data For October
Click on any planet below to go straight to its section.
The table below shows key data for the planets this month, including rise, transit and set times, as well as magnitude, apparent size and position data (right ascension and declination).
Events that occur when the sun is below the horizon are shown with a black background and white text. All other events happen when the sun is in the sky and other for not visible for observation.
In October, we’ve got mixed planetary fortunes. Mercury and Venus are both evening planets but our view of them is blighted by the shallow ecliptic. Saturn is also an evening planet, alongside Neptune, and they both ride high before midnight.
Jupiter and Mars are both heading towards opposition and so put on dazzling displays in the morning before dawn. Uranus is also visible in the early hours, if not quite so dazzling.
All of the images below can be opened full screen in a new tab by clicking on them
Mercury
05th October
It’s less than a week since Mercury passed in front of the sun. It’s still too close for us to see it.
15th October
Distance is being made but the shallow ecliptic keeps Mercury close to the horizon at 18:45.
25th October
At the same time ten days later, Mercury is farther from the sun but still only 3° high.
There isn’t a lot for us to see of Mercury this month. It passed in front of the sun on the last day of September and remains close to it in early October. However, even as October moves along and Mercury pulls away from the sun, the ecliptic (the line that the planets appear to travel along) is shallow in the evening and the little planet barely rises a few degrees into the sky by the time the sun is setting.
Venus
05th October
Just before 8pm and Venus climbs only 5° high due to the shallow angle of the ecliptic.
15th October
Now at 7:30 in the evening, Venus is only 6° above the horizon, despite being a long way from the sun.
25th October
The same is true ten days later, where we could see it a little earlier in the evening and a little higher in the sky.
Venus suffers the same challenges as Mercury this month, i.e. it is tied to a shallow ecliptic. So, even though it travels far from our star, the brightest planet never gets a meaningful distance above the horizon after sunset.
Mars
05th October
Mars has fabulous viewing before dawn now. This is the scene at 5am, the Red Planet nearly overhead.
15th October
At 6am on the 15th of October, Mars is almost 70° high in the southeast, in Gemini.
25th October
Look at the same time ten days later, and you’ll see the disc has reached almost nine arcseconds wide.
It’s only three months until the Red Planet’s closest approach to us and we’re seeing it grow relatively quickly now, steadily opening up its surface for us to inspect more and more details. This month, the Martian disc expands from below eight to over nine arcseconds wide.
At the same time, it’s steadily moving into an evening viewing window. By the end of October, Mars becomes visible after 11 pm, which means we’re looking forward to observing it before bedtime in November, for the first time in a long while.
Jupiter
05th October
At 6am, we’ll find Jupiter high above Orion in the south, pushing up towards the zenith.
15th October
At the same time in the middle of the month, Jupiter is lodged between the horns of Taurus.
25th October
This is the view at 5am, when Jupiter is practically at its highest in the south.
Jupiter is a month closer to its opposition than Mars, and its already large disc grows another 10% to reach 45 arcseconds across. There is so much to look out for on the surface of this planet that you should do your best to get outside and see it this month.
If the early mornings are too much of an ask, don’t worry! Jupiter rises before 9pm at the end of the month, so we can have a good glimpse of its bright – magnitude -2.7 – disc before bedtime.
Saturn
05th October
This is the view of Saturn at 11pm, reaching its peak height over the southern horizon.
15th October
At the same time ten days later, the Ringed Planet is midway between the southern horizon and overhead.
25th October
Now reaching its peak height at 10 pm, see its magnitude 0.8 gleaming in the south.
Saturn’s opposition is behind us but the planet is so far away that its size and brightness don’t change markedly through the year. What is great about viewing it in October is the fact it’s rising in the early evening, meaning the best views of it are had around 10 or 11 pm. It’s a perfect time for astronomy for many of us.
A glimpse through your telescope will reveal that its rings are really shallow right now. They’ll be edge-on to us in 2025.
Uranus & Neptune
15th October – Uranus
At five am, Uranus is high in the southwest, not far from the Pleiades. Look for it when the moon is not around.
15th October – Neptune
Conversely, Neptune is an evening planet this month. This is the view at 11pm but, again, look on a night when the moon isn’t drowning it out.
Our most distant planets are visible this month, Uranus is best viewed in the early hours before dawn near the Pleiades, while Neptune is better spied before midnight in pisces.
All Planets Viewer
Use the table below to see when each of the planets is observable for each day this month. Click on it for full screen.
A planet is classed as observable when it is more than 10° above the horizon and the sky is dark enough for it to be observed.
Planet ephemeris tables produced with the kind permission of Dominic Ford. Sky images are courtesy of SkySafari Pro 6.