October 2027 at a glance: Oct 15: Full Hunter's Moon; Oct 18: Saturn at opposition; Oct 22: Orionids peak (ZHR 20, Moon 58% lit). Planets from New York: evening: Mars, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn.
Oct15
Full Hunter's Moon
Oct18
Saturn at opposition
Oct22
Orionids peak (ZHR 20, Moon 58% lit)
Moon phases
Moon at 0h UTC each day
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
11%
25%
311%
418%
527%
636%
7First Quarter
855%
964%
1073%
1181%
1288%
1393%
1497%
15Full
16100%
1798%
1893%
1987%
2079%
2169%
22Last Quarter
2347%
2436%
2525%
2616%
278%
283%
29New
300%
313%
Phase
UTC
New York
London
Sydney
First Quarter
Oct 7, 11:47 UTC
Thu Oct 7, 7:47 am
Thu Oct 7, 12:47 pm
Thu Oct 7, 10:47 pm
Full Moon
Hunter's Moon; 389,939 km away
Oct 15, 13:47 UTC
Fri Oct 15, 9:47 am
Fri Oct 15, 2:47 pm
Sat Oct 16, 12:47 am
Last Quarter
Oct 22, 17:29 UTC
Fri Oct 22, 1:29 pm
Fri Oct 22, 6:29 pm
Sat Oct 23, 4:29 am
New Moon
Oct 29, 13:36 UTC
Fri Oct 29, 9:36 am
Fri Oct 29, 2:36 pm
Sat Oct 30, 12:36 am
Planets
at least 5° up, Sun 6° down
Pick a city. The chart runs from 4 pm to 8 am local time for each night of the month; coloured bars show when each planet is up in a dark sky.
From New York: evening: Mars, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn.
MercuryVenusMarsJupiterSaturnMoondark sky
Planet
When
Where (local time)
Mag.
Constellation
Mercury
Before dawn, from about Oct 24
above 5° from 6:30 am; east-southeast, 9° up at dawn (on the 28th)
2.7
Virgo
Venus
Not visible (too close to the Sun)
–
-3.9
Libra
Mars
Evening, all month
southwest, 10° up at dusk; below 5° by 7:20 pm (on the 15th)
1.4
Libra
Jupiter
Before dawn, all month
above 5° from 4:40 am; east-southeast, 28° up at dawn (on the 15th)
-1.7
Leo
Saturn
All night, all month
highest (56°) around 12:50 am (on the 15th)
0.1
Pisces
From London: evening: Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn.
MercuryVenusMarsJupiterSaturnMoondark sky
Planet
When
Where (local time)
Mag.
Constellation
Mercury
Before dawn, from about Oct 26
above 5° from 6:50 am; east-southeast, 9° up at dawn (on the 29th)
2.7
Virgo
Venus
Not visible (too close to the Sun)
–
-3.9
Libra
Mars
Not visible (not up in a dark sky)
–
1.4
Libra
Jupiter
Before dawn, all month
above 5° from 4:50 am; east-southeast, 25° up at dawn (on the 15th)
-1.7
Leo
Saturn
All night, all month
highest (45°) around 1:00 am (on the 15th)
0.1
Pisces
From Toronto: evening: Mars, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn.
MercuryVenusMarsJupiterSaturnMoondark sky
Planet
When
Where (local time)
Mag.
Constellation
Mercury
Before dawn, from about Oct 25
above 5° from 7:00 am; east-southeast, 8° up at dawn (on the 28th)
2.7
Virgo
Venus
Not visible (too close to the Sun)
–
-3.9
Libra
Mars
Evening, all month
southwest, 8° up at dusk; below 5° by 7:30 pm (on the 15th)
1.4
Libra
Jupiter
Before dawn, all month
above 5° from 5:00 am; east-southeast, 27° up at dawn (on the 15th)
-1.7
Leo
Saturn
All night, all month
highest (53°) around 1:10 am (on the 15th)
0.1
Pisces
From Sydney: evening: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn; before dawn: Jupiter, Saturn.
MercuryVenusMarsJupiterSaturnMoondark sky
Planet
When
Where (local time)
Mag.
Constellation
Mercury
Evening, until about Oct 13
west, 15° up at dusk; below 5° by 8:10 pm (on the 7th)
2.7
Virgo
Venus
Evening, all month
west, 9° up at dusk; below 5° by 8:00 pm (on the 15th)
-3.9
Libra
Mars
Evening, all month
west, 30° up at dusk; below 5° by 9:40 pm (on the 15th)
1.4
Libra
Jupiter
Before dawn, from about Oct 2
above 5° from 5:20 am; east-northeast, 10° up at dawn (on the 15th)
-1.7
Leo
Saturn
All night, all month
highest (49°) around 12:50 am (on the 15th)
0.1
Pisces
Dates to note
Oct1
The Moon near Mercury (1.6°)
Oct 1, around 23h UTC. Closest as seen from Earth's centre; from your location the gap differs by up to about 1°. If that moment falls in your daytime, look the evening before or after.
Oct4
The Moon near Antares (0.2°)
Oct 4, around 17h UTC. Geocentric; from your location the gap differs by up to about 1°.
Oct9
Draconids peak
Oct 9, 07:00 UTC; up to 5 meteors an hour under ideal skies (ZHR). Moon 67% lit at the peak. Northern hemisphere.
Oct15
Full Moon
Oct 15, 13:47 UTC. Hunter's Moon.
Oct18
Saturn at opposition
Oct 18, 00:35 UTC. Saturn is opposite the Sun: up all night, rising at sunset, and at its brightest for the year. Distance 8.33 au (1,246 million km).
Oct18
The Moon near the Pleiades (0.6°)
Oct 18, around 11h UTC. Geocentric; from your location the gap differs by up to about 1°.
Oct19
Mercury at inferior conjunction
Oct 19, 17:40 UTC. Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun and is lost in the glare for a while.
Oct22
Orionids peak
Oct 22, around 00h UTC; up to 20 meteors an hour under ideal skies (ZHR). Moon 58% lit at the peak. Both hemispheres. Best time for your city →
Oct24
The Moon near Regulus (2.4°)
Oct 24, around 22h UTC. Geocentric; from your location the gap differs by up to about 1°.
Oct29
New Moon
Oct 29, 13:36 UTC. The dark-sky window: the best week for faint objects and meteors.
Times in UTC. Separations are geocentric (from Earth's centre). Pairings closer than 3° (planets) or 4° (the Moon and a planet) are listed when the planets are at least 15° from the Sun.
Dates, peaks and ZHR: International Meteor Organization calendar. “Around” marks a peak computed from the solar longitude the IMO lists. Moon: illuminated fraction at the peak.
Space station passes
The ISS and Tiangong orbits are only predictable about six weeks ahead, so pass windows for October 2027 appear here once that month is close. Today's passes: ISS tonight, Tiangong tonight.
Your hemisphere
United States
New York
6:15 pmsunset (15th)
7:08 amsunrise (16th)
9 h 50 minfull darkness
Over the month the nights are getting longer (+70 min of full darkness from the 1st to the 31st). Planets: evening: Mars, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn.
Over the month the nights are getting longer (+120 min of full darkness from the 1st to the 31st). Planets: evening: Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn.
Over the month the nights are getting longer (+80 min of full darkness from the 1st to the 31st). Planets: evening: Mars, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn.
Over the month the nights are getting shorter (−70 min of full darkness from the 1st to the 31st). Planets: evening: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn; before dawn: Jupiter, Saturn. From the southern hemisphere the Moon's lit side is mirrored compared with the calendar above, and the planets arc across the northern sky.
Oct 15, 13:47 UTC (Oct 15, 9:47 am in New York, Oct 15, 2:47 pm in London). Traditional name: Hunter's Moon.
When is the new Moon in October 2027?
Oct 29, 13:36 UTC. The nights around it are the darkest of the month.
What planets are visible in October 2027?
From New York: evening: Mars, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn. From Sydney: evening: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn; before dawn: Jupiter, Saturn. The tables above give times and directions for each city.
Are there meteor showers in October 2027?
Draconids: peak Oct 9, 07:00 UTC, ZHR 5; Orionids: peak Oct 22, around 00h UTC, ZHR 20.
Computed by us from JPL's DE440 planetary ephemeris with Skyfield: phases, positions, magnitudes (Mallama & Hilton), separations, equinoxes and solstices. Full Moon names are the traditional North American ones. Meteor showers: International Meteor Organization. Eclipses: Fred Espenak, NASA GSFC. Planet times ignore hills and buildings; a planet 5° up needs a clear, low horizon.