Astroblog: Thursday 29 October to Thursday November 5

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Thursday 29 October to Thursday November 5

The Last Quarter Moon is Monday November 2. Occultation of Beta Tauri 29th. Daytime occultation of Jupiter Tuesday November 3. Saturn is past opposition, but still magnificent in telescopes. The waning Moon is between Mars and Jupiter low in the morning sky on the 3rd. In the evening. Mercury is lost in the twilight.

The Last Quarter Moon is Monday November 2. The Moon at perigee, when it is closest to the Earth, on October 29, difficult occultation of Beta Tauri is also on the 29th. Daytime occultation of Jupiter Tuesday November 3.

North-Eastern horizon on the morning of Tuesday, November 3 as seen from Adelaide at 4:52 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Saturn is just above the western horizon. Mars forms a line with Jupiter and the bright star Regulus. The pair come closer over the week ahead of a spectacular meeting mid November.

The waning Moon is in between Mars and Jupiter, with the Moon occulting Jupiter later in the morning.

The insets shows the telescopic view of Mars and Jupiter at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).

North-eastern horizon on the evening of Saturday, October 31 as seen from Adelaide at 21:17 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Saturn is the brightest object above the eastern horizon. Saturn was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on the 4th and is still a magnificent telescopic sight.

The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

The north-western sky as seen from Adelaide at 9:50 ACDST on Tuesday 3 November. The moon is obvious above the horizon, but you will need binoculars or a telescope to see Jupiter.

The left-hand inset shows the magnified view just as the occultation starts, and the right-hand view is the view as Jupiter comes out from behind the Moon.

For a full list of occultation times from representative cities, viewing guides and sun safe procedures, see my Daylight Occultation of Jupiter page.

Occultation of Beta Tauri (Elnath), Thursday October 29/30. (waning)


The western sky at 23:37 ACDST Thursday, October 29, as seen from Adelaide. The Moon is about to occult the bright star Elnath low on the horizon.The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).	The western sky at 00:0 AEDST Friday, October 30, as seen from Canberra. The Moon is about to occult the bright star Elnath low on the horizon. The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).	The western sky at 00:51 AEST Friday, October 30, as seen from Melbourne. The Moon is about to occult the bright star Elnath low on the horizon. The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).

An occultation best seen from the east coast around midnight. The Moon is waning and low above the horizon. The Moon rises with Elnath occulted in most locations.

Place	Disappears Dark Limb	Reappears Bright Limb
Adelaide ACDST	-	00:07 (30th)
Brisbane AEST	-	23:48
Canberra AEDST	23:54	00:53(30^th)
Darwin ACST	-	-
Hobart AEDST	-	01:00 (30th)
Melbourne AEDST	-	00:51 (30th)
Perth AWST	-	-
Sydney AEDST	23:55	00:55 (30th)

Whole sky on Saturday, October 31 as seen from Adelaide at 21:17 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Saturn is visible in the northeast

Scorpius, and the core of the Milky way are sinking to the west. Scorpius forms an inverted question mark above the western horizon

The Pointers are low in the Southern sky as the Southern Cross is almost above the Southern horizon. The Moon is waning and the fainter clusters and nebula are easier to see.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is lost in the the evening twilight.

Venus is lost in the twilight.

Mars is low in the twilight not far from Jupiter. The pair come closer over the week ahead of a spectacular meeting mid November. The waning Moon is in between Mars and Jupiter.

Jupiter climbs higher the morning twilight but remains low on the horizon forming a line with Mars and the bright star Regulus. The waning Moon is in between Mars and Jupiter, with the Moon occulting Jupiter later in the morning.

Saturn Saturn was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on the 4th. Saturn is the brightest object above the north-eastern horizon.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ACDST, Western sky at 10 pm ACDST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky