Astronomy

Night Sky This Week: Through October 16, 2026

Fall nights are getting longer, and that means more time to enjoy the night sky this week! You don’t need a telescope or any fancy equipment to get started. Just grab a lawn chair, put on a warm jacket, and step outside for a little stargazing. This week, we’ll look for Saturn, spot Mars and Jupiter in the early morning sky, and keep an eye out for a few shooting stars.

🪐 Saturn Shines in the Night Sky

Black sky chart labeled October 2026 Evenings Looking East, showing Saturn above the east horizon line in the night sky this week.

Saturn is a great planet to look for on October evenings. It rises in the east after sunset and climbs higher as the night goes on. Around midnight, look toward the southern sky to find it shining among the stars.

Saturn has a soft, golden glow and is a wonderful sight through a telescope. If you have one, you may even be able to spot its famous rings! Even without a telescope, Saturn is worth a look on a clear fall night.

🌅 Early Morning: Look for Mars and Jupiter

October 2026 mornings looking east star chart with Mars, Jupiter, Regulus and the Leo Sickle above a dark horizon.

If you’re an early riser, or just happen to be up late, there are two planets to look for before sunrise.

Mars rises around 1:10 a.m. this week. Look toward the eastern sky for its faint reddish-orange glow. Mars is not as bright as some of the other planets, so give your eyes a little time to adjust to the darkness.

Star field with a bright cluster and labeled orange Mars near the upper right on a black space background in the night sky this week.
Looking through binoculars

With binoculars, you can also explore the Beehive Cluster, a beautiful gathering of stars in the constellation Cancer. The cluster contains hundreds of stars, with roughly 1,000 stars estimated to belong to it. Mars and the Beehive Cluster make an interesting combination to look for, although their apparent closeness in the sky changes from night to night.

Jupiter is another morning-sky favorite. Look toward the east before sunrise for this bright planet. It really stands out against the darker sky, making it one of the easier planets to find.

🌟 Don’t Forget the Summer Triangle in the Night Sky this Week

Star map of the Summer Triangle linking Deneb, Vega and Altair amid Cygnus, Lyra and Aquila.

Even though summer is behind us, one of its best-known star patterns is still hanging around! Look overhead in the evening for the Summer Triangle, formed by three bright stars: Vega, Deneb, and Altair. It looks like an equilateral triangle pointing to the southwest.

Vega is especially easy to spot because it is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Once you find it, look for Deneb and Altair to complete the triangle. It’s a fun way to get familiar with the stars before the winter constellations begin taking over the evening sky.

🍂 A Little Fall Stargazing

October is a wonderful month to spend time under the stars here in South Dakota. The air may be getting chilly, but a clear night can offer some beautiful views of the universe. Find a spot away from bright lights, give your eyes time to adjust, and see how many stars and planets you can pick out.

So, grab that lawn chair, bring along a warm blanket, and take a few minutes to look up. Whether you’re spotting Saturn in the evening, finding Jupiter before sunrise, or tracing the Summer Triangle overhead, there’s always something interesting happening in the night sky! 🌌✨

Garden almanac

October has Arrived

October has arrived, and the South Dakota landscape is putting on one last colorful show before winter takes over. The leaves are turning, and the mornings are getting cooler. Gardeners are starting to wonder how many more nice days we have left. Around here, October can be beautiful one day and feel like winter is knocking on the door the next!

The vegetable garden is definitely winding down. By now, most of the tomatoes, peppers, and other warm-season vegetables have either been harvested or look pretty tired. If a hard freeze is in the forecast, it is time to pick those last tomatoes. Bring in anything that won’t tolerate freezing temperatures. Leave carrots, beets, and parsnips in the ground till it freezes hard. The cold will increase the sugar content in these vegetables.

October is also a good time to clean up the garden, although I don’t think everything has to be spotless. Remove plants that are finished for the season, especially anything that has a disease or serious pest problem.

Don’t feel like you have to cut every perennial flower down to the ground. Leaving some dried flower heads and stems can add winter interest and give birds something to snack on. Also, it catches the snow for insulation of the ground.

October has arrived, and it’s also bulb-planting time. Tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and other spring-flowering bulbs need that period of cold weather before they can put on their spring show. It may seem strange to plant something in October that won’t bloom until spring, but gardeners learn to have patience, sometimes whether we want to or not!

If you have trees in your yard, you already know that October can turn into a never-ending raking project. Instead of hauling every leaf away, consider mowing over them and letting the small pieces return nutrients to the lawn. Shredded leaves can also be used as mulch or added to the compost pile.

Take a walk around your trees and shrubs while you’re outside, too. October is a good time to look for dead or broken branches and check young trees for damage. In South Dakota, rabbits and other critters can become a problem once winter arrives, so protecting the trunks of young trees now can save you some frustration later. Keep watering newly planted trees and shrubs, especially evergreens till the soil freezes.

The lawn deserves a little attention before winter as well. Keep mowing as long as the grass continues to grow, but gradually lower the mowing height toward the end of the season. If the lawn needs water and the weather stays dry, don’t completely forget about it just because the temperatures have dropped.

I think October is a good month to slow down a little and enjoy the garden instead of constantly working in it. Take a walk, enjoy the fall colors, pick a few pumpkins, gather the last vegetables, and soak up those warm afternoons while you can.

Because in South Dakota, we all know what comes next. WINTER!

Astronomy

🌌 Night Sky This Week: Through October 9, 2026

Fall nights are getting longer, making this a great time to spend a few minutes outside looking up in the night sky this week. This week brings Saturn at opposition, close encounters between the Moon and Mars and Jupiter, and the Draconid meteor shower.

🪐 Saturn Takes Center Stage in the Night Sky this Week

Astronomy chart labeled October 2026 Evenings Looking East, showing Saturn near Oct 4 above a green arc and EAST horizon.

Saturn reaches opposition Sunday, October 4. From South Dakota, Saturn rises at about 6:40 p.m. and remains visible all night, reaching its highest point around 1 a.m. Look toward the east after sunset and watch Saturn move across the southern sky during the night.

Opposition occurs when Earth passes between the Sun and Saturn, making Saturn especially bright and well positioned for viewing. A small telescope will reveal its beautiful rings.

🌅 Early Morning: Moon, Mars & Jupiter

Early risers have two bright planets to find.

Sky chart of dawn Oct 5-7 showing Moon, Jupiter, Mars, and Regulus in Leo, with occultation and half way up in east.

Mars rises around 1:10 a.m. this week. Look toward the east-northeast before sunrise for its faint reddish-orange glow. On Monday morning, October 5, the Moon passes very close to Mars. The pair will be easiest to see after about 2 a.m., with the Moon appearing below or to the left of Mars. For most of the United States, you will see both the Moon and reddish Mars close together in the eastern sky, rather than Mars disappearing behind the Moon.

Jupiter rises around 2:45–3 a.m. and is much brighter than Mars. On Tuesday morning, October 6, the Moon will pass very close to Jupiter. The exact view of the Moon passing in front of Jupiter depends on your location.

🌠 Draconid Meteor Shower in the Night Sky this Week

Infographic of Draconid meteor shower sky map showing Draco, Ursa Minor and Ursa Major with arrows pointing to Polaris.

The Draconid meteor shower peaks the night of October 8–9. Unlike many meteor showers, the Draconids are best watched during the evening rather than the early morning.

From Winner, SD, start looking after about 8 p.m., with the best opportunity continuing through the evening. Look generally toward the north and northwest, but meteors can streak across any part of the sky.

This year’s nearly moonless sky should provide good conditions for spotting the fainter meteors.

🌟 Don’t Forget the Stars

Star chart of the Summer Triangle linking Deneb, Vega, and Altair, with Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquila labeled on a black sky.

Look overhead for Vega, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Vega is part of the Summer Triangle, along with Deneb and Altair. Even though summer is officially over, the Summer Triangle remains easy to find on October evenings.

So, grab a lawn chair, maybe a jacket, and spend a few minutes outside this week. Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, and a few shooting stars are waiting! 🌌