Marin Night Skies
Your daily guide to what's visible after dark over Marin County — planets, the moon, meteor showers, eclipses, and the best local spots to look up.
https://audio-briefings.pages.dev/marin-night-skies/feed.xmlEpisodes
Saturday, October 3, 2026
Saturn at opposition Oct 4 (Sunday): up essentially all night tonight, rises around sunset, biggest and brightest of 2026; opposition explained Moon-free evening: last-quarter-ward moon 45% lit, moonrise 12:28 AM PDT — zero moonlight from astronomical darkness (~8:17 PM) to midnight; darkest Saturday evening skies of October so far; Saturn ~35° up in southeast at dark Venus farewell in western twilight (inferior conjunction Oct 24); Mars a morning planet rising ~1 AM, crescent moon visits Mars at dawn Oct 5; Jupiter bright before dawn, lunar occultation of Jupiter morning Oct 6 (close pairing
Friday, October 2, 2026
Saturn opposition Oct 4 (Sunday): up all night, rises at sunset, brightest of year; rings slightly tilted, southern face visible; tonight through weekend are the best nights Waning gibbous moon ~60% lit; moonrise ~11 PM PDT tonight, moonset ~1:57 PM — dark window from nightfall to ~10-11 PM Milky Way's bright core: final weeks for northern hemisphere viewing; Andromeda galaxy best around new moon Oct 10 (2.5 million light years, naked-eye under dark skies) Venus slipping away from evening sky, heading to inferior conjunction Oct 24; may still show low in western twilight Mars: morning planet r
Thursday, October 1, 2026
Saturn opposition Oct 4 (up all night, brightest of year); rings tilted ~7.5° with southern face showing; Hubble discovery: new ten-sided atmospheric wave at Saturn's south pole, strengthening Waning gibbous moon (~70% lit), moonrise ~10:10 PM; late-night moonrise near Aldebaran, Capella, and the Pleiades Venus low in western twilight after sunset (challenging); Jupiter rises ~3 AM and Mars ~1 AM as morning planets Draconids meteor shower peaks night of Oct 8, evening shower, dark skies (near-new moon), ~5-10/hr, possible surprise outbursts Orionids peak Oct 21-22 (~20/hr, bright moon interfer
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Waning gibbous moon (82% lit, 4 days past full), rises late evening; terminator shadows make craters/canyons pop in binoculars or small telescope Saturn nearing opposition (Oct 4): up essentially all night, biggest and brightest of the year, rings visible in small telescope Jupiter a morning planet (rises ~2:30 AM, bright before sunrise); Venus low in west right after sunset; Mars rises after 1 AM Draconids meteor shower peaks night of Oct 8: rare evening shower (best just after dark), radiant in Draco (northwest), ~5-10/hr, near-new moon = dark skies, known for surprise outbursts Orionids pea