This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Information updated weekly or as needed.
Times given as local St. Louis time this week will be in Central Daylight Time (CDT). For definitions of terminology used in the night sky update, click the highlighted text. If relying on times posted in Universal Time (UT), St. Louis is -5 hours when CDT. Times posted in the Night Sky Update are in the 24-hour format.
Join us for our next star party, Friday, October 2, 2026, held in association with the St. Louis Astronomical Society. For details, see the information at the bottom of this page or visit https://www.slsc.org/explore/mcdonnell-planetarium/public-telescope-viewings/
Observing Highlight
There are several astronomical events happening over the next 10 days that are of interest. Saturn reaches opposition, a few days of shadow transits on Jupiter, and two meteor showers peak this week.
We will start with Saturn as it reaches opposition on October 4, 2026. Opposition occurs when a solar system body lies opposite the Sun in the sky. The planets known as superior planets will usually reach opposition once a year with the exception of Mars which takes roughly 26 months to reach opposition. When an object reaches opposition it appears brighter to viewers on Earth due to the opposition effect. If you have a telescope, now is the time to view Saturn.
This week there are two dates to remember if you are interested in Jupiter. On October 5, 2026, a double shadow transit occurs lasting from roughly 02:27 to 05:00. A shadow transit occurs when a moon casts its shadow on the cloud tops of a planet. By the time Jupiter rises high enough for most to see, the double shadow transit will already be underway. You will need a telescope to see this, but the telescope does not need to be a large aperture.
On October 6, 2026, Jupiter will be occulted by the Moon as it is rising. An occultation occurs as an astronomical object passes in front of another obscuring it from view. The Moon will begin to occult the Moon around 03:17. At this time, Jupiter will only be about 6° above the horizon making it difficult to see for most viewers. Jupiter will reappear on the eastern limb of the Moon by 04:15 when the planet appear roughly 18° above the horizon.
If you keep watching Jupiter after it reappears, you will be treated to a single shadow transit starting at 04:40. The Sun rises before the transit completes. Shadow transits will always require a telescope to see.
Lastly there are two meteor showers that peak at the start of next month. Both are likely to be minor displays but still worth looking for if you have the time.
The first to peak is the October Camelopardalids which peak on October 5-6, 2026. This meteor shower is minor at best producing only a few meteors per hour. The source of this shower is unknown but is thought to be a Halley type long period comet. Its radiant is in the constellation Camelopardalis which is found about halfway between the bowl of the Big Dipper and the North star. Due to Camelopardalis being circumpolar, the radiant will be visible in the north all night long.
A few days later, The Draconid meteor shower peaks on October 8-9, 2026. The Draconids are produced by the periodic comet 21P/ Giacobini-Zinner which orbits the Sun every 6.53 years. It was last at perihelion in 2025, so it is still near Earth in its orbit. The Draconids are active each year from October 6 to October 10 with the peak occurring around October 8. The radiant for the Draconids is found near the Bright star Vega which is nearly overhead around 8 pm. This makes the Draconids one of the few meteor showers that is best viewed in the early dark hours of the evening.
While most years, the Draconids are a minor meteor shower, they have historically produce large outbursts of activity. 2026 is not expected to be an outburst year but you never know. 2011, and 2018 were the last years the Draconids produced an increased display with a ZHR of 300 and 150 respectively.
T CrB Nova Update 9/8/2026
If you are still interested in seeing the recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis, there is still hope. The nova has not yet occurred meaning we are in a waiting game. If you are still interested, the part of the sky the nova will appear in is found in the west by the time it is dark. The star system T Coronae Borealis is found in the constellation Corona Borealis which looks like a small U-shape of stars next to the constellation Boötes. Once it is dark the location of T CrB will still be high in the west. If you cannot observe the sky directly, you can track the behavior of T CrB by checking current magnitude estimates posted at The Sky Live. Current magnitude estimates of the system show it at 10th magnitude.
The Sun and Moon
Sun
Sunrise on Tuesday, September 29 is at 6:55 and sunset is at 18:46 providing between 12 and 11.5 hours of daylight. Even after sunset, light from the Sun will dimly illuminate our sky for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. This period is called twilight, which ends around 20:15 this week. For those with a sundial, local noon occurs around 12:51 on September 29, 2026..
| Day | Sunrise (CDT) | Sunset (CDT) |
| 29-Sep | 6:55 | 18:46 |
| 30-Sep | 6:56 | 18:45 |
| 01-Oct | 6:57 | 18:43 |
| 02-Oct | 6:58 | 18:42 |
| 03-Oct | 6:59 | 18:40 |
| 04-Oct | 6:59 | 18:39 |
| 05-Oct | 7:00 | 18:37 |
| 06-Oct | 7:01 | 18:36 |
| 07-Oct | 7:02 | 18:34 |
| 08-Oct | 7:03 | 18:33 |
| 09-Oct | 7:04 | 18:31 |
Moon
Moonrise for Tuesday, September 29, is at 20:14 and moonset occurs at 11:35 the following morning. On September 29, 2026, the Moon will exhibit a waning gibbous phase with 89% disk illumination. By October 9, 2026, the Moon will exhibit a waning crescent phase with 1% disk illumination. Last quarter moon occurs on October 3, 2026, at 08:25. New moon occurs on October 10, 2026, at 10:50.
International Space Station (ISS) Observing
Visible passes of ISS from St. Louis for the week of September 29 occur during evening hours. The best of these occur on September 29 and October 2. You can find information about these and other satellite passes at https://heavens-above.com. If you are not viewing from the St. Louis area, make sure to change your viewing location for your local times.
Visible Planets
Four naked eye planets will be visible this week. Venus is found in the west after sunset. Saturn is visible in the southeast around 10:30 pm. Mars and Jupiter are visible in east before sunrise.
Venus
Venus is getting hard to find unless you have a clear western horizon. It is best to start looking about 10 to 15 minutes after sunset. Venus reaches inferior conjunction on October 23, 2026.
Mars
Mars rises around 01:28 this week clearing the 15° mark by 03:00. This apparition of Mars is not the best as it is an aphelic apparition. ALPO’s guide for the Mars 2026-2027 aphelic apparition shows October 14, 2026, as the beginning of the apparition for those using telescopes between 4 and 8 inches. This is the time frame in which most observers can start seeing the surface of Mars through their telescope. Mars reaches opposition on February 19, 2027.
Jupiter
Jupiter rises this week around 03:00. You will need to wait for the giant world to clear trees, but it should be easy to see in the east by 04:30.
Saturn
Saturn can be found rising in the east around 19:05. Saturn reaches opposition on October 4, 2026. After this date, Saturn will rise before the Sun sets.
Uranus
Uranus is technically bright enough to be seen naked eye under dark conditions. However, most will likely still need binoculars to spot the planet. Uranus will remain very easy to find for several years as it passes through the constellation Taurus. The smallest binocular I have used to spot Uranus is a 10×28 binocular. At magnitude 5.7, Uranus was very easy to find with this instrument.
Uranus rises around 21:27 this week but should be easy to find by 23:00. The ice giant can be found in Taurus between the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters.
Our next Star Party will be held on Friday, October 2, 2026 from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
On the first Friday of each month, the St. Louis Astronomical Society and the Saint Louis Science Center will set up a number of telescopes outdoors and be on hand to answer your questions. Telescope viewing begins once it is dark.
The St. Louis Astronomical Society helps host the monthly Star Parties at the Saint Louis Science Center. In addition to our nighttime viewings, they also help facilitate our daytime event called Solar Sundays. These daytime viewing sessions occur on the 3rd Sunday each month. Visit SLAS’s website linked above to learn about other telescope events SLAS hosts around the St. Louis area.
James S. McDonnell Planetarium
Night Sky Update for September 29, 2026
Subjects
