🌙 Tonight's Sky in Busan — Sat, October 17, 2026

On Sat, October 17, 2026 the Sun sets over Busan at 17:46; astronomical twilight ends at 19:11 and the sky is fully dark for 9.9 hours until 05:07, with sunrise at 06:31. The Moon is a first quarter (40.3% lit) and is already up at dusk, setting at 22:09 — after that the sky is moonless.

Naked-eye planets tonight: Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Mercury. Jupiter rises in the east at 01:33 and climbs to 54° in the southeast by 06:06 before dawn. Mars rises in the northeast at 00:36 and climbs to 65° in the southeast by 06:06 before dawn. Saturn is already 11° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 56° in the south at 23:21, and sets in the west at 05:27. Mercury is already 5° up in the southwest at dusk, peaks at 5° in the southwest at 18:12, and sets in the southwest at 18:42. Uranus (binoculars/telescope) rises in the northeast at 19:46 and climbs to 76° in the south by 02:51 before dawn. Neptune (binoculars/telescope) is already 16° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 55° in the south at 22:50, and sets in the west at 04:51. Venus is too close to the Sun to be seen tonight.

The International Space Station crosses from east-northeast to east-northeast between 03:24 and 03:25, reaching 2° and shining like a bright star to the naked eye — it pops out of Earth's shadow at 03:24. There are 2 visible passes tonight in total. Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS (JPL mag. 15) is highest at 19:42, 61° in the south; Comet 2P/Encke (JPL mag. 17.1) is highest at 22:52, 73° in the south — both remain telescope/imaging targets. Kp is 1 (quiet), so aurora is possible only above about 64.9° geomagnetic latitude — not expected from Busan (latitude 35.2°). Coming up: Orionid meteor shower peak in 4 days, Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS perihelion in 41 days, Geminid meteor shower peak in 57 days.