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

On Sat, October 17, 2026 the Sun sets over Gwangju at 17:55; astronomical twilight ends at 19:19 and the sky is fully dark for 9.9 hours until 05:16, with sunrise at 06:40. The Moon is a first quarter (40.4% lit) and is already up at dusk, setting at 22:19 — after that the sky is moonless.

Naked-eye planets tonight: Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Mercury. Jupiter rises in the east at 01:42 and climbs to 54° in the southeast by 06:15 before dawn. Mars rises in the northeast at 00:45 and climbs to 65° in the southeast by 06:15 before dawn. Saturn is already 11° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 56° in the south at 23:30, and sets in the west at 05:36. Mercury is already 5° up in the southwest at dusk, peaks at 5° in the southwest at 18:21, and sets in the southwest at 18:51. Uranus (binoculars/telescope) rises in the northeast at 19:55 and climbs to 76° in the south by 03:00 before dawn. Neptune (binoculars/telescope) is already 16° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 55° in the south at 22:59, and sets in the west at 05:00. Venus is too close to the Sun to be seen tonight.

The International Space Station crosses from north-northeast to northeast between 04:57 and 05:02, reaching 35° and shining like a bright star to the naked eye — it pops out of Earth's shadow at 04:57. Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS (JPL mag. 15) is highest at 19:51, 61° in the south; Comet 2P/Encke (JPL mag. 17.1) is highest at 23:01, 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 Gwangju (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.