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

On Sat, October 17, 2026 the Sun sets over Los Angeles at 18:16; astronomical twilight ends at 19:39 and the sky is fully dark for 10 hours until 05:37, with sunrise at 07:00. The Moon is a first quarter (46.7% lit) and is already up at dusk, setting at 23:22 — after that the sky is moonless.

Naked-eye planets tonight: Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Mercury. Jupiter rises in the east at 02:02 and climbs to 55° in the southeast by 06:35 before dawn. Mars rises in the northeast at 01:07 and climbs to 65° in the southeast by 06:35 before dawn. Saturn is already 12° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 58° in the south at 23:47, and sets in the west at 05:53. Mercury is already 5° up in the southwest at dusk, peaks at 5° in the southwest at 18:41, and sets in the southwest at 19:12. Uranus (binoculars/telescope) rises in the northeast at 20:16 and climbs to 77° in the south by 03:18 before dawn. Neptune (binoculars/telescope) is already 17° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 56° in the south at 23:17, and sets in the west at 05:17. Venus is too close to the Sun to be seen tonight.

The International Space Station crosses from northeast to northeast between 04:27 and 04:29, reaching 9° and shining like a bright star to the naked eye — it pops out of Earth's shadow at 04:27. There are 2 visible passes tonight in total. Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS (JPL mag. 15) is highest at 20:06, 63° in the south; Comet 2P/Encke (JPL mag. 17.1) is highest at 23:16, 74° 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 Los Angeles (latitude 34.1°). Coming up: Orionid meteor shower peak in 4 days, Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS perihelion in 41 days, Geminid meteor shower peak in 57 days.