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

On Sat, October 17, 2026 the Sun sets over New York at 18:12; astronomical twilight ends at 19:43 and the sky is fully dark for 9.9 hours until 05:39, with sunrise at 07:10. The Moon is a first quarter (45.6% lit) and is already up at dusk, setting at 22:55 — after that the sky is moonless.

Naked-eye planets tonight: Jupiter, Mars, Saturn. Jupiter rises in the east at 01:53 and climbs to 52° in the southeast by 06:42 before dawn. Mars rises in the northeast at 00:55 and climbs to 62° in the southeast by 06:42 before dawn. Saturn is already 10° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 51° in the south at 23:51, and sets in the west at 05:58. Uranus (binoculars/telescope) rises in the northeast at 20:02 and climbs to 70° in the south by 03:21 before dawn. Neptune (binoculars/telescope) is already 15° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 49° in the south at 23:20, and sets in the west at 05:21. Venus is too close to the Sun to be seen tonight. Mercury stays too low on the horizon.

The International Space Station crosses from east to east-northeast between 04:21 and 04:24, reaching 11° and shining like a bright star to the naked eye — it pops out of Earth's shadow at 04:21. There are 2 visible passes tonight in total. Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS (JPL mag. 15) is highest at 20:10, 56° in the south; Comet 2P/Encke (JPL mag. 17.1) is highest at 23:20, 67° 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 New York (latitude 40.7°). Coming up: Orionid meteor shower peak in 4 days, Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS perihelion in 41 days, Geminid meteor shower peak in 57 days.