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

On Sat, October 17, 2026 the Sun sets over Shanghai at 17:20; astronomical twilight ends at 18:41 and the sky is fully dark for 9.9 hours until 04:37, with sunrise at 05:58. The Moon is a first quarter (40.5% lit) and is already up at dusk, setting at 21:53 — after that the sky is moonless.

Naked-eye planets tonight: Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Mercury. Jupiter rises in the east at 01:09 and climbs to 55° in the east by 05:34 before dawn. Mars rises in the east at 00:14 and climbs to 66° in the southeast by 05:34 before dawn. Saturn is already 12° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 60° in the south at 22:51, and sets in the west at 04:57. Mercury is already 7° up in the southwest at dusk, peaks at 7° in the southwest at 17:45, and sets in the southwest at 18:21. Uranus (binoculars/telescope) rises in the northeast at 19:26 and climbs to 80° in the south by 02:21 before dawn. Neptune (binoculars/telescope) is already 18° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 58° in the south at 22:20, and sets in the west at 04:21. Venus is too close to the Sun to be seen tonight.

The International Space Station crosses from north-northeast to northeast between 03:57 and 04:00, reaching 15° and shining like a bright star to the naked eye — it pops out of Earth's shadow at 03:57. Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS (JPL mag. 15) is highest at 19:10, 65° in the south; Comet 2P/Encke (JPL mag. 17.1) is highest at 22:20, 77° 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 Shanghai (latitude 31.2°). Coming up: Orionid meteor shower peak in 4 days, Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS perihelion in 41 days, Geminid meteor shower peak in 57 days.