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

On Sat, October 17, 2026 the Sun sets over Taipei at 17:25; astronomical twilight ends at 18:41 and the sky is fully dark for 9.9 hours until 04:36, with sunrise at 05:53. The Moon is a first quarter (40.5% lit) and is already up at dusk, setting at 22:10 — after that the sky is moonless.

Naked-eye planets tonight: Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Mercury. Jupiter rises in the east at 01:17 and climbs to 56° in the east by 05:30 before dawn. Mars rises in the east at 00:25 and climbs to 67° in the east by 05:30 before dawn. Saturn is already 13° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 67° in the south at 22:51, and sets in the west at 04:55. Mercury is already 9° up in the southwest at dusk, peaks at 9° in the southwest at 17:48, and sets in the west at 18:32. Uranus (binoculars/telescope) rises in the northeast at 19:38 and climbs to 86° in the south by 02:21 before dawn. Neptune (binoculars/telescope) is already 20° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 65° 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 north-northeast between 03:57 and 03:59, reaching 6° 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 19:13, 72° in the south; Comet 2P/Encke (JPL mag. 17.1) is highest at 22:18, 83° 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 Taipei (latitude 25.0°). Coming up: Orionid meteor shower peak in 4 days, Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS perihelion in 41 days, Geminid meteor shower peak in 57 days.