Tonight's sky · local time · UTC+9

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

South Korea · 35.54°, 129.31° · Computed 10-18 11:42 UTC+9

🛰️ Tonight's naked-eye ISS pass

appears
03:24
E 71°
Max. elevation
3°
E 71° · 03:24
disappears
03:25
NE 67°

ISS over Ulsan 03:24–03:25 · east-northeast→east-northeast · max 3°

emerges from Earth's shadow · A bright, steady star crosses the sky in 3–6 minutes, no blinking. No equipment needed — visible even from a city centre. (2×)

🛰️ ISS Wiki

Tonight in brief

On Sat, October 17, 2026 the Sun sets over Ulsan at 17:45; astronomical twilight ends at 19:10 and the sky is fully dark for 9.9 hours until 05:06, with sunrise at 06:31. The Moon is a first quarter (40.3% lit) and is already up at dusk, setting at 22:07 — after that the sky is moonless.

Naked-eye planets tonight: Jupiter, Mars, Saturn. Jupiter rises in the east at 01:31 and climbs to 54° in the southeast by 06:05 before dawn. Mars rises in the northeast at 00:34 and climbs to 64° in the southeast by 06:05 before dawn. Saturn is already 11° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 56° in the south at 23:20, and sets in the west at 05:26. Uranus (binoculars/telescope) rises in the northeast at 19:45 and climbs to 76° in the south by 02:50 before dawn. Neptune (binoculars/telescope) is already 16° up in the east at dusk, peaks at 54° in the south at 22:49, and sets in the west at 04:50. 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-northeast to east-northeast between 03:24 and 03:25, reaching 3° and shining like a bright star to the naked eye — it pops out of Earth's shadow at 03:24. There are 2 visible passes tonight in total. Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS (JPL mag. 15) is highest at 19:41, 61° in the south; Comet 2P/Encke (JPL mag. 17.1) is highest at 22:51, 72° 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 Ulsan (latitude 35.5°). Coming up: Orionid meteor shower peak in 4 days, Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS perihelion in 41 days, Geminid meteor shower peak in 57 days.

☀️🌙 Sun & Moon

Sunset17:45
End of astronomical twilight (fully dark)19:10
Start of astronomical twilight (dawn)05:06 (next day)
Sunrise (next morning)06:31 (next day)
Hours of full darkness9.9 h
First Quarter
Illumination 40.3%
Moonrise12:39
Moonset22:07
Next phaseFirst QuarterOct 19 01:13

🪐 Planets — visible tonight?

  • Mercury0.0Not visible · too low
    Rises · direction: already up at dusk
    Sets · direction: 18:40 · SW 245°
    Highest (altitude · direction · time): 5° · SW 241° · 18:11
  • Venus-4.2Not visible · too close to the Sun
    Rises · direction: —
    Sets · direction: —
    Highest (altitude · direction · time): —
  • Mars+1.0Visible · pre-dawn
    Rises · direction: 00:34 (next day) · NE 66°
    Sets · direction: until dawn
    Highest (altitude · direction · time): 64° · SE 125° · 06:05 (next day)
  • Jupiter-1.9Visible · pre-dawn
    Rises · direction: 01:31 (next day) · E 71°
    Sets · direction: until dawn
    Highest (altitude · direction · time): 54° · SE 117° · 06:05 (next day)
  • Saturn+0.3Visible · midnight
    Rises · direction: already up at dusk
    Sets · direction: 05:26 (next day) · W 272°
    Highest (altitude · direction · time): 56° · S 180° · 23:20
  • Uranus+5.6Visible · pre-dawn
    Rises · direction: 19:45 · NE 63°
    Sets · direction: until dawn
    Highest (altitude · direction · time): 76° · S 180° · 02:50 (next day)
  • Neptune+7.8Visible · midnight
    Rises · direction: already up at dusk
    Sets · direction: 04:50 (next day) · W 270°
    Highest (altitude · direction · time): 54° · S 180° · 22:49
  • Pluto+14.6Visible · evening
    Rises · direction: already up at dusk
    Sets · direction: 23:54 · SW 241°
    Highest (altitude · direction · time): 31° · S 180° · 19:04

Pluto is a dwarf planet at magnitude 14–15 — a large-telescope / imaging target

☄️ Comets 2P & 161P — tonight's position

CometJPL predicted mag.HighestEquipment
Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS
RA 21.03h · Dec +6.5° · Δ 0.663 AU
15.061° · S 180° · 19:41large telescope / imaging
Comet 2P/Encke
RA 0.19h · Dec +17.9° · Δ 1.016 AU
17.172° · S 181° · 22:51large telescope / imaging

Magnitudes are JPL M1/K1 predictions and can differ from observations (COBS) by 2–3 magnitudes. Coordinates J2000.

🛰️ All ISS passes (24 h from local noon)

TimeStart (dir.)Max. elevationEnd (dir.)Visible?
12:10–12:21NW 310°74° · W 255°SE 136°Daylight (not visible)
03:24 (next day)–03:25E 71°3° · E 71°NE 67°Visible to the naked eye
04:57 (next day)–05:02N 354°38° · N 354°NE 43°Visible to the naked eye
09:46 (next day)–09:55NW 327°11° · NE 25°E 77°Daylight (not visible)
11:23 (next day)–11:34NW 315°55° · NE 58°SE 124°Daylight (not visible)

ISS TLE epoch: 2026-10-17 19:43 UTC · CelesTrak

📡 Receiving passes — Meteor-M N2-4 · NOAA-20 · NOAA-21 (max. elevation ≥ 20°)

For direct reception of 137.9 MHz LRPT (Meteor) and X-band (NOAA-20/21); day or night. Dish pointing angles are in the Sky & Impact Lab → Sat Pass tab.

SatelliteTimeMax. elevationLength
NOAA-2012:44–12:5940° · E 73°15 min
NOAA-2113:27–13:4268° · SW 240°15 min
NOAA-2014:24–14:3822° · W 267°14 min
Meteor-M N2-414:28–14:4371° · E 86°15 min
NOAA-2001:05 (next day)–01:1920° · E 94°14 min
NOAA-2101:48 (next day)–02:0463° · E 98°15 min
NOAA-2002:45 (next day)–03:0043° · W 286°15 min
Meteor-M N2-402:48 (next day)–03:0335° · E 101°15 min
Meteor-M N2-404:28 (next day)–04:4225° · NW 296°14 min

🌌 Space weather in one line

Kp 1 · Quiet · aurora possible above 64.9° geomagnetic latitudeNOAA SWPC 2026-10-17T21:00

📅 Coming up

  • in 4 days
    Oct 21
    Orionid meteor shower peak

    Dust from Halley's Comet — night of Oct 21–22, about 10–20 per hour (AMS observed rate). The Moon sets after midnight, so pre-dawn is best.

    Source: AMS Meteor Shower Calendar · Wiki

  • in 41 days
    Nov 27
    Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS perihelion

    The Halley-type comet, back after 21.5 years, reaches its closest point to the Sun (1.28 AU). A telescope/imaging target at magnitude 10–12.

    Source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database · Wiki

  • in 57 days
    Dec 13
    Geminid meteor shower peak

    The richest shower of the year — night of Dec 13–14, with a 15%-lit Moon: good conditions.

    Source: AMS Meteor Shower Calendar

🌍 Other cities

How this is computed

Planets, Moon and Sun: astronomy-engine (VSOP87, refraction-corrected). Comets: two-body propagation of JPL SBDB elements. Satellites: CelesTrak TLE + SGP4. An ISS pass is “visible” when the Sun is at least 6° below the observer's horizon and the satellite is outside Earth's shadow (cylindrical model). A planet is “visible” when it reaches 5° altitude after civil dusk. All times are in the city's time zone; the date rolls to the next night at local noon. Recomputed every 30 minutes.