The sky on October 26, 2026
Moon. On the evening of October 26, 2026 the Moon is waning gibbous, 99% illuminated. That day the Moon sets at 8:02 AM MDT and rises at 6:01 PM MDT. Times are for Denver, Colorado; they shift by minutes to an hour elsewhere in the US and Canada.
Visible this week
- Aurora Outlook: Solar Cycle 25 Decline, September 24, 2026 to December 31, 2028. Northern US states and all of Canada; strong geomagnetic storms can push visibility as far south as the mid-latitude US.
- Hunter's Moon (2026-10-26), October 26, 2026. Visible throughout the US and Canada, weather permitting, rising around sunset.
Sourced stories
Researchers have found a way to map hidden sunspots on the Sun's far side, a blind spot for space weather forecasters. A team led by Bibhuti Kumar Jha of the Southwest Research Institute used probability to infer activity there, which matters because the Sun takes 27 days to rotate and coronal mass ejections can hit satellites and power grids. Earlier warning of what is rotating toward us helps aurora chasers who watch space weather forecasts.
Read the source: Universe Today (opens in new tab)
October's Full Moon, the Hunter's Moon, occurred at 12:12 a.m. EDT on Oct. 26 and shone in both the morning and evening sky. Full phase is hard to observe because shadows are shortest and the terrain looks flat, but the bright rays of ejecta thrown out by ancient impacts stand out. A Moon filter, or sunglasses worn only at the eyepiece, cuts glare, and higher magnification dims the view.
Read the source: Astronomy.com (opens in new tab)
Webb's new view of N159, a star forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud 161,000 light-years away, spans a swath 230 light-years wide. Glowing blue clouds of ionized hydrogen fill the center, threaded with filaments of reddish molecular hydrogen that hide young stars. The Cloud is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, close enough that Webb can resolve this much detail.
Read the source: Space.com (opens in new tab)