Space news · From around the world
On Tuesday 6 October the waning crescent Moon passes in front of Jupiter. From parts of North America and the Caribbean it happens before dawn (New York: 4:23–5:27 a.m. EDT); from West Africa in daylight. From Europe and Türkiye there is no occultation, but before sunrise Jupiter shines 2–3° below the crescent in the east. Our take: set an alarm, it is a lovely pair even without the cover-up.
Sky event · 6 October 2026
Animation: Jupiter and its four large moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto) disappear at the bright limb and come back at the dark one. The Jupiter system is drawn 3× larger than it looks; the moons’ positions are calculated for 08:54 UTC.
Our short video (in Turkish, with on-screen times) shows how the Moon slides over Jupiter and its moons.
On Tuesday 6 October the waning crescent Moon, about 20% lit, slides in front of Jupiter and hides it for up to an hour. Because the Moon moves eastward among the stars, Jupiter vanishes behind the bright limb and reappears at the dark limb. In New York, Jupiter disappears at 4:23 a.m. and reappears at 5:27 a.m. EDT; in West Africa the event happens around 10:50–11:35 UTC, in daylight, so a telescope is needed there.
Local time EDT (UTC−4). Disappearance and reappearance: Forbes; middle point: our calculation. Times shift by minutes with location.
Here there is no occultation: when the two are closest, around 10:20–11:00 UTC, the Sun is high and they are still 19 to 37 arcminutes apart. The show for us is earlier. Before sunrise on 6 October, look east: Jupiter shines about 2–3.4° below and slightly left of the thin crescent, roughly four to seven finger-widths at arm’s length. Binoculars show up to four of Jupiter’s moons as tiny dots in a line.
Local time on 6 October when the sky starts to brighten, and the distance between the Moon and Jupiter then. Our calculation.
Smallest distance between the Moon’s centre and Jupiter on 6 October, in arcminutes, and whether the sky is dark at that moment. Our calculation with Astronomy Engine.
Jupiter is 41 times wider than the Moon but about 2,340 times farther away, so the Moon looks about 57 times bigger. Our calculation.
The camera button turns your phone into a guide that points at the Moon or Jupiter, wherever you are.
No. When the Moon passes Jupiter it is daytime here and they stay 19–37 arcminutes apart. Before sunrise on 6 October you can see them close together in the east.
From parts of North America and the Caribbean before dawn, for example New York from 4:23 to 5:27 a.m. EDT, and from parts of Africa in daylight with a telescope.
Not for the dawn pairing: Jupiter is brighter than any star. Binoculars show its four large moons; a small telescope shows the planet sliding behind the Moon’s edge.
The Moon moves eastward among the stars by about its own width every hour. For a waning crescent, the leading eastern edge is the sunlit one, so Jupiter vanishes there and returns at the dark edge.
Sources: Forbes (3 Oct 2026) for the New York times; IOTA lists local predictions. Separations, phase, distances, the moons’ positions and dawn views were calculated by Astrometrik with Astronomy Engine.