{"id":625425,"date":"2026-10-09T14:04:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/625425\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T14:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:04:22","slug":"mars-passes-in-front-of-a-beautiful-star-cluster-this-weekend-heres-how-to-see-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/625425\/","title":{"rendered":"Mars passes in front of a beautiful star cluster this weekend. Here’s how to see it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mars and Jupiter are currently the planets of the moment, shining like two beautiful bright ‘stars’ in the early morning sky before dawn.<\/p>\n

They’re visible in the east before sunrise, with Jupiter the lower and the brighter of the two.<\/p>\n

If you catch Jupiter in the eastern sky before dawn, look above and to the right to see Mars as a slightly dimmer, redder ‘star’ higher up.<\/p>\n

This weekend, 9\u201312 October, Mars is set to pass in front of a beautiful star cluster called the Beehive Cluster<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here’s how to see it.<\/p>\n

\"ChartChart showing Mars passing in front of the Beehive Cluster, October 2026. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine
\nQuick tips on how to see Mars pass the Beehive<\/p>\n

Between 9 and 12 October 2026, Mars passes in front of the Beehive Cluster, M44.<\/p>\n

Mars will appear to be right ‘within’ the cluster on mornings of 11 and 12 October before dawn.<\/p>\n

Of course, Mars isn’t actually anywhere near the Beehive Cluster \u2013\u00a0it’s a matter of perception.<\/p>\n

\"MarsMars passing across the Beehive Cluster in October 2011, imaged through a f\/3.3 reflector. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/p>\n

Find Mars in the east before sunrise, then use binoculars or a small telescope to see the stars of the Beehive Cluster surrounding it.<\/p>\n

Get more key observing dates in our full guide to observing Mars and Jupiter in October 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Share your observations and images with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mars and Jupiter are currently the planets of the moment, shining like two beautiful bright ‘stars’ in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":625426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[111,139,69,147,392],"class_list":["post-625425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}