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By Tunc Tezel. Winner of the National Maritime Museum’s Astrophotographer of the Year 2011 Contest.
From dazzling planets to shooting stars, here’s your guide to October’s must-see celestial events.
October is a special month for skygazing. With the autumnal equinox, the seasons have turned, and we’ll enjoy darker night skies ahead. Gaze up anytime after dinner, say around 8 p.m., for star-filled planetarium conditions through the end of the month. Here are the highlights.
The Morning Show
Each morning, head outside around 6:15 and look east. Venus blazes, each day a bit lower and dimmer on the horizon, while Jupiter gets continually higher.
October 6: Saturn Makes an Appearance
Saturn, the ringed planet, will be halfway up the southern sky by midnight. The golden planet shines steadily (versus the twinkling stars) high in the sky, making it a gorgeous evening view.
On the Pisces/Aquarius border, Saturn is surrounded by only dim stars, so its solitary brightness highlights its location, which is just below the Moon. Viewable through a telescope, the brightest “star” nearly touching Saturn’s rings is its giant moon, Titan, the only celestial body besides Earth with a thick atmosphere consisting mostly of nitrogen.
October 6: Full Harvest Supermoon Rises
October’s full Moon appears on October 6, 2025, at 11:47 P.M. The Harvest Moon is tied to an astronomical event, the autumnal equinox, and rises around the same time for several nights in a row… so start looking for it on Saturday, October 4! Learn more about the Harvest Moon—and why it often appears bigger!
This Harvest Moon will be extra special! It will be a Supermoon this year… which means that this Moon will be bigger and brighter than ever!
October 8 to 9: Draconid Meteor Shower
The Draconids may not be a major meteor shower (about six meteors per hour), but they kick off the busy meteor shower season! In 2025, the shower will peak when the Moon is 90% full, so moonlight will present substantial interference. The best time to watch the Draconids is early evening on October 8, away from city lights. See the Meteor Shower Guide for more information.
October 19: Hello, Venus!
Look up! You’ll get a great view of the waning crescent Moon as it meets up with Venus tonight.
October 20 to 21: Orionid Meteor Shower
Another overhead phenom this month will be meteors. The Orionids, which peak around the 21st, zoom through the sky at 41 miles per second and deliver a shooting star every three to five minutes. Each of these streakers is an apple-seed-sized piece that fell off history’s most famous celestial object—Halley’s comet.
In 2025, the Orionids will be at their BEST. The show happens during a new Moon, making for optimal viewing.
Find the Moon rise/set times and planet rise/set times.
The Orionids radiate from the well-known constellation Orion the Hunter, specifically from a point near the Hunter’s Club. When looking for the meteor shower, look away from the Moon towards darker regions of the sky.
October 31: Happy Halloween!
It’s spooky out there… so be on the lookout for witches and goblins, oh my! This Halloween, the Moon will be a waxing gibbous, approximately 70% illuminated. Find out how rare a Full Moon on Halloween is.
In addition to the trick-or-treaters, the Pleiades will also be on display… learn all about the seven sisters of Halloween.
The Milky Way
Tilt back your head and look straight overhead. In October, you’ll see the Milky Way split the sky from north to south, crossing the heavens overhead. A century ago, it was widely believed to be the entire cosmos. Now we know that our Milky Way galaxy is just one of hundreds of billions that make up the universe. See my new post on taking it straight up!
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Thank you, Juan! We must have been a bit hungry when we put this article up!
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