What’s Happening: NASA’s October 2025 Sky Viewing Tips

A supermoon takes over the sky, the Draconids meteor shower peeks out, and the Orionids meteor shower sparkles.

• October 6: October Supermoon
• 6.-10. October: Draconid meteor shower
• October 21: Peak of the Orionid meteor shower (full duration September 26 – November 22)

What’s up for October? The supermoon takes over, the Draconid meteor shower peeks through, and the Orionid meteors twinkle across the night sky.

On the evening of October 6th, look up and be surprised because the full Moon is bigger and brighter because – it’s a supermoon!

This evening, the moon may appear about 30% brighter and up to 14% larger than a typical full moon. But why?

Supermoons occur when a new or full moon coincides with “perigee,” which is when the moon is closest to Earth for an entire month.

So this is extremely close to a full moon! Which explains its spectacular appearance.

And what timing – while the supermoon appears on October 6th, just a few days before October 4th is “International Moongazing Night”!

It’s an annual, worldwide event when moon lovers gather to enjoy our natural satellite. You can attend or host a moon gazing party or just watch the moon from anywhere.

So look up and celebrate the month with people around the world!

A supermoon will light up the sky on October 6th, but if you’re lucky enough to have slightly darker skies between October 6th and 10th, you could witness the first of two October meteor showers – the Draconids!

The Draconids meteor shower comes from debris trailing comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner as it burns up in Earth’s atmosphere

These meteors originate from the nearby head of the constellation Dragon in the northern sky, and the shower can produce up to 10 meteors per hour!

The Draconids peak around October 8th, but if you don’t see them, you can always blame it on a bright supermoon and wait a few weeks until the next Orionid meteor shower!

The Orionid meteor shower, which peaks on October 21, is set to put on a spectacular show, throwing about 20 meteors an hour across the night sky.

This meteor shower occurs when Earth travels through debris trailing behind Halley’s Comet and burns up in our atmosphere.

The full duration of the meteor shower extends from September 26th to November 22nd, but the best time to see the meteors is on October 21st before midnight until around 2am.

That’s because, not only is this night the peak of the showers, but it’s also the October New Moon, which means the Moon will be between the Earth and the Sun, making it dark and invisible to us.

With a moonless sky, you’re more likely to catch a fireball tearing through the night.

So find a dark spot after the sun goes down, look toward the southeast sky (if you’re in the northern hemisphere) and northeast (if you’re in the southern hemisphere) and enjoy!

The Orionid meteors seem to come from the direction of the constellation Orion, but you can catch them all over the sky.

These are the changes of the moon for October.

You can stay up-to-date on all NASA missions exploring the solar system and beyond at science.nasa.gov.

I’m Chelsea Gohd from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that’s what’s happening for this month.