October 2025 – What’s Up!

Week of 27th October

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 18:41 GMT at the start of the week and at 18:31 GMT by the end of the week.
• Mercury (-0.1) reaches Greatest Eastern Elongation on Wednesday. Normally this would be the ideal time to spot the elusive planet in the evening sky, however, given the time of year, it will be just 3° above the southwestern horizon, so a real challenge to spot.
• Saturn (+0.9) transits at around 21:20 GMT this week; it will share the same patch of sky with the Waxing Gibbous Moon over the weekend. Jupiter (-2.3) rises at around 21:19 GMT.
• We have two comets in our skies at the moment, though both are quite faint and need binoculars or a telescope to see.  Start in the west at astronomical twilight (around 18:00 GMT) to find Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) (+10.1) about 20° above the western horizon in Serpens. Then look south for comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) (+10.6) in Aquarius.
• The Moon is First Quarter on Wednesday.
• The Sun currently has 7 active regions and the sunspot number is 89.
• There are no visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 20th October

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 19:54 BST at the start of the week and at 18:43 GMT by the end of the week.
• The Orionids meteor shower peaks on Tuesday. It is a smaller shower, with a ZHR of just 15 meteors. It is interesting primarily because the progenitor of the shower is comet 1P/Halley.
• Saturn (+0.8) rises at around 17:10 BST this week and transits at 22:55 BST, reaching a max altitude of about 34° making it very well placed for observation. Jupiter (-2.2) rises at around 22:48 BST, but doesn’t transit until 06:52 BST. We must be patient for Jupiter as it approaches opposition in January, when it will be at a max altitude of about 61°.
• If the clouds part, it is time to hunt down comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) which is around 20° above the north-western horizon just after sunset. It is moving through Boötes into Serpens through the week and is about magnitude 10, so binoculars or a telescope will be needed to find it.
• The Moon is New on Tuesday.
• The Sun currently has 7 active regions and the sunspot number is 105.
• There are no visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 13th October

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 20:08 BST at the start of the week and at 19:56 BST by the end of the week.
• Dwarf planet Eris reaches opposition on Saturday, making it best placed for observation from Earth. However, the small planet is about 95 AU away and is only magnitude +18.6, so a very large aperture will be required to spot the dot visually. Try taking a photograph of the dot over multiple nights and see it move against the background stars.
• Saturn (+0.8) rises at around 17:40 BST this week and transits at 23:28 BST. Jupiter (-2.2) rises at around 23:10 BST through this week, and on Monday will be joined by the last quarter Moon at just under 4° separation, this should make a beautiful sight as they rise together.
• This week, the challenge is to hunt down a trio of globular clusters that surround the small constellation of Equuleus. The first is NGC 6934 (+8.9) in Delphinus at 51,000 ly from Earth, next to M15 (+6.3) in Pegasus at 34,000 ly, and finally to M2 (+6.6) in Aquarius at 38,000 ly.
• The Moon is Last Quarter on Monday.
• The Sun currently has 6 active regions and the sunspot number is 108.
• There are no visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 6th October

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 20:24 BST at the start of the week and at 20:10 BST by the end of the week.
• The Draconid Meteor shower peaks on Wednesday, though the Full Moon will shroud all but the brightest. The progenitor of the shower is Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, which passed perihelion in March this year, so perhaps there will be an increased number of meteors this year.
• Saturn (+0.7) rises at around 18:05 BST this week, and Jupiter (-2.2) rises at around 23:35 BST.
• There are two comets to follow in our skies right now. The first is comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) (+9.2) in Serpens, low in the southwest after sunset and the second is C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) (+10.9) in Canes Venatici, in the northwest evening sky, circumpolar through to the northeast in the pre-dawn sky. Binoculars will be needed to try and catch a glimpse of both.
• The Moon is Full on Tuesday – the Harvest Moon and the Hunter’s Moon.
• The Sun currently has 8 active regions and the sunspot number is 137.
• There are no visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).