What's happening - Your guide to October skies

October often brings cooler temperatures and excellent conditions for stargazing. Here's what's happening in the sky this month.

The Harvest Moon refers to the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, and this year's happens on Monday, Oct., 6. October’s harvest moon will be the first of four “supermoons” in a row to round out 2025.

A supermoon is a full moon that occurs when the Moon is at or near its closest point to Earth in its orbit, known as perigee. This proximity makes the moon appear larger and brighter than a typical full moon.

The Draconid meteor shower will peak overnight on Oct., 8-9, with about 10 meteors expected per hour. However, the waning Harvest Moon will make them hard to see.

One of the highlights of the fall sky, the Orionid Meteor shower, will be active from Sept., 26 to Nov., 7. However, it will peak on Oct., 20-21 between midnight and dawn.

This year brings especially favorable conditions, with the new moon ensuring dark skies for meteor hunting. The Orionids typically produce around 20 to 30 meteors per hour, but they have been known to unleash outbursts of up to 80 meteors per hour.