A supermoon dominates the sky, the Draconid meteor shower peeks through it, and the Orionid meteor shower shines bright.
- October 6: October Supermoon
- October 6–10: Draconid meteor shower
- October 21: Orionid meteor shower at peak (full duration September 26 – November 22)
What’s going on for October? A supermoon arrives, the Draconid meteor shower peeks through, and the Orionid meteors sparkle in the night sky.
On the evening of October 6, look up and be amazed as the full moon is big and bright because – it’s a supermoon!
This evening, the moon may appear about 30% brighter and up to 14% larger than a normal full moon. But why?
A supermoon occurs when the new moon or full moon coincides with “perigee,” which is when the Moon is closest to Earth all month.
So this is an exceptionally close full moon! Which explains its magnificent appearance.
And what timing – while the supermoon appears on October 6, just a few days earlier on October 4 is “International Observe the Moon Night”!
It is an annual, worldwide event when Moon enthusiasts come together to enjoy our natural satellite. You can attend or host a moon viewing party, or simply observe the moon from wherever you are.
So look up, and celebrate the moon with people from all over the world!
The supermoon will light up the sky on October 6, but if you’re lucky in some dark skies between October 6 and 10, you may be able to see the first of two October meteor showers – the Draconids!
The Draconid meteor shower comes from debris burning in Earth’s atmosphere behind comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner.
These meteors originate near the head of the constellation Draco in the northern sky and the shower can produce up to 10 meteors per hour!
The peak of the Draconids occurs around October 8, but if you don’t see any, you can always blame the bright supermoon and wait a few weeks until the next meteor shower – the Orionids!
The Orionid meteor shower, which peaks on October 21, is set to be a spectacular display, with about 20 meteors per hour visible across the night sky.
This meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through debris behind Halley’s Comet and it burns up in our atmosphere.
The entire meteor shower period is from September 26 to November 22, but the best time to see the meteors is from before midnight on October 21 to about 2 a.m.
This is because, not only does rainfall peak on this night, it is also the October new moon, meaning the Moon will be between the Earth and the Sun, making it dark and invisible to us.
In a moonless sky, you have a much higher chance of catching a fireball at night.
So find a dark spot after the sun sets, look towards the south-eastern sky (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere) and north-east (if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere) and enjoy!
Orionid meteors appear to come from the direction of the Orion constellation, but you can see them all over the sky.
Here are the moon phases for October.
You can stay up to date on all of NASA’s missions exploring the solar system and beyond at science.nasa.gov.
I’m Chelsea Gohad from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that’s it for this month.
