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Oct. 6–7 Harvest Moon Supermoon Kicks Off Packed Month of Meteor Showers, Comets and Planet Sights

Favorable timing makes October one of the year’s easiest months for backyard observing.

La superluna o Luna de cosecha será visible durante octubre (Unsplash/Ganapathy Kumar)
Para observar la lluvia de meteoros se aconseja acudir a un lugar alejado de la iluminación artificial (Pexels/GeorgiosTsatas)
Los mejores días para cortar el cabello según las fases de la Luna. Foto: Shutterstock
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Overview

  • The Harvest Moon supermoon arrives the evenings of Oct. 6–7 (locale dependent), appearing about 6.6% larger and 13% brighter than an average full moon as the full phase and lunar perigee closely coincide.
  • This is the first in a run of three supermoons through December 2025, with October’s full moon widely visible shortly after sunset and especially striking near the horizon due to the lunar illusion.
  • The Draconid meteors are expected around Oct. 8 with best viewing shortly after dusk, featuring slow, occasionally bright streaks in early evening skies.
  • The Orionids linked to Halley’s Comet peak Oct. 20–21 under a new moon, offering favorable dark-sky conditions and typical rates up to roughly 20 meteors per hour from midnight to dawn.
  • Comet activity intensifies with C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) at perihelion on Oct. 8, C/2025 R2 SWAN near perigee around Oct. 19, C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) near perigee Oct. 21, and interstellar 3I/ATLAS at perihelion Oct. 29, alongside planetary highlights including Ceres at opposition Oct. 2 and Mercury’s greatest eastern elongation Oct. 29.