Listen direct from Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/astrophiz/astrophiz223-octoberskyguide
or from Pocketcasts, Spotify, our free Amazon Audible stream, YouTube podcasts and Apple Podcasts.
Transcript: Welcome to episode 223 of the Astrophiz podcasts. My name is Brendan O’Brien, and we’d like to acknowledge Australia’s first astronomers, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the traditional owners and custodians of the land we are on. This episode is produced on Yorta Yorta and Pangarang country,
We’re asking you to influence your local politicians with the message that we really need to change our energy policies and move to renewable energy sources to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Each month we love bringing you two fabulous episodes … on the first of each month. Our friend, molecular Pharmacologist Toxicologist, and Amateur Astronomer Dr Ian ‘AstroBlog’ Musgrave Brings you his monthly skyguide with all the essential observational highlights for telescopers, astrophotographers, binocular and naked eye observers.
In the middle of each month. We bring you an exclusive and in-depth interview with a noted astrophysicist, astronomer, particle, physicist, radio telescope engineer, data scientist, or space scientist.
Our MP3 files can be freely streamed or downloaded to your favorite device from our SoundCloud channel, from Pocketcasts, Spotify, our free Amazon Audible stream, YouTube podcasts and Apple Podcasts.
Today I’m filling in for Ian while Ian is away presenting at the world Clinical Toxicology Congress and I’ll be telling you all the fabulous things up in the sky for the star-studded month of October…… Let’s go!
First up …
October’s Moon Phases
Perigee Full Moon: Tuesday, October 7 (This is also the ‘Hunter’s Moon’ and the year’s largest and brightest Supermoon) actual Perigee when it is Closest is on October 8
Last Quarter: Tuesday, October 14
New Moon: Tuesday, October 21
Apogee furthest October 24
First Quarter: Friday, October 30
and … here are our Observing Highlights for October
Friday 3 October 2025 Asteroid Ceres at opposition binocular visible
Saturday 4th October is International Observe the Moon Night.
Monday 6 October 2025 Moon near Saturn (9° apart) in the evening sky
Tuesday 7 October 2025 Jupiter in the heart of NGC 2420
Tuesday 14 October 2025 Jupiter near Last Quarter Moon (6° apart) in morning sky
Sunday 19 October 2025 Mercury near Mars (2° apart) in evening twilight
Meteor Shower
Tuesday & Wednesday 21-22 October is the peak for the Orionid meteor shower should be excellent viewing with dark skies Conditions will be ideal, with a new moon providing dark skies for viewing the meteors, which are debris from Halley’s Comet. You should expect to see around 10-20 meteors per hour under ideal, dark sky conditions.
- Best time of night: The hours just before dawn, after midnight, when the radiant (the apparent point from which the meteors originate) is highest in the sky.
Thursday 23 October- the thin crescent Moon is near Mars (4° apart) in evening twilight, forming a triangle with Mercury
October Comets:
There is a new comet … C/2025 R2 (SWAN)
Comet C/2025 R2 (Swan) is a very recently discovered comet that is around magnitude 7 (which means it is binoculars only), but it is well placed near some very bright guide stars so it will be easy to find.
Ian’s Comet R2 page shows where you can find its locations up till October 10, and there is some evidence the nucleus has split. What this means for brightness is uncertain, but it might either get brighter of disintegrate.
You can find Ian’s Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) page at tinyurl-DOT-com/cometr2 < all lowercase all one word with the number 2>
Comet watchers will also hunt for Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) which will be visible to the Southern Hemisphere low in the evening sky from mid-November 2025, with the best chances for viewing in the northern parts of Australia. While the comet will pass Earth in October, it remains a northern hemisphere object during that time; however, observers in the Southern Hemisphere can still catch it after sunset in mid-to-late November.
and finally … TCoronaBorealis still hasn’t gone nova, so keep watching it!
See you in two weeks.
SFX Music: “Radio Waves”
The Astronomy Astrophiz Podcasts 