Monday, October 6, 2025
Tonight, the 10th full moon of 2025 will rise in the east after sunset. Traditionally called the “Hunter’s Moon,” the full moon in October can also be called the “Harvest Moon” approximately every three years. The term Harvest Moon is reserved for the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. Because the astronomical seasons do not line up with the lunar month, the harvest moon will usually occur in September.
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
On this date in 1906, James E. Webb was born. As NASA Administrator from 1961 to 1968, Webb helped NASA achieve the goal of landing a human on the Moon by 1970. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), named in his honor, launched on December 25, 2021.
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
The annual Draconids Meteor Shower will be near its peak on October 8th. The Draconids are produced by debris left in space from comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner. Usually a minor event producing only about 10 meteors per hour, the nearly full moon is likely to spoil any display in 2025.
Thursday, October 9, 2025
On this date in 2009, NASA’s Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was intentionally crashed into a permanently shadowed region of Cabeus crater near the Moon’s south pole. This impact created a plume of material from the bottom of the crater containing frozen water which had not seen sunlight in billions of years.
Friday, October 10, 2025
Today, Mercury reaches aphelion. Aphelion is the furthest point in Mercury’s orbit from the Sun. Mercury’s elliptical orbit carries it to a closest point of 0.307 AU at perihelion to 0.467 AU at aphelion. Unfortunately, Mercury is not currently visible in the nighttime sky.
Saturday, October 11, 2025
On this date in 1958, NASA launched their first spacecraft, Pioneer 1. Exactly one decade later on this date in 1968, NASA successfully launched the first crewed flight of the Apollo program, Apollo 7. Apollo 7 was the first time a three person American crew launched, and the first live television broadcast from space.
Sunday, October 12, 2025
On this date in 1964, the Soviet Union launched Voskhod 1. Voskhod 1 made history as the first spacecraft to carry multiple people to orbit. This mission was also the first to carry a scientist and a physician to space. After 16 orbits lasting a little over a day, the craft safely returned the crew to Earth.
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