Don’t Miss These Astrophotography Opportunities in October 2025
Sep 25, 2025
Soumyadeep Mukherjee
Soumyadeep Mukherjee is an award-winning astrophotographer from India. He has a doctorate degree in Linguistics. His work extends to the sub-genres of nightscape, deep sky, solar, lunar and optical phenomenon photography. He is also a photography educator and has conducted numerous workshops. His works have appeared in over 40 books & magazines including Astronomy, BBC Sky at Night, Sky & Telescope among others, and in various websites including National Geographic, NASA, Forbes. He was the first Indian to win “Astronomy Photographer of the Year” award in a major category.
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Every month brings some unique astronomical events that you can see with the naked eye and photograph. In this article, let us take a look at the astrophotography opportunities in October 2025.
October 7: Full Hunter’s moon
The tenth full moon of 2025 will appear on the 7th of October. The October full moon is also known as the hunter’s moon. Full moons are always a great opportunity to photograph them with a telephoto lens. It will also allow you to capture the moonrise in the evening and the moonset in the early morning.
October 18: Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon)
In October, we will have a new guest: Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon). The comet reaches its perigee on 21st October. It is estimated to reach a peak brightness of -1 mag during this period. For a comet, this is extremely bright, and it might become visible with the naked eye from dark sky locations.
October 18 onwards, astrophotographers and comet hunters can begin photographing the comet. It will be visible in the North-West – West sky after sunset. However, it will remain low in the sky, making it a little challenging to photograph.
October 25: Lunar occultation of Antares
On the early evening of 25th October, the bright star Antares will disappear behind the moon, of course, from our perspective. This occultation, however, won’t be visible from all locations in the world. For some locations, it will only appear as a close approach between the Moon and Antares. We recommend checking Stellarium to see if it is visible from your location.
October 21: New moon
The new moon week is the best time to plan your dark sky trips. Capture the minute details of constellations, nebulae, and galaxies without any interference from moonlight. Whether you are a wide-field astrophotographer or a deep sky photographer, the nights around the new moon will offer you the best conditions for astrophotography.
October 21-22: Orionids Meteor Shower
At its height, the Orionid shower can produce up to 20 meteors every hour on average. It is made from dust grains that comet Halley, which has been known and seen since antiquity, left behind. Every year, from October 2 to November 7, the shower is visible. This year, the evening of October 21 and the morning of October 22 mark its peaks. It should be a great show, with black sky throughout the night due to the moon’s absence. It will be best viewed after midnight from a dark spot. Although they might appear anywhere in the sky, meteors will emanate from the constellation Orion.
Other opportunities throughout the month
Along with the celestial events mentioned above, the sky will present more opportunities to catch a few more objects. And some will be better than before.
The “Milky Way season” is ending
The Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way, one of the most beautiful and popular regions to photograph, now sets early in the evening, visible right after sunset. It will be visible only for 30-45 minutes after sunset. This will be a great (and your last) opportunity to photograph the Milky Way along with other nightscape and deepscape images.
The “Orion season” begins
While the Sagittarius region of the Milky Way sets early in the evening, the Orion season begins. The Orion arm, along with the Orion constellation, will rise around 10 PM. This is a great opportunity for beginners and advanced astrophotographers to photograph this wonderful region.
Moon meets the planets
The moon will be positioned with different planets throughout the month. The month begins with a conjunction between the Moon and Saturn on 6th October. On 14th October, the Moon will come close to Jupiter. Moon and Venus will come close to one another on 20th October. On 23rd October, Moon will meet the red planet, Mars.
Sunspots
The sun is undergoing what is called the “solar maximum”. During this period, the activity on the solar surface remains high. This would be a great opportunity to photograph the sunspots with a white-light filter attached to your telephoto lens.
[It is mandatory to follow precautions during solar photography. Make sure the filter is tightly and correctly attached to the lens. Do not look at the sun with your naked eyes or through the viewfinder of your camera.]
Hope you have a great month with lots of astrophotography opportunities ahead.
Clear skies!
Soumyadeep Mukherjee
Soumyadeep Mukherjee is an award-winning astrophotographer from India. He has a doctorate degree in Linguistics. His work extends to the sub-genres of nightscape, deep sky, solar, lunar and optical phenomenon photography. He is also a photography educator and has conducted numerous workshops. His works have appeared in over 40 books & magazines including Astronomy, BBC Sky at Night, Sky & Telescope among others, and in various websites including National Geographic, NASA, Forbes. He was the first Indian to win “Astronomy Photographer of the Year” award in a major category.
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