Draconids and Orionids Meteor Showers Light the Sky This October 2025 — Here’s How to See

October 2025 is the month of meteor showers. In fact, while the Draconids will continue to exist today and tomorrow, the Orionids will shine brightest in about two weeks. While the former tends to be a little less impressive, the latter is often one of the most stunning showers of the year, making it a must-see for many sky and stargazers.

Here are some tips for following these rules. sister takes a shower this year – if you haven't noticed them yet.

Read more: Thousands of meteorites fall on Earth every year – here's what they bring

Draconid meteor shower

The Draconid meteor shower is a famously short shower that ends almost immediately after it starts. This year, the show was projected to run from October 6, 2025 to October 10, 2025, when it would be seen in the evening rather than the early morning. It was created from the debris of a comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinnerwhich orbits the Sun every six to seven years or so.

The shower was predicted to peak on October 8, 2025, when it would be most noticeable at sunset as the sky began to darken. However, this was probably difficult to detect. This is because this rain would share the sky with the larger and brighter moon. Indeed, the peak of the rainfall occurred just a couple of days after supermoona full moon that occurs around the same time that the satellite is at perigee, or its closest position to our planet. The size and brightness of the moon in the sky would dwarf the shine of the rain, making observers less likely to see the Draconids glow.

Spotting rain today or tomorrow isn't particularly promising either, although your best bet is to look at the constellation Draco in the northern sky. You may not see anything, but there will always be another chance to see the Draconids – if you're willing to wait.

The Draconid meteor shower occurs every year when our planet passes through the same place. comet dust in our Solar System. Most of the time, only a few meteors are visible. But sometimes there are stronger showers or meteor storms, when thousands of sparks fly in the darkness.

Read more: Near-Earth asteroids could be the source of future meteor showers

Orionid meteor shower

If the year is too long to wait for the next Draconid appearance, then there is another opportunity to observe meteors in October. The Orionid meteor shower, forecast to peak around October 21, 2025, could be an astronomical scene, with meteors appearing just minutes apart.

This is comet debris 1P/Halleymore commonly called Halley's Comet, which causes this spectacle, which also occurs once a year. (The comet, meanwhile, takes 76 years to orbit the Sun.) In 2025, the shower will last from September 26, 2025 to November 22, 2025, with the best chances of seeing something special happening between 12 and 2 a.m. on the day of maximum activity.

Your chances of spotting the Orionid shower may be higher than your chances of seeing the Draconid shower if you haven't already caught it this year. Not only will the Orionids last longer, but they will also appear in moonless skies as the shower's culmination coincides with the new moon.

To view the Orionid meteor shower, go to a dark location (away from city or suburban lights) and face the southeastern sky. You may see meteors concentrated around the constellation Orion, although some may appear around other stars. So, buck up and pay attention—you might see something spectacular this October.

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