Catch the Orionid Meteor Shower and Two Binocular Comets

Having trouble viewing this email? {Click here to read it on the Web.}

Read news from the world of astronomy for the week of October 17, 2025.

Subscribe to Sky & Telescope Magazine to receive full access to the articles below.

This week in the world of astronomy, catch two binocular comets and some late-night Orionid meteors. Plus, see the interstellar comet from spacecraft orbiting Mars.

Orionids-composite-2015-through-2022-Petr-Horalek-SS-Crop image

Dip a Toe in the Orionid Meteor Stream on October 20-21

Circumstances are ideal for watching debris from Halley’s Comet set the morning sky ablaze.

A “Great Wave” Is Crashing through the Milky Way

Precise measurements of stars’ motions show that a wave is propagating outward from our galaxy’s center — perhaps from a long-ago collision with another galaxy.

Mars Orbiters' Front-row Seats to the Interstellar Comet

The European Space Agency's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter caught Comet 3I/ATLAS as it flew by Mars.

Black Hole Eats through Star, Explodes it from Within

The longest-duration burst of gamma rays on record — lasting seven hours — might have marked the explosion of a star eaten by a black hole.

Visit Shop @ Sky for Atlases, Globes, and More!

Observing Highlights

SMP_2025Vic_Oct19mo-LIGHT_FEATURED image

This Week's Sky at a Glance, October 17 – 26

This week Comets C/2025 A6 Lemmon and C/2025 R2 SWAN will both be passing their closest to Earth and will probably be at their brightest.

Andromeda-Pegasus-inset-M31-label-web image

October Podcast: Pegasus Leads the Way

Pegasus is a large, distinctive constellation that’s easy to spot. During October, you can use it — along with Saturn — to find some amazing celestial sights in their vicinity.

Presented by: Celestron.

Amateur Observers Society of New York, Inc.

Join AOSNY on the 1st Sunday of every month from September through June for monthly guest speakers.

In the Footsteps of Galileo

Sky & Telescope’s 2025 “Galileo’s Italy” tour offered much more than sightseeing, as participants enjoyed multiple opportunities to stand on astronomical hallowed ground.