Meteor Showers in October 2025: When, Where & How To Watch Them
Seven meteor showers will reach their maximum activity in October 2025, including the prolific Orionids and bright Draconids. Use the astronomical calendar in the Sky Tonight app to learn the peak dates for each meteor shower, see their radiant position in the sky above you, and set notifications not to miss the best time for observation. Also, read this article to learn the latest meteor shower news!
Contents
- Major October Meteor Showers
- Minor October Meteor Showers
- How to watch a meteor shower tonight?
- Meteor showers in October 2025: the key takeaway
Major October Meteor Showers
October 8: Draconids’ peak
- Meteors per hour: 5
- Moon Illumination: 98%
- Active: October 6-10
- Radiant location: constellation Draco
- Visible from: Northern Hemisphere
- Visibility forecast: Observing conditions are very poor for Draconids in 2025, as the peak occurs shortly after the Full Moon. Still, some forecasts suggest a brief outburst of activity between 15:00 and 16:00 GMT, with rates possibly reaching 100-150 meteors per hour. The best chances to see the outburst are for observers in the Northern Hemisphere east of 40°E longitude. Blocking the bright Moon by a tree or building will improve meteor visibility.
- Description: The Draconid meteor shower is odd and unpredictable. Unlike the other meteor showers that are best visible before dawn, the Draconids provide the best view in the evening hours. In most years, they produce no more than ten meteors under dark skies, but there have been times when they entertained stargazers with several hundred meteors in a single hour. The next time such a show is forecast for 2062. The Draconids’ parent body is the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, which is why they are also sometimes called the Giacobinids. Learn more about the Draconid meteor shower in our dedicated article.
October 21: Orionids’ peak
- Meteors per hour: 20
- Moon Illumination: 0%
- Active: October 2 - November 7
- Radiant location: constellation Orion
- Visible from: both hemispheres
- Visibility forecast: This year offers excellent conditions for observing the Orionids, with the peak falling on the night of the New Moon. The radiant is high in the sky from around local midnight in both hemispheres, and observers may even witness small outbursts of activity on the nights around the peak.
- Description: The Orionids are known for their fast meteors and occasional bright fireballs. They enter the Earth’s atmosphere at 66 km/s (about 148,000 mph)! These fast meteors also produce ionized gas trails that last for several seconds. In general, Orionids are among the most beautiful meteor showers of the year. Learn more about it in our dedicated article.
Minor October Meteor Showers
October 5: October Camelopardalids’ peak
- Meteors per hour: 5
- Moon Illumination: 98%
- Active: October 5-6
- Radiant location: constellation Camelopardalis
- Visible from: Northern Hemisphere
- Visibility forecast: This year, conditions for observing the October Camelopardalids are poor — the nearly full Moon will brighten the sky and make most meteors hard to see. The only good news (for the observers in the Northern Hemisphere) is that the shower’s radiant is circumpolar and remains visible all night.
- Description: The origin of the October Camelopardalids is a mystery. The meteors have an orbit that suggests they probably came from a Halley-type long-period comet. However, there is no known comet that has been identified as the source of the Camelopardalids. That means either that we haven't discovered it yet, or that the comet has already disintegrated or collided with another object.
October 11: Delta Aurigids’ peak
- Meteors per hour: 2
- Moon Illumination: 76%
- Active: October 10-18
- Radiant location: constellation Auriga
- Visible from: Northern Hemisphere
- Visibility forecast: This year, conditions for observing the Delta Aurigids are unfavorable, as the peak coincides with a bright waning Moon that will obscure most meteors. With rates of only about 2 meteors per hour, this shower will appeal only to the most dedicated meteor hunters.
- Description: The δ-Aurigids (Delta Aurigids) are not broadly studied. Current information about this stream is based on IMO video data since the late 1990s; therefore, any observations might refine our knowledge about it.
October 13: Southern Taurids’ early peak
- Meteors per hour: 5
- Moon Illumination: 53%
- Active: September 10 - November 20
- Radiant location: constellation Taurus
- Visible from: both hemispheres
- Visibility forecast: The Southern Taurids’ main peak in November coincides with the Full Moon, which will hide most meteors. That’s why the early peak around October 13, when the Moon is only half-illuminated, offers a better chance to see this meteor shower. With rates of about 5 meteors per hour, the shower is modest but can be observed from both hemispheres.
- Description: This meteor shower is perfect for meteor photography newcomers. The Southern Taurids’ bright and relatively slow meteors are ideal targets for capturing; this stream also has a stable and low meteor rate that allows for practicing visual planning techniques. The parent body of the Southern Taurids is comet 2P/Encke. The meteor shower has a “sibling,” the Northern Taurids, which are active from October 20 to December 10 and peak on November 12. You can learn more about the Taurids from our dedicated article.
October 18: Epsilon Geminids’ peak
- Meteors per hour: 3
- Moon Illumination: 7%
- Active: October 14-27
- Radiant location: constellation Gemini
- Visible from: both hemispheres
- Visibility forecast: In 2025, the conditions for observing the Epsilon Geminids are favorable, as the peak occurs two days before the New Moon. Northern Hemisphere observers can start looking for meteors from around midnight local time, while in the Southern Hemisphere, the radiant sits lower in the sky, so it’s best to start observations later.
- Description: In comparison to the Geminids in December, the ε-Geminids (Epsilon Geminids) are way less entertaining. With only a couple of meteors visible per hour, they’re not worth going outside during the night, especially if it’s cold there. However, the ε-Geminids are a nice addition to the Orionid meteors in general, as they peak at around the same time.
October 24: Leonis Minorids’ peak
- Meteors per hour: 2
- Moon Illumination: 9%
- Active: October 19-27
- Radiant location: constellation Leo Minor
- Visible from: Northern Hemisphere
- Visibility forecast: In 2025, the conditions for observing the Leonis Minorids are favorable, as the peak occurs near the New Moon. The shower can only be observed from the Northern Hemisphere, with the radiant rising around midnight.
- Description: The Leonis Minorid stream was first found in video meteor data. Under a dark sky, this meteor shower can be visible with the naked eye, but it’s too weak to be an interesting target for amateur stargazers.
How to watch a meteor shower tonight?
You can prepare for the most successful meteor shower observations with an astronomy app Sky Tonight. Here are some important things to keep in mind:
Find out the meteor shower’s peak time.
Open the Calendar feature in Sky Tonight and go to the Meteors section. Each meteor shower is marked as a colored line in the calendar, and the peak times are marked as dots. Choose the meteor shower you want to observe and tap on the event to get more information.
Find out when the radiant is high in the sky.
To find out when the radiant is the highest, tap on the name of the meteor shower (it's marked blue in the Info section of the meteor shower’s event page), then go to the Events section, and look at Visible Passes. The middle time is the time when the meteor shower’s radiant is highest in the sky for your location. Tap on it to see the radiant’s position on the sky map at that moment.
Check the weather forecast and the Moon’s phase.
In Sky Tonight, you can find the Moon’s phase, weather forecast, and more stargazing details for a given date in the Visible Tonight section (the telescope icon on the main screen).
Get more tips for watching meteor showers in our dedicated article. And if you think you are fully prepared, test your meteor-hunting skills by taking the quiz on how to catch a shooting star.
Meteor showers in October 2025: the key takeaway
October 2025 will bring seven meteor showers, including two major ones — the Draconids and the Orionids. While the Draconids might surprise observers with a short but powerful outburst (100-150 meteors per hour!), most of their meteors will be washed out by the bright Moon. The Orionids, on the other hand, will peak during a New Moon and promise one of the month’s best celestial shows, with about 20 meteors per hour. Several smaller showers, such as the Epsilon Geminids and Leonis Minorids, will also benefit from dark skies, though they produce only a few meteors per hour. Get ready for the nights of shooting stars with the astronomy calendar in our app Sky Tonight!
Wishing you clear skies and happy observations!
