Under the Night Sky – 13/10/25 – 19/10/25

By Melanie McQuigg

Autumn has arrived, and the turning of the leaves is not the only natural phenomenon you should pay attention to. The days are gradually getting shorter and cooler, as the sky above gets better and brighter in the nocturnal hours. Although there aren’t any major celestial events to watch out for this week, it’s the perfect time to sit and watch the wonders of the night sky. The planets are on full display, the constellations are shifting, and the Moon is getting brighter, if you’re patient you will witness the marvels of the stratosphere.

This week…

Friday 10^th October – Waning Gibbous Moon and Jupiter Rises

Although the moon passed its brightest phase on Wednesday, the moon will remain bright as a waning gibbous moon, which is the phase between a full moon and a crescent moon. Over the next few nights, it will get closer to the Pleiades constellation (also known as the Seven Sister constellation), coming as close as one degree to it.

This convergence will be visible to the naked eye, but if you have binoculars or a telescope, you’ll spot many more stars within the cluster. As, despite its name, the Seven Sisters constellation is actually made up of hundreds of stars.

Monday 13th October – Moon near Jupiter

On Monday, the moon will be in its Last Quarter phase, which means that you will be able to see exactly half the moon.  It will b every close to Jupiter and will form an equilateral triangle with the constellation Castor and Pollux

You will be able to see this with the naked eye and if you look towards the east right before sunrise, you will see this alignment. Jupiter will be on the right of the moon. 

Wednesday 15th October – Rise of the Triangulum Galaxy

The Triangulum Galaxy, which is the third biggest in our group after Andromeda and the Milky Way, will be visible on Wednesday night. 

This galaxy will be visible from 8pm to 6am as it moves across the sky. You will be able to see this with the naked eye, but if you want to see the spiral of the galaxy using either a set of binoculars or a telescope is recommended.