SkyGuide October 2025
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DwarfVision October SkyGuide: A Quartet of Comets!
Catch a comet or four!
October 21-22 – Orionid Meteor Shower Peak
Shoot a Deep Sky Highlight
Welcome to the DwarfVision October SkyGuide for 2025! A new chill sharpens the autumn air, sweeping the summer haze from our skies and revealing a deeper, more transparent cosmos. As the glittering river of the Milky Way’s core sinks into the west, it feels like a grand curtain falling on one act of the celestial play. But in the east, a new one begins, revealing a treasure trove of distant island universes and the silent, ghostly passage of visitors from the dark.
This month, we invite you to share in that spectacle. This guide is a map for everyone—from seasoned DWARF-wranglers pushing their scopes to the limit, to the curious soul just starting their journey with a pair of binoculars. It’s a chance to connect not just with the stars, but with a community of fellow sky-watchers, all looking up in shared wonder.
The main event this October is a true cosmic pageant, as a quartet of comets—icy wanderers from the far-flung darkness—brighten in our skies. These visitors carry with them a unique perspective, a chilling memory of the solar system's distant past. For our ancestors, their sudden appearance was a source of profound awe and wonder, a celestial omen painting the night with myth and mystery. Today, that awe remains, but the quiet hum of science joins it. We now track these silent travelers with precision, watching their journey not only for the spectacle but as celestial guardians, ever-vigilant for any that might stray too close to our home, a silent reminder of impacts in the distant past. This month offers a perfect chance to connect with that ancient wonder with our modern marvels, capturing the motion and character of these ghosts from the deep dark.
LET'S GET STARTED!
Main Story: A Quartet of Comets Graces the Autumn Sky
Main Story: A Quartet of Comets Graces the Autumn Sky
October is officially comet month! We are tracking a fantastic lineup of four distinct and exciting objects as they brighten. This offers a perfect challenge for DWARF scopes and a rewarding hunt for all observers. Capturing the motion and character of a comet against the stars is one of the most exciting projects in astrophotography.
1. The Headliner: C/2025 A6 (Lemmon)
This is the comet generating the most buzz. After an unexpected outburst in brightness over the summer, C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is now predicted to be the best and brightest comet of the year.
What to Expect: Current predictions suggest it could reach magnitude 4, or even brighter, by late October. This would make it visible to the naked eye from dark sky locations and a spectacular sight in binoculars. It is known for its beautiful greenish coma, caused by diatomic carbon. It will be well-placed for Northern Hemisphere observers, moving through Ursa Major and Canes Venatici early in the month before heading towards Boötes.
The DWARFVISION Challenge: Capture that color! Use an Astro (UV/IR Cut) filter and careful color calibration in your processing to bring out the distinct green hue of the coma. Its tail is also showing a complex structure, so longer imaging sessions can reveal fascinating details.
Interactive Tracking: Track C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) live on TheSkyLive.com
Want to learn the pro technique for stacking comets? Our step-by-step SIRIL guide is available now, view or download the guide here. Subscribe for more guides like this one, and consider upgrading to our CREW tier to access this and all our exclusive content!
2. The Interstellar Enigma: 3I/ATLAS
This is not just any comet; it's a true alien visitor. 3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object ever detected passing through our solar system.
While not an alien ship, 3I/ATLAS is a true ghost from the interstellar dark. Its incredible speed isn't propulsion, but a consequence of its lonely path—a brief fall through our solar system, destined never to return. The awe of this object lies in its profound mystery. The light it reflects tells a quiet tale of a different stellar nursery, a subtly alien chemistry born in a star system we cannot see. Is it a silent, rocky wanderer or an icy exile breathing out a faint ghost of gas? We don't know. Its journey began long ago from an unknown star, and every photon we collect is a whisper from that distant, mysterious home.
A deep image of interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS captured by the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini South at Cerro Pachón in Chile
What to Expect: This object is faint, likely around 11th magnitude, and will be a significant challenge. It is on an extreme hyperbolic trajectory, meaning it's moving incredibly fast and will never return. It's a fleeting visitor from the space between the stars.
The DWARFVISION Challenge: This is the ultimate prize for dedicated DWARF-wranglers. Detecting this faint, fast-moving object requires precise pointing, dark skies, and a decent amount of integration time. Just capturing it as a faint fuzzy spot is a major accomplishment, proving you've imaged an object from another star system. Track 3I/ATLAS live on TheSkyLive.com
3. The Rising Star: C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)
This is the major comet discovered by the ATLAS survey that many have been tracking (sometimes referred to as 'the great ATLAS comet of 2025').
What to Expect: While not as bright as Lemmon, C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) is still a fantastic target. By October, it should be glowing around magnitude 8-9. This makes it a prime target for DWARF scopes and amateur telescopes, appearing as a distinct fuzzy patch with a developing tail as it glides through the constellations Virgo and Corvus.
The DWARFVISION Challenge: Track its motion. Create a time-lapse by processing your data in 30-minute batches to show the comet's steady march across the starfield. This is a classic and highly rewarding astrophotography project. Track C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) live on TheSkyLive.com
4. The Southern Visitor: C/2025 R2 (SWAN)
Adding an international flair to our skies, this comet, discovered by the SWAN instrument on the SOHO spacecraft, is now becoming visible to us in the north.
Australian comet expert Michael Mattiazzo< captured this image of the new comet on September 12, 2025. - from EarthSky.com
What to Expect: It will be low on our southwestern horizon after sunset but could be a worthwhile catch. It is expected to be around magnitude 7-8. Its proximity to the horizon makes it a more challenging target due to atmospheric haze.
The DWARF Challenge: This is a test of your planning skills. You will need a clear view to the southwest and must start your imaging session as a soon as the sky is dark enough. Capturing this comet is a badge of honor for northern observers this month. Track C/2025 R2 (SWAN) live on TheSkyLive.com
October's Celestial Calendar
Use a tool like Stellarium (Web or Desktop) to get a live, interactive view of these events from your exact location!
All Month – Saturn Shines Bright: Fresh from its opposition in September, Saturn is brilliantly placed for viewing in the evening sky. Look for the golden-hued "star" in the constellation Aquarius. - STELLARIUM SATURN
All Month – The Saturn-Neptune Dance Continues: The rare triple conjunction continues! Saturn remains a fantastic guidepost for locating the faint, distant ice giant Neptune with your telescope. STELLARIUM NEPTUNE
October 21-22 – Orionid Meteor Shower Peak: This is the highlight of the month! The Orionids can produce up to 20-25 bright, swift meteors per hour. Best of all, the peak coincides with the New Moon, meaning perfectly dark, moonless skies for a great show!
October 28-29 – The Moon meets Jupiter: Look to the eastern sky after sunset to see the waxing gibbous Moon pair up beautifully with the brilliant planet Jupiter. STELLARIUM JUPITER
CHANGE OF THE guardians
The Rise of the Winter Storytellers
As the final stars of the summer triangle dip towards the western horizon, a new cast of celestial characters begins its slow, majestic ascent in the east. This is more than just a changing of the guard; it is the turning of a tremendous cosmic page. For our ancestors, this was the sky's way of telling a story —a grand narrative of the coming cold, of completed harvests, and of the long, contemplative nights of winter.
The distinctive Pleiades as imaged by DwarfVisions D3 from several nights of data
The first to herald this change are the delicate, shimmering Pleiades, the Seven Sisters. To the ancient Greeks, their rise at sunset was a somber signal. The farmer and poet Hesiod warned, "When the Pleiades...are rising, begin your harvest, and your ploughing when they are going to set." Their appearance in the autumn evening sky meant the sailing season was over and the time for planting winter wheat had arrived. They ride upon the back of Taurus the Bull, whose fiery eye, the star Aldebaran, glares across the cosmos, a steadfast beacon in the encroaching darkness.
Mighty Orion
But the true king of the winter sky follows close behind. As the night deepens, the mighty hunter Orion shoulders his way above the horizon. No constellation has captured the human imagination quite like this one. To the ancient Egyptians, the rising of Orion was a moment of profound spiritual importance. They saw in him the celestial embodiment of their god Osiris, the ruler of the underworld, the symbol of death and resurrection. The annual flooding of the Nile, the lifeblood of their civilization, began as Orion’s constellation became visible in the dawn sky after its period of absence. This celestial giant was not just a pattern of stars, but a divine clock, a promise of renewal and life returning from the waters.
The figure of ORION rising in the East on a crisp autumns night
When we gaze upon these same stars tonight, we are looking at the same beacons that guided ancient farmers and inspired the myths of gods and heroes. We are connecting to an unbroken chain of human wonder, a story written in starlight that tells us of our place in the cosmos and the timeless turning of the seasons.
Deep Sky Showcase: Autumn's Treasures
With the nights getting longer, it's prime time for deep-sky imaging. These five objects were utterly invisible wonders to even our recent ancestors. Now, with our modern cameras, we can explore them and the unique story of the cosmos each one communicates.
The Great Andromeda Spiral as imaged by DwarfVision's D3 from several nights of data
1. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) - Spiral Galaxy
What it is: Yes, we featured Andromeda last month, but this celestial titan deserves an encore! To our ancestors, it was a faint, mysterious smudge in the sky. Today, our cameras reveal it for what it is: an entire island universe of one trillion stars, twice the size of our own Milky Way. Capturing Andromeda is a humbling lesson in cosmic scale, a portrait of our grand galactic neighbour.
DWARF-Wrangler's Guide: A perfect target. The DWARF's field of view can frame the galaxy's bright core and sprawling arms. Use an Astro (UV/IR Cut) filter and gather at least 2-3 hours of data to bring out the faint dust lanes. For the ultimate portrait, try a multi-panel mosaic to capture its whole, breathtaking expanse, including its satellite galaxies M32 and M110. It remains high in the sky for most of the night, making it ideal for extended imaging sessions.
Open to All: Easily visible in any pair of binoculars as a large, fuzzy patch.
2. The Double Cluster (NGC 869 & NGC 884) - Open Star Clusters
What it is: While the ancients saw this as a misty patch, our telescopes resolve it into a breathtaking cosmic jewel box. These are two swarms of brilliant, young stars, burning with an intense blue-white fire. This target conveys stellar youth and vibrancy; we are looking at a stellar nursery, a snapshot of suns in their energetic infancy — a sight of unimaginable richness to all who came before us.
DWARF-Wrangler's Guide: This target was practically made for the DWARF. It fits perfectly in the telephoto frame. Image it after 10 PM when it has climbed higher in the northeast. For a wider, contextual shot that shows its place in the Milky Way, use a wide-angle lens.
View the Double Cluster in Stellarium Web
Open to All: A magnificent sight in binoculars.
Mosaic of IC 1396 and Ele's Trunk as imaged by DwarfVision's D3
3. The Elephant's Trunk Nebula (IC 1396) - Emission Nebula
What it is: This vast complex of glowing gas and dark dust was entirely invisible for humanity for all history until the photographic age. It is a true wonder of modern astronomy. We are peering into a stellar womb, where the dark lanes are not emptiness, but dense cocoons of dust where new suns are just beginning to ignite. This object communicates the ongoing, hidden process of cosmic creation.
DWARF-Wrangler's Guide (Challenge!): This is a faint and enormous emission nebula, making it a prime candidate for the DWARF's mosaic mode. It's well-positioned high overhead in the early evening. The DuoBand filter is highly recommended to make the delicate structures pop.
View IC 1396 in Stellarium Web
Open to All: A telescope-only object requiring very dark skies.
A Zoom in on M33 as imaged by DwarfVision's D3
4. The Triangulum Galaxy (M33) - Spiral Galaxy
What it is: A more subtle and ghostly island universe than its grand neighbour, Andromeda. But what our modern cameras reveal is not a lesser galaxy, but one with a unique and wild character. Instead of tightly wound, elegant arms, Triangulum presents a sprawling, fluffy tapestry of star birth. It is studded with vast, glowing pink clouds of hydrogen—some of the largest and most brilliant stellar nurseries in our entire Local Group. Capturing M33 is a chance to witness a galaxy in the vibrant, chaotic act of creation.
DWARF-Wrangler's Guide (Challenge!): While M33 has a low surface brightness that benefits from telephoto imaging, here's the ultimate wide-field challenge: use the DWARF's wide-angle lens to capture both M33 and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in a single shot! This ambitious portrait of our Local Group neighbours will also frame the bright star Mirach (Beta Andromedae) and the entire constellation of Triangulum. It's a test of your dark-sky site and processing skills to extract both faint galaxies from the background.
Open to All: Visible in binoculars from a truly dark site as a very faint, diffuse glow.
The Helix or "eye of God" as imaged by DwarfVision's D3
5. The Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) - Planetary Nebula
What it is: This is a glimpse into our own Sun's distant future. A star like ours has gently puffed away its outer layers, leaving behind this intricate, ethereal ghost. Entirely invisible to our great-grandparents, we now view it as a cosmic memento mori. Often called the "Eye of God," it feels as though the universe is looking back at us, communicating the beautiful, inevitable cycle of stellar life and death.
DWARF-Wrangler's Guide: This target is a challenge due to its low altitude for northern observers. You must start imaging it as soon as it gets dark and before it sets in the southwest. The DuoBand filter will work wonders here. Its size fits the DWARF's frame well, so a mosaic is not necessary.
View NGC 7293 in Stellarium Web
Open to All: Visible in large binoculars or a small telescope from a dark site.
Join the CREW
Unlock Your Full Potential: Join the DwarfVision CREW
Love what you see in the sky? Ready to turn your captures into masterpieces? The journey of astrophotography is enriching, but it can also be challenging. That's why we created the DwarfVision CREW—our new paid subscription tier designed to accelerate your progress and connect you with a dedicated community. While our free articles will always provide inspiration and guidance, becoming a CREW member is your backstage pass to mastering the craft.
As a CREW member, you will get:
Exclusive Tutorials: Get step-by-step guides on how we process these exact datasets.
Downloadable Presets & Settings Guides: Access our custom processing presets and DWARF scope settings.
Access to our curated DWARF 3 Data Library: Each month, we will release a new "Dataset of a Month."
Direct Support: Get personalized help via direct messaging for your DWARF capturing, SIRIL stacking, and post-processing questions.
Clear skies, everyone! We can't wait to see your images of these incredible October targets. Please share your results on our Facebook group, use the hashtag #DwarfVision, and keep looking up!
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