In this month’s Sky Tour astronomy podcast, we’ll watch two sets of shooting stars, spot some bright planets, point out a few late-autumn constellations, and put a spotlight on five fascinating stars.
What is happening in the sky for the month of November 2025.
** November 2025 Sky Events: Biggest Supermoon, Meteor Showers & Planetary Wonders | Cosmic Explorer
Get ready to explore the night sky in November 2025! From the biggest Supermoon of the year on November 5 to the Southern and Northern Taurid meteor showers, the Leonids, and close encounters of the Moon with Saturn, Jupiter, and Neptune, this month is packed with celestial wonders.
Whether you’re a stargazer or astronomy enthusiast, don’t miss these amazing November sky events! Watch the skies, grab your binoculars or telescope, and enjoy the cosmic show!
A supermoon takes over the sky, the Draconid meteor shower peeks through, and the Orionid meteor shower shines bright.
0:00 Intro 0:13 Supermoon 0:51 International Observe the Moon Night 1:14 Draconid meteor shower 1:53 Orionid meteor shower 3:00 October Moon phases
Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/.
“Illustrated infographic showing the difference (as seen from Earth) between perigee, when a supermoon appears, and apogee, when a micromoon appears.” Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
** Harvest Moon rises, Jupiter and Saturn at their best. What’s in the night sky, October 2025 | BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Find out how to see the biggest planets in the Solar System while they’re big and bright, and find out what makes the Harvest Moon so special.
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. Get all the details and lots more stargazing info by downloading this month’s Sky Tour podcast!
** The Night Sky | October 2025 | Comet A6 LEMMON, R2 SWAN, 3I ATLAS, K1 ATLAS | Orionids Meteor Shower | Late Night Astronomy
It’s the month of the comets as we track four of them traveling through our solar system! Let’s take a look at what you can go out to see in the Night Sky for October of 2025!
Check out the night sky this month, September 2025. Here are videos and links to websites highlighting the top sights to observe.
** What’s Up: September 2025 Skywatching Tips from NASA | NASA JPL
What are some skywatching highlights in September 2025?
Saturn shines all month long, a conjunction between a planet, star, and the Moon, and we ring in the autumnal equinox.
0:00 Intro 0:04 Saturn viewing 0:58 A sunrise conjunction 1:46 The autumnal equinox 2:11 September Moon phases
Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/.
September’s night sky features the iconic Summer Triangle, almost directly overhead at nightfall, and a newcomer to the evening sky: the planet Saturn, which will rise in the east not long after sunset. Get tips for viewing these and lots more stargazing info by downloading this month’s Sky Tour podcast!
What are some skywatching highlights in August 2025?
A close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus peaks on the 11th and 12th. Viewing the Perseid meteors will be hampered by a bright Moon. And look for the Dumbbell Nebula, which offers a peek into how stars like our Sun go out in style.
0:00 Intro 0:13 August planet viewing 1:17 Perseids outlook 1:43 The Dumbbell Nebula 3:07 August Moon phases
Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/.
Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal the best things to see in the night sky this month, including Venus and Jupiter’s close approach, Uranus’s meeting with the Pleiades, Saturn and Neptune’s nightly tango and the low-down full Moon.
Find out “what’s up” in the August sky! This month we track down four planets before dawn; have some fun with New Moons; peek at some Perseids; and gaze at the center of our galaxy. So load up on the bug juice, and come along on this month’s Sky Tour.
** The Night Sky | August 2025 | Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS | Saturn & Titan | Perseids Meteor Shower |Late Night Astronomy
An interstellar comet is traveling through our solar system, the shadow of Titan moves across Saturn and a major meteor shower peaks. Let’s take a look at what you can see in the night sky for August of 2025.
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Timestamps: 0:00 Saturn and Titan 2:45: Interstellar Comet 3I ATLAS 4:28 Perseids Meteor Shower 5:33 The Moon 6:26 The Planets 7:25 Deep Sky Challenge
This is HOPS-315, a baby star where astronomers have observed evidence for the earliest stages of planet formation. The image was taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner. Together with data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), these observations show that hot minerals are beginning to solidify. In orange we see the distribution of carbon monoxide, blowing away from the star in a butterfly-shaped wind. In blue we see a narrow jet of silicon monoxide, also beaming away from the star. These gaseous winds and jets are common around baby stars like HOPS-315. Together the ALMA and JWST observations indicate that, in addition to these features, there is also a disc of gaseous silicon monoxide around the star that is condensing into solid silicates –– the first stages of planetary formation.
International researchers have, for the first time, pinpointed the moment when planets began to form around a star beyond the Sun. Using the ALMA telescope, in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, and the James Webb Space Telescope, they have observed the creation of the first specks of planet-forming material — hot minerals just beginning to solidify. This finding marks the first time a planetary system has been identified at such an early stage in its formation and opens a window to the past of our own Solar System.
“For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our Sun,”
says Melissa McClure, a professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands and lead author of the new study, published today in Nature.
Co-author Merel van ‘t Hoff, a professor at Purdue University, USA, compares their findings to
“a picture of the baby Solar System“, saying that “we’re seeing a system that looks like what our Solar System looked like when it was just beginning to form.”
This newborn planetary system is emerging around HOPS-315, a ‘proto’ or baby star that sits some 1300 light-years away from us and is an analogue of the nascent Sun. Around such baby stars, astronomers often see discs of gas and dust known as ‘protoplanetary discs’, which are the birthplaces of new planets. While astronomers have previously seen young discs that contain newborn, massive, Jupiter-like planets, McClure says,
“we’ve always known that the first solid parts of planets, or ‘planetesimals’, must form further back in time, at earlier stages.”
In our Solar System, the very first solid material to condense near Earth’s present location around the Sun is found trapped within ancient meteorites. Astronomers age-date these primordial rocks to determine when the clock started on our Solar System’s formation. Such meteorites are packed full of crystalline minerals that contain silicon monoxide (SiO) and can condense at the extremely high temperatures present in young planetary discs. Over time, these newly condensed solids bind together, sowing the seeds for planet formation as they gain both size and mass. The first kilometre-sized planetesimals in the Solar System, which grew to become planets such as Earth or Jupiter’s core, formed just after the condensation of these crystalline minerals.
These images illustrate how hot gas condenses into solid minerals around the baby star HOPS-315. The image to the left was taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner. Two insets show artist’s impressions of molecules of silicon monoxide condensing into solid silicates.
With their new discovery, astronomers have found evidence of these hot minerals beginning to condense in the disc around HOPS-315. Their results show that SiO is present around the baby star in its gaseous state, as well as within these crystalline minerals, suggesting it is only just beginning to solidify.
“This process has never been seen before in a protoplanetary disc — or anywhere outside our Solar System,”
says co-author Edwin Bergin, a professor at the University of Michigan, USA.
These minerals were first identified using the James Webb Space Telescope, a joint project of the US, European and Canadian space agencies. To find out where exactly the signals were coming from, the team observed the system with ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, which is operated by ESO together with international partners in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
With these data, the team determined that the chemical signals were coming from a small region of the disc around the star equivalent to the orbit of the asteroid belt around the Sun.
“We’re really seeing these minerals at the same location in this extrasolar system as where we see them in asteroids in the Solar System,“
says co-author Logan Francis, a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden University.
Because of this, the disc of HOPS-315 provides a wonderful analogue for studying our own cosmic history. As van ‘t Hoff says,
“this system is one of the best that we know to actually probe some of the processes that happened in our Solar System.”
It also provides astronomers with a new opportunity to study early planet formation, by standing in as a substitute for newborn solar systems across the galaxy.
ESO astronomer and European ALMA Programme Manager Elizabeth Humphreys, who did not take part in the study, says:
“I was really impressed by this study, which reveals a very early stage of planet formation. It suggests that HOPS-315 can be used to understand how our own Solar System formed. This result highlights the combined strength of JWST and ALMA for exploring protoplanetary discs.”
