As the calendar pages turn from late October to early November 2025, skywatchers across the globe are treated to a celestial spectacle that’s as dynamic as it is beautiful. The moon, our ever-present nightlight, transitions from a delicate waxing crescent to a nearly full, radiant orb, while the planets Saturn, Jupiter, and Venus parade across the night sky, each offering their own astronomical delights. With autumn reaching its midpoint, the heavens are alive with activity, inviting both seasoned stargazers and casual observers to look up and marvel.
On the evening of October 25, 2025, the moon appeared as a waxing crescent, illuminated at 26%, according to Astronomy magazine. That same night, Saturn’s enigmatic moon Iapetus reached its inferior conjunction, positioned just 1.3 arcminutes north of Saturn and shining at a faint 11th magnitude. For those with telescopes, this was a prime opportunity: Saturn itself, at magnitude 0.7, was the brightest point in the southern sky around 10 P.M. local daylight time, its famous rings stretching a magnificent 43 arcseconds wide. The planet’s disk, meanwhile, measured 19 arcseconds across, offering a striking view to anyone with the right equipment.
Saturn’s moons also put on a show that night. Titan, the largest and brightest, was far to the planet’s west. Closer to the western edge of the rings, the smaller Dione shimmered, while Tethys hovered just above the eastern tip. Rhea, another of Saturn’s retinue, lay farther east, and Iapetus kept its northward vigil. These positions, Astronomy noted, would shift as the night wore on, but Titan and Iapetus would remain relatively stationary, making them easier targets for amateur astronomers.
Meanwhile, the moon continued its steady journey through the lunar cycle. On October 26, 2025, as reported by Mashable, the phase advanced to a waxing crescent with 21% of the lunar surface illuminated. That night, observers without any visual aids could easily spot the Mare Crisium and Mare Fecunditatis—two vast, dark plains on the moon’s surface. If you happened to have binoculars or a telescope handy, the Endymion Crater was also visible, situated on the right side of the moon for those in the Northern Hemisphere (and on the left for those south of the equator).
For those keeping track, the lunar cycle lasts about 29.5 days, during which the moon transitions through eight primary phases: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, and Waning Crescent. This constant dance is orchestrated by the shifting positions of the sun, Earth, and moon, ensuring that no two nights look quite the same. The next major milestone would be the full moon, set to occur on November 5, 2025—a date many skywatchers had already circled on their calendars.
As November approached, the lunar show only intensified. On November 6, 2025, autumn reached its midpoint at 11:30 p.m. Central Time, according to When the Curves Line Up. That night, the moon would shine nearly all night, its face a brilliant 99% illuminated disk. Before sunrise, the moon would be about 25 degrees above the horizon, just 3.6 degrees to the lower right of the famed Pleiades star cluster. Those in Alaska to western Europe would witness a rare event: the moon occulting, or eclipsing, the Pleiades—an alignment that occurs only occasionally and never fails to capture the imagination.
But the moon wasn’t the only celestial body drawing attention. Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet, was high in the southwest during morning twilight on November 6, sitting 6.7 degrees to the lower left of Pollux, one of the Gemini twins. Saturn, though dimmer than usual due to the edge-on orientation of its icy rings (which reflect light away from Earth), was still a prominent fixture in the southeastern sky after sundown. Its proximity to the star Fomalhaut—the 13th brightest star at mid-northern latitudes and the most southerly among the brightest stars—added another layer of intrigue for those scanning the night sky.
Venus, often called the Morning Star, was low in the east-southeast before sunrise, shining near Spica (Virgo’s brightest star) and Arcturus, the second brightest star visible from mid-northern latitudes. The gap between Venus and Spica widened each morning, a subtle but noticeable change for attentive observers. Mercury and Mars, on the other hand, were lost in the bright western twilight after sundown, making them invisible to the naked eye. Mercury was moving toward its inferior conjunction—when it passes between Earth and the sun—before reappearing in the eastern predawn sky for its best morning apparition of the year. Mars, meanwhile, was also headed for a solar conjunction, after which it would slowly climb back into the morning sky.
By two hours after sundown on November 6, the moon, now 95% illuminated, would be low in the east-northeast, casting a silvery glow across the landscape. It would sit more than 6 degrees to the Pleiades’ lower left and over 10 degrees to Aldebaran’s upper left—Aldebaran being the brightest star in the constellation Taurus, easily recognizable by its distinctive red-orange hue.
As When the Curves Line Up explained, the interplay between the moon and the planets created a nightly tapestry of changing views. Neptune, the most distant planet in the solar system, could be found in the same binocular field as Saturn, although the moon’s brightness made spotting it a challenge. Deneb Kaitos, the tail of Cetus, was positioned below Saturn and lower in the sky than Fomalhaut, adding yet another point of interest for those with star charts in hand.
Even casual observers could appreciate the spectacle. The moon’s phases, the shifting positions of the planets, and the rare occultation of the Pleiades all underscored the dynamic nature of the night sky. For those willing to brave the autumn chill, the rewards were plentiful—a reminder that, even in our fast-paced world, the universe continues its ancient rhythms, offering moments of wonder to anyone who takes the time to look up.
So as November’s full moon rises and the planets continue their celestial dance, skywatchers everywhere can savor the knowledge that, for a few nights at least, the heavens are putting on a show that’s as old as time itself—and just as captivating.
