A meteor storm and an alien comet could be the 'stars' in the sky this Fall
Amid the season with at least one meteor shower occurring every night, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS may become visible to us in early November.
With its longer, cooler nights, Autumn is an excellent time of year for stargazing, taking in a half-dozen meteor showers (including a potential meteor storm and fireball swarm), and possibly even spotting an alien visitor passing through our solar system.
At 2:19 pm EDT, on September 22, the Sun will cross the celestial equator, heading into the southern sky. This marks the Equinox — the beginning of astronomical fall in the northern hemisphere, and astronomical spring in the southern hemisphere.
Although the name ‘equinox’ might imply equal daylight and darkness, that’s actually not the case.
Both the northern and southern hemispheres will be lit equally by the Sun on the 22nd. However, our long-standing definitions for 'sunrise' and 'sunset' complicate matters. Since we track ‘daytime’ from when the Sun just starts to peek over the eastern horizon until it has completely slipped below the western horizon, we (technically) record too much daylight to have equal day and night on the equinoxes.
Instead, the day when we see equal light and dark in the fall is a few days after the equinox, while in March, it happens a few days before the spring equinox. Which exact day this occurs depends on how far away from the poles you are.
For locations across southern Canada, September 25 is the day when we will see equal day and night this fall. For those living farther north, such as in Whitehorse, YT, it occurs on September 24.
Here is The Weather Network's guide to Fall 2024 astronomical events:
Visit our Complete Guide to Fall 2025 for an in depth look at the Fall Forecast, tips to plan for it and much more!
The Interstellar Comet
Back in July, astronomers announced the discovery of a new comet, and by “new” they were not kidding. Comet 3I/ATLAS is making its very first pass through our solar system after arriving here from interstellar space!
Since its discovery, our most powerful telescopes both here on Earth and up in space have been tracking 3I/ATLAS, providing us with insights on its size and composition, and some of the latest images have shown its tail of dust and gas growing longer.
Comet 3I/ATLAS as imaged by the Gemini South observatory in Chile, on August 27, 2025. (International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the Scientist, Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab))
However, all this time, it has been far too dim to see with backyard telescopes.
The comet will disappear from our skies through mid-October as it swings around the opposite side of the Sun from Earth. Spacecraft orbiting Mars may get images of it at that time. However, it should become visible again to us towards the end of October, as it emerges from predawn twilight. It is predicted to reach its brightest, at around magnitude +14.9 to +15, from the end of October through the first week of November.
The location of 3I/ATLAS in the eastern predawn sky in late October and early November, 2025. The planet Venus will be nearby on these mornings, providing an excellent marker to help locate the dim comet. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
That is still very dim, and well beyond the ability of the human eye without some kind of assistance. Most small telescopes (6"-8" aperture) will also lack the power to resolve it. However, a large, 10-inch aperture telescope is capable of seeing down to magnitude 15, provided the observer is under dark skies, far from urban light pollution.
DON'T MISS: What is the mysterious Moon Illusion?
The Moon
We will see three Full Moons during the Fall season in 2025. Not only that, but they will all be supermoons, the largest and brightest Full Moons of the entire year!
(NASA SVS/Fred Espanak/Scott Sutherland)
The first of these supermoons rises on the night of October 6, as 2025's Harvest Moon. This is the Full Moon closest to the Fall Equinox, as it provides a few nights of bright moonlight to aid farmers in harvesting their crops.
The second Full Moon of the season is November 4's Beaver Moon. This will be 2025's Perigee Supermoon — the closest, largest, and brightest Full Moon of the entire year.
The third and last Full Moon of fall is the December Cold Moon, which will be up all night long on December 4-5.
READ MORE: Why are supermoons so compelling to us?
The Planets
Right at the start of the season, sharp-eyed observers may spot the planet Mars just above the western horizon after sunset. In late October, Mercury will join Mars, briefly, although both planets will be so close to the Sun at the time (at least from our perspective) that it will be a challenge to see them against the backdrop of evening twilight. Focus in on the western horizon on October 23, just after sunset, to see the Crescent Moon lined up with both planets, which may make them a bit easier to spot.
Look up throughout the season to see Saturn crossing the night sky, as it continues to lead a diminished 'planet parade'.
The 'planet parade' in the predawn sky on September 23, 2025, with Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn visible to the unaided eye. Uranus and Neptune can be spotted using a telescope. Mercury, which had been part of the parade to start, is no longer visible in the sky at this time. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
Saturn rises just after sunset as the season begins, with Jupiter following along after 1 a.m., and Venus appearing around 5 a.m., local time. Those with access to a telescope can spot Neptune just to the east of Saturn, while Uranus can be found near the Pleiades star cluster.
During the first few weeks of fall, the parade will stretch out across the sky. The first four members rise earlier each night, and thus are farther to the west by the time Venus rises, while Venus will be rising later and later, thus getting closer to the eastern horizon, morning by morning.
Venus, the Waning Crescent Moon, and Jupiter, in the predawn sky (around 6:30 a.m. local time) on October 18, 2025. (Stellarium)
By mid-October, the parade will end, though. We can still see Venus and Jupiter before sunrise, with Uranus continuing to 'hang out' near the Pleiades. However, Saturn and Neptune will be rising early enough by then that they will have slipped beyond the western horizon by the time Venus rises in the east.
Watch for the Moon to 'team up' with various planets during the fall season:
Oct 5-6: Waxing Gibbous Moon near Saturn
Oct 13, predawn: Last Quarter Moon near Jupiter
Oct 14, predawn: Waning Crescent Moon near Jupiter
Oct 19, predawn: Waning Crescent Moon near Venus
Oct 23, evening: Waxing Crescent Moon near Mars and Mercury
Nov 1-2: Waxing Gibbous Moon near Saturn
Nov 10, predawn: Waning Gibbous Moon near Jupiter
Nov 18, predawn: Waning Crescent Moon near Venus
Nov 29-30: Waxing Gibbous Moon near Saturn
Dec 7, predawn: Waning Gibbous Moon near Jupiter
Dec 17, predawn: Waning Crescent Moon near Mercury
The Season of Meteor Showers
Look up on any night of the year and you might be lucky enough to spot a meteor flashing by overhead. Meteors are caused by dust particles or tiny pieces of rock from space, as they are swept up by Earth’s atmosphere and produce a streak of light across the sky. At certain times of the year, though, we can witness dozens and sometimes hundreds of meteors, all seeming to emerge from a specific point in the night sky.
These events are known as meteor showers, with each named after the constellation that is closest to its point of origin (aka its ‘radiant’).
Of the three dozen meteor showers that occur throughout the year, roughly one dozen are significant enough to warrant taking time off to see. Each occurs over a number of days, as Earth passes through different streams of meteoroids in space left behind by either a comet or asteroid. Each also has one night of the year where it peaks, delivering the greatest number of meteors from that stream, from just a handful per hour for some showers, up to over a hundred per hour for others.
Fall stands out as the best time of year for meteors. This is because half of the major meteor showers occur in just this one season, and every night of the season there is at least one meteor shower going on in the sky above.
Here are the six fall meteor showers, in order of when they peak throughout the season:
The Draconids
The radiant of the Draconid meteor shower in the northern constellation Draco, on October 7-9, 2025. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
The Draconids are the first to peak, with meteors streaming out of the constellation Draco, in the northern sky. This is the shortest of the 'major' meteor showers, lasting just 5 nights, from October 6-10. It only delivers a handful of meteors each night, except during its peaks on the night of Oct. 7, when it can produce between 5-10 per hour.
On rare occasions, though, the Draconids produce outbursts of increased activity, some of which account for the most spectacular meteor displays of the 20th century!
In 2025, there could be another outburst, with the most conservative estimate increasing the shower’s peak to around 50 per hour! However, it could be even stronger, with NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office saying that the Draconids could produce as many as 400 meteors per hour on that night!
The Orionids
The best viewing for the Orionid meteor shower will be in the hours before sunrise on Oct 21, 2025. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
The Orionids are next. This is the second of two annual meteor showers produced by the debris stream left behind by Halley's Comet.
Despite the Orionids lasting for nearly a month and a half, from October 2 through November 12, it only delivers one or two meteors per hour for much of that time. However, during its peak, in the predawn hours of October 21, it can produce around 20 meteors per hour.
Around 10:00 p.m., local time, is the best time to start watching for Orionid meteors, but the best viewing is in the hours before sunrise.
The Taurids
The radiant of the Southern Taurid meteor shower in the southern sky on November 4-5, 2025. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
The twin meteor showers — the Southern Taurids and Northern Taurids — are the next to peak.
The Taurids originate from one of the most complicated meteor streams currently known.
They originate from a pair of overlapping debris streams, each of which has been traced back to a different object — comet 2P/Encke for the Southern Taurids, and asteroid 2004 TG10 for the Northern Taurids. Careful study of these two have linked them together, and both appear to have been part of the same larger comet that broke apart, long ago.
Adding to the complexity is the Taurid Swarm — a collection of larger meteoroids that orbits around the Sun within the two streams, and periodically adds an outburst of bright fireballs to these meteor showers.
The radiant of the Northern Taurid meteor shower in the southern sky on November 8-9, 2025. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
According to the International Meteor Organization (IMO), the Southern Taurids are expected to peak on November 3-4, and the Northern Taurids should reach their peak on November 8-9. Both are fairly weak, only producing a handful of meteors per hour on their peak nights.
However, meteor scientists are also predicting a return of the Taurid swarm in 2025, so there is a possibility we may see a significant number of fireball meteors from this, in the last week of October and first week of November.
The Leonids
Leonid meteors appear to radiate outward from within the constellation Leo during the November 16-17 peak. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
The Leonid meteor shower is another fairly weak one, which is active from November 6-30 and reaches its peak in the hours after midnight on the night of November 16-17.
During the Leonids peak, we will likely see around 10 meteors per hour, and with the peak occurring just a few nights before the New Moon, the sky should be sufficiently dark to pick out these flashes of light.
The Geminids
The radiant of the Geminid meteor shower is in the eastern sky during its peak on the night of Dec. 13-14, 2024. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
Last, but certainly not least, is the Geminids — one of the best meteor showers of the entire year.
The Geminid meteor shower originates from 3200 Phaethon — an asteroid with an odd, comet-like orbit. The shower runs from December 4-20, and reaches its peak on the night of the 13th to the 14th.
On that night, the Geminids deliver a fairly consistent show, year after year, with roughly 100 meteors per hour. It even produces reasonably bright and sometimes multicoloured meteors.
Plus, with the peak timed more than a week after December's Full Moon, moonlight shouldn't cause any significant hindrance to the display it puts on in the sky.
ESSENTIAL READING: How to get the most out of meteor showers and other night sky events
Winter Solstice
At 10:03 a.m. EST, on December 21, the Sun will reach its lowest point in the northern sky, pausing for a moment to mark the Winter Solstice.
This ends the fall season and signals the beginning of astronomical winter for the northern hemisphere.