Look toward the eastern horizon shortly before midnight on October 12 to see the moon rise majestically with the red giant Betelgeuse and the stars of the constellation Orion. Jupiter will be on their heels.
Leave an hour before midnight local time to see the half-lit moon rising above the northeast horizon, with the reddish light of Betelgeuse sparkling brightly to his right. The left half of the lunar disk will be bathed in direct sunlight and its left veiled in shadow.
THE constellation of Orion will provide a multitude of beautiful naked-eye targets to observe on the night of October 12. Most notable is the red star Betelgeuse, a colossal stellar body in the twilight of its existence. It is expected to explode dramatically supernova as bright as a full moon into Earth’s skies after it has exhausted its reserves of helium and heavier fuels – a process that could take tens of thousands of years.
Look to the right of Betelgeuse to spot the three stars of the famous Orion’s Belt asterism — Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka — stacked on top of each other, with the blue supergiant Rigel, the brightest point of light in the famous constellation, shining less than 10 degrees beyond. Remember, 10 degrees is the width of your fist held at arm’s length against the night sky.
You may notice a hazy blur of light near Orion’s belt as the constellation breaks away from the horizon. This is the Orion Nebulathe nearest stellar nursery on Earth where a new generation of incandescent stars is forming.
It’s best to observe faint deep-sky objects using the averted gaze technique, in which you place the object at the periphery of your vision, where the cells that excel at low-light vision are clustered. Looking through a telescope with a 6-inch aperture will help reveal the structure of the vast, bright nebula.
Look under the moon around midnight to see Jupiter’s bright orb of light rising above the eastern horizon, embedded in the stars of the Gemini constellation.
Astronomers wanting a closer look at the myriad wonders of Orion and the wider sky should check out our roundup of best telescope And binocular offers available in 2025.
Editor’s note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com readers, please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
