Echoes of a Supernova & an Interstellar Visitor: Space News for Oct 2025

Introduction

Welcome to another exciting week!

Content:

1. Best image of the week

2. Words from our sponsor

3. Last week news

4. Words from our sponsor

5. Upcoming events

6. Mobile wallpaper

7. Submissions + Feedback

Best image of the week

This week’s standout is a striking view of the Witch’s Broom Nebula (NGC 6960), a western fragment of the expansive Veil supernova remnant. The image, taken with narrow-band filters, highlights glowing filaments of hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue-green) gas drifting through space about 1,400 light-years away. The tangled, sinuous tendrils are the remnants of a star that exploded thousands of years ago, now continuing to expand and interact with the interstellar medium.
Its fine structure offers astronomers a window into how shock fronts propagate and energize gas in supernova remnants.
Credit: Brian Meyers / NASA’s APOD collection

Words from our sponsor

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Last week news

• October 1: A small asteroid, designated 2025 TF, passed extremely close to Earth—just ~266 miles above the surface over Antarctica, making it one of the closest nonimpacting approaches ever recorded. This object, only a few meters across, was not detected until after the pass, underscoring how challenging it is to track tiny near-Earth bodies.

• October 3: The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) aboard ESA captured the closest views yet of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS during its Mars flyby. Travelling at ~210,000 km/h, the comet is now headed for a close solar encounter later this month.

• October 3 (continued): Also on this date, astronomers revealed a puzzling gravitational lensing structure: a rare “Einstein Cross” with an extra fifth image. The anomaly points to a dense dark matter halo influencing the light paths.

• October 6: The October supermoon lit up night skies, coinciding with increased public attention toward meteors and skywatching events.

• October 6–10: The Draconid meteor shower peaked. While often modest, Draconids are known for occasional outbursts. This year the bright full moon on Oct 6–7 dampened visibility for fainter meteors.

• October 4–10: World Space Week 2025, themed “Living in Space,” engaged audiences globally with events exploring life beyond Earth, technology, and challenges of human presence in space.

• October (early month): In space industry news, the UK announced increased investment in sensors to defend satellites against laser-based threats, part of an expanding focus on space resilience.

• October (this week): SpaceX scheduled its 11th Starship test launch for October 13, using its Starbase facility. The mission targets technological validation and progression toward full reusability.

• October (mid-month projected): NASA is preparing a media event for mid-October unveiling the fully assembled Artemis II SLS + Orion hardware ahead of its crewed lunar test mission.

• Recent discovery: A new study suggests the Moon’s south pole bears the scars of a massive ancient impact on its northern hemisphere. The collision may explain the Moon’s asymmetry and surface composition variations—insights relevant for upcoming Artemis mission landings.

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Upcoming events

• October 13: SpaceX’s Starship Flight 11 is scheduled from Starbase, Texas. This will test refined systems like engine relights and staging maneuvers in preparation for future orbital operations.

• October 20: H3 / HTV-X cargo mission (Japan) is planned to depart from Tanegashima, bound for the ISS.

• October 20–21: The Orionid meteor shower will peak under a New Moon—favorable dark skies may allow viewing of 15–20 meteors per hour in predawn hours.

• Ongoing: World Space Week 2025 continues through October 10 with online and in-person events on space life, exploration, and public engagement.

Submissions + Feedback

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