October’s sky is packed with epic astronomical events. The dwarf planet Ceres reaches peak brightness, the Orionid and Draconid meteor showers light up the night, and Mercury makes one of its best evening appearances of the year. Add in a supermoon and galaxies visible overhead, and it’s a strong month for stargazing.

Here are nine dazzling celestial highlights not to miss…

The moon and Saturn meet—October 5

On the night of October 5, see the nearly full moon and Saturn meet in the night sky. They’ll be about 3.33 degrees apart, rising to their highest point around midnight local time.

Trace Saturn’s movement across the night sky from day to day, and you’ll notice it’s moving from east to west—that’s the opposite direction it usually travels. This retrograde movement, which happens several months each year due to Earth’s orbit, will end on November 27.

The full harvest supermoon—October 6

October’s full moon rises on October 6, just as the moon reaches perigee—the closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit. That timing makes it a supermoon, appearing up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than when the moon is at its farthest point. Dubbed the “harvest moon” per the Farmer’s Almanac, it is the closest full moon to the autumn equinox, which can fall in either September or October.

Draconid meteor shower peak—October 8

Between October 6 and 10, the Earth will move through the debris trail of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, creating the annual Draconid meteor shower. Peak activity is expected to occur on the night of October 8.

This year, the Draconids happen just after the full moon, which means all but the brightest meteors will likely be drowned out by moonlight. Still, keep an eye on the sky for a chance to see shooting stars.

The moon and the Pleiades converge—October 10

On October 10, the waning gibbous moon and the Pleiades star cluster will be less than one degree apart. At about 85 percent illumination, the moon’s glare will drown out the faintest members of the cluster, but the brightest stars will still shine through.

The Pleiades, also known as Messier 45 (M45) or the Seven Sisters, are an open cluster of stars. The nickname “Seven Sisters” is a little misleading. While six of the stars in this cluster are typically visible to the naked eye, there are more than 1,000 in the group.

The Triangulum Galaxy rises high—October 15

See the Triangulum Galaxy, one of our galactic neighbors, rise high in the night sky on October 15. Also known as Messier 33 (M33), this galaxy is the third largest in our local group, following Andromeda and the Milky Way.

Close approach of the moon and Venus—October 19

The moon and Venus will appear less than four degrees apart in the pre-dawn sky on October 19. The pair will appear close to the eastern horizon.

Venus shines so brightly because its thick clouds reflect sunlight with exceptional efficiency, making it the third-brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon. Depending on its position in orbit, it appears either as the “morning star” before sunrise or the “evening star” after sunset.