# Night sky news, October 25, 2026: moon, events, aurora

Full Moon, 100% lit. 2 sky events this week and 1 sourced news item for October 25, 2026.

## The sky on October 25, 2026

**Moon.** On the evening of October 25, 2026 the Moon is full moon, 100% illuminated. That day the Moon sets at 6:49 AM MDT and rises at 5:30 PM MDT. Times are for Denver, Colorado; they shift by minutes to an hour elsewhere in the US and Canada.

### Visible this week

- [Aurora Outlook: Solar Cycle 25 Decline](https://darkskiesdirectory.com/events/aurora-outlook-2026-2028), September 24, 2026 to December 31, 2028. Northern US states and all of Canada; strong geomagnetic storms can push visibility as far south as the mid-latitude US.
- [Hunter's Moon (2026-10-26)](https://darkskiesdirectory.com/events/full-moon-2026-10-26), October 26, 2026. Visible throughout the US and Canada, weather permitting, rising around sunset.

## Sourced stories

### [Oct. 25, 1671: Iapetus is discovered](https://darkskiesdirectory.com/nightly-news/2026-10-25/oct-25-1671-iapetus-is-discovered)

Source: [Astronomy.com](https://www.astronomy.com/today-in-the-history-of-astronomy/oct-25-1671-iapetus-is-discovered/)

Giovanni Cassini discovered Saturn's moon Iapetus on Oct. 25, 1671, using a 34 foot Campani refractor at the Paris Observatory. It was the second Saturn moon found, after Titan, and Cassini noticed it appeared only on the west side of the planet, which let him deduce that one face is much darker and that the moon is tidally locked. That split is why Iapetus swings in brightness as it orbits.

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Canonical: https://darkskiesdirectory.com/nightly-news/2026-10-25
Updated: 2026-10-25T23:00:18.392Z