Oct. 20 is International Observe the Moon Night, an annual celebration allowing people all over the world to enjoy the science and beauty from looking at our closest neighbor. Two livestreams will allow you to participate online.

On Oct. 20, 1970, the Soviet Union launched the Zond 8 spacecraft on a mission to the moon. This was the last mission in the Zond program. See how it happened in our On This Day in Space video series!

The European and Japanese space agencies launched their first mission to Mercury yesterday, but now, the mission's engineers and admirers have to endure a seven-year wait before the project's science begins in earnest.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory remains on course to bounce back from its gyroscope issues soon, mission team members said.

Some of the brightest and swiftest shooting stars will bedazzle the night sky this year during the Orionid meteor shower, which will peak between Oct. 20 and 22 and continue through early November.

In astronomy news this week: A gargantuan supercluster of galaxies lurks in the early universe, while data from the Fermi telescope hint at two supermassive black holes locked in a gravitational dance.

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Four solar system satellites — and one putative exomoon — are big enough and far enough from their home worlds to hold onto tiny moons for billions of years.

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Lots of sky sights this week: Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Orionid meteors, stars in balance, telescopic occultation by the asteroid Kleopatra, more.

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