At the end of one year and the beginning of the next, it is traditional to reflect and reflect on what happened and to look forward and look forward to the future.
But for me, as an astronomer, it means an opportunity for new discoveries. above Watch the greatest show in the universe.
The New Year 2025 will bring many interesting and beautiful sky sights. Let’s take a look at what I’m most excited about. All events are listed in Eastern Time (EST or EDT, depending on when they occur) unless otherwise noted. And all explanations assume that these skyscapes are viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, specifically the United States.
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January (monthly): This is the best time of year to see Venus shining incredibly bright in the southwest sky after sunset. On January 10th, the planet will reach maximum easterly elongation, reaching the point in its orbit that is as far from the Sun in the sky as possible from Earth. After this date, Venus begins to move between the Earth and the Sun, becoming larger and brighter in apparent size, but looking more and more like a crescent moon. Venus has phases, just like the moon. By late February to early March, it will be even brighter than it is now, although it will set lower toward the sun after sunset, and its narrow crescent shape will be easily seen with binoculars. Venus then flies too close to the Sun and is no longer visible until it pops up again as the “morning star” in late March.
January 13th: In the evening, the full moon covers Mars, passes directly in front of Mars, and obscures Mars. Lunar eclipses are fun. It’s fun to see a bright object near the moon and suddenly wink at it as it is blocked by a natural satellite. Just after sunset, Mars will be visible as a bright orange “star” to the lower left of the Moon rising in the east. As the occultation approaches, the distance between the pairs decreases. This event can be seen with the naked eye, but it will be more interesting with binoculars, which can reveal details of the moon, or with a telescope, which can show Mars as a small disk rather than a small dot. Timings will vary depending on your exact location, so check the International Occultation Timing Association’s webpage listing specific times for various locations. This occultation will be visible not only in northwestern Africa, but also throughout the continental United States.
January 15th: Just two days after the eclipse, Mars reaches opposition, the period when Mars is on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun as seen from Earth. This happens when the Earth, which is closer to the Sun, “orbits” Mars as the planets revolve, and the alignment of the three celestial bodies in space approaches a straight line. Mars is awake all night, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise. Generally, planets are at opposition when they are closest to Earth throughout the year. However, Mars’ orbit is elliptical, which confuses the geometry a bit. Mars will actually be closest to Earth on January 12th, but the difference will be small: it will be about 96 million kilometers away both on that day and on January 15th. The brightest object throughout the year has a magnitude of -1.4, making it one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Find an astronomical observatory or astronomical association near you and see if they hold observation sessions.
January 17th and 18th: On these days, bright Venus and much dimmer Saturn sit low in the southwest after sunset, just 2 degrees apart in the sky. We recommend going out and observing each night for a few days before the event. We would then be able to see the planets slowly approaching each other as a result of their respective movements around the sun and our perspective from the movement.
February 1st: The 4-day-old pale crescent moon lies just a few degrees from Venus, forming a beautiful pair. Look in the southwest sky after sunset. When observing the Moon, see if you can spot the Earthshine, where our planet’s reflected light illuminates the dark side of our natural satellite. It would be a great photo shoot!
February 6th: The moon, which is just half full, passes directly through the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, a small but bright group of stars in the constellation Taurus. Looking like a miniature version of a dipper (and often mistaken for it), the Pleiades is a cluster of stars that formed together about 100 million years ago, and dozens of them can be seen with binoculars. It will be an interesting sight to see the moon passing through the star cluster. It approaches the Pleiades star cluster near midnight and takes several hours to cross. This will look easier from the West Coast during the first half of the event. The moon passes through the cluster several times throughout the year, but most of it is no longer visible. This occurs just before sunrise on July 20th, around 11pm on October 9th, and finally around 8pm on December 3rd.
March 13th: The only total lunar eclipse seen in the United States this year will begin around 11 p.m., when the moon enters the penumbra, the faint part of Earth’s shadow. This will be hard to watch, but the show actually begins on March 14th at 1:09am. At that time, the moon enters the umbra, or dark shadow, and appears to be slowly being eaten. The moon will be completely in shadow at 2:26 a.m. and may appear bright red or brownish. This general phase lasts until 3:32 AM, when our natural satellite begins to return into the sunlight. The moon will fully exit the umbra at 4:48 a.m. and fully exit the penumbra at 6:00 a.m.
March 29th: Unusually, there will be no total solar eclipse this year. However, there will be a partial solar eclipse on this day, which people living in the northeastern United States will be able to see during early morning sunrise, giving Maine the best show of all the states. 80% of the sun is covered by sunlight. The moon there. The exact time of the eclipse will vary depending on your location, so check the site for times and dates.
April 12th to 18th: This is great for early risers. Mercury, Mars, and Saturn are all within about 5 degrees of each other. It will be a little difficult to see before sunrise as it will be low in the eastern sky. However, 6am is a good time to take a look, especially with binoculars. On April 24th, a waning crescent moon joins it, but by this time Mercury will be much lower and less visible.
May: This will be your last chance to see Jupiter before it flies too close to the sun in the sky for about a month. It will appear again in the morning sky in July.
June 17th: After sunset, Mars will be less than 1 degree from Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo. The two objects have the same brightness and magnitude of about 1.4, but their colors are very different. Mars is a deep reddish-orange color, while Regulus is blue-white.
July 3rd: The Earth is at aphelion, or the farthest point in its orbit from the Sun. That means they are 152.09 million kilometers away, which is 2 million kilometers more than the average.
August 12th: The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, are only 1 degree apart and will be visible in the eastern sky before sunrise. They’ll be around for days before and after the event, so if you wake up early it’ll be fun to watch their positions change each morning.
September 19th: Just before sunrise, a thin crescent moon can be seen low in the east, less than 1 degree from Venus. It’s a truly impressive sight and worth getting up early to see.
November 23rd: On this day, Saturn’s rings will be visible almost edge-on. This occurs approximately every 15 years. That is, it occurs twice during each of Saturn’s orbits around the Sun. You’ll need a telescope to see this event (or maybe you won’t). The ring is incredibly thin, only tens of meters thick in some parts, so it appears to disappear when viewed head-on as the Earth passes through its face. This will happen twice in 2025, the first time in March when Saturn will become too close to the sun to be seen. Once again, check to see if your local observatory is hosting an observing session.
Meteor shower: Unfortunately, the usually reliable Perseid meteor shower from August 12th to 13th will be washed out by the bright moon this year. But others should be able to see it too. From May 3rd to 5th, Eta Aquarius will be at its peak, with approximately 10 to 30 shooting stars visible per hour. And on December 13th and 14th, the Geminid meteor shower (my favorite) will be at its peak, with up to 100 meteors visible per hour (though usually a little less). of this article scientific american has a guide to viewing such showers. You can also visit this American Meteor Society web page for more information and tips.
Supermoon: I’m not a big fan of the concept of a “supermoon” (the idea that the moon is especially large and bright when it’s full and closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit), but the idea is widespread. and I never encourage anyone do not have To see the moon! There will be three supermoons this year: October 7th, November 5th, and December 4th. On these days, the moon will be about 25,000 to 30,000 kilometers closer to Earth than its average distance of 385,000 kilometers. You may not notice the difference, but a full moon is always a fascinating sight.
Aurora: Northern lights, called aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere, are unpredictable events, but as we found out last May and October, they can occur almost anywhere in the United States (I clearly saw them in Virginia) . SpaceWeather.com and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s aurora forecast page are good places to look for the latest information.
Please remember. The sky belongs to everyone. If you have the opportunity to see any or all of these events, please take advantage of it. Or just go outside for the old days. A life spent under the night sky will never be wasted.
