Credit: Gregg Alliss, astronomy magazine
He’s back: Astronomy Sky Guide downloadable for free from the magazine, your preview of everything that will happen in the sky next year.
Mars opens 2025 by reaching opposition on the night of January 15-16, when it shines brighter and appears larger in the telescope than at any time since December 2022. You’ll find it in Gemini, near the Gemini heads. Venus rules the evening skies in early 2025, then moves to the morning by April and remains a bright morning star until November. Mercury makes one of its finest appearances of the year in June, just as Jupiter disappears into the Sun’s glare. The gas giant returns to the sky in July, standing among the stars of Gemini in the morning sky and coming within 1.5° of Venus for three days centered on August 12th. Saturn reaches its peak in late September, after an annular plane. crossing in March, even though it is hidden from the Sun at that time. And Uranus reaches opposition on November 21, being at that time just 4° south of the Pleiades.
Speaking of the Pleiades, in February the Moon – just one day after the First Quarter phase – passes in front of this young star cluster, hiding the Seven Sisters from view in an occultation. Then, a dazzling total lunar eclipse occurs in mid-March, as the Moon passes through our planet’s shadow during the night of March 13/14. Two weeks later, on March 29, observers in northeastern North America, western Europe and northwest Africa will experience a partial solar eclipse. Meanwhile, the Sun remains at solar maximum, hopefully producing several repeats of the stunning auroras we enjoyed in 2024.
Several meteor showers will enjoy excellent observing prospects in 2025, starting with the Quadrantids, which will peak on January 3. The Lyrids (April 22), Orionids (October 21), Leonids (November 17) and Geminids (December 14) are also expected to put on spectacular shows next year.
There’s so much to enjoy in the sky in 2025 – download our full 2025 Sky Guide, linked below, to make sure you don’t miss a thing!
