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A new year of celestial observation is here, and there is much to anticipate in 2025!
Here’s a summary of some of the more significant astronomical occurrences — including several meteor showers, transits of Mars and the Pleiades Star Cluster, a “ringless” Saturn, and the first total lunar eclipse visible in the United States since 2022 — scheduled for this year.
Space.com’s Night Sky column will offer more in-depth information on most of these happenings as they approach.
Joe Rao is an experienced meteorologist and eclipse enthusiast who also serves as an educator and guest speaker at New York’s Hayden Planetarium.
Jan. 3: Quadrantid meteor shower — This sharply peaked meteor event is set to reach its zenith at 1400 GMT today. This timing is advantageous for the West Coast of North America, where dawn will commence precisely as the “Quads” attain their climax. An observer in a pitch-black sky location could witness between 60 to 120 meteors per hour. For those further east, morning twilight and sunup might interfere, yet a considerable number of these meteors are still expected. There will be no interference from the moon.
Related: Meteor showers: When is the next occurrence?
Jan. 9: The moon conceals the Pleiades — A waxing gibbous moon will pass in front of this renowned open star cluster during the early evening. The Pleiades will be best appreciated with binoculars or a small, low-magnification telescope. Stars will vanish along the dark side of the moon and reappear on the bright side roughly an hour later.
Winter to early spring: “The Venus Show” — This brightest of planets captivates evening stargazers in January and February, descending nearly four hours after the sun, rising high into the western sky and shining so impressively that it can cast shadows. It will slowly shift back towards the sun in March but will appear as a stunning slender crescent even through binoculars. Venus will transition to the morning sky in April, emerging as a marvelous pre-dawn object for early spring.
Jan. 13: The moon obscures Mars — A full moon will transit in front of Mars during the evening hours. Mars will be merely two days from opposition and will shine almost as brilliantly as Sirius, the brightest star visible.
Feb. 6: The moon conceals the Pleiades once more — The moon will again obscure the Pleiades cluster, but this time it will occur during the early morning hours, low in the west-northwest sky. This is especially viewable in the central and western U.S.; in the eastern U.S., this phenomenon will happen either with the moon hovering near the horizon or after it has already set.
March 13-14: Total lunar eclipse — This occasion predominantly favors the Americas, spanning Alaska and Hawaii, as this part of the globe, home to over one billion inhabitants, will be oriented towards the moon when it begins its journey into Earth’s shadow. The lunar eclipse will primarily take place after midnight across the eastern half of North America, while those to the west will observe it mainly during the late evening of March 13.
March 23-May 6: Saturn’s rings largely vanish — When viewed through telescopes, Saturn’s prominent ring system will appear to disappear. From our perspective on Earth, the rings will align edge-on to our view on March 23; they will then tilt so that we are no longer observing the northern section but instead the southern section. The sun will still be illuminating the northern half of the rings; however, the southern half will be obscured, rendering it invisible. We must be patient until May 6, when sunlight will begin to shine on the southern portion of the ring system. They will then return as a thin bright line across Saturn’s disk. However, for 44 days, the rings will essentially be undetectable, even with the largest telescopes available.
Related: Top telescopes: View stars, galaxies, nebulae, planets, and more
March 29: Partial solar eclipse — The moon’s dark shadow cone, from where a complete solar eclipse can be observed, will pass completely above Earth, traveling approximately 180 miles (290 kilometers) above the North Pole. However, the moon’s outer shadow, or penumbra, will skim a portion of the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in a partial eclipse visible to varying degrees from northwest Africa, much of Europe (except for some eastern areas), and northwest Russia, along with Iceland, Greenland, and a segment of eastern North America.
June 29: The moon and Mars come together — The moon and Mars will engage in another relatively close encounter. At this moment, the moon will be a waxing crescent, and, during the evening, it will seemingly slide just below Mars, which has significantly dimmed since last January. Nonetheless, the duo will present a beautiful view in the west-southwest sky as darkness descends.
July20: A tertiary Pleiades occultation — This could be the most visually appealing moon/Pleiades encounter of 2025, at least from an artistic perspective. A delicate waning crescent moon will near the Seven Sisters during the pre-dawn hours as viewed from the Eastern U.S., but will not start concealing any of their stars until roughly an hour prior to sunrise as the morning sky begins to illuminate. Further west, the atmosphere will remain darker, allowing you to clearly observe as the moon cloaks and reveals members of this star cluster. Utilizing binoculars or a small, low-magnification telescope will enhance the “DaVinci glow” (Earthshine), creating a stunning three-dimensional appearance for the moon.
Aug. 11-12: The illuminated Perseid meteors — Regrettably, this year, this renowned meteor shower will be obstructed by a radiant gibbous moon, which will rise around 9:20 p.m. on the night of Aug. 11 and 9:45 p.m. on the night of Aug. 12, concealing many of the dimmer meteors. Still, the Perseids occasionally yield brilliant fireballs or meteors that seem to burst mid-flight (termed bolides), making them well worth the effort to seek out, despite the moon’s interference. Such meteors can be truly mesmerizing, bright enough to catch the eye even amid moonlight.
Aug. 11-13: Venus/Jupiter pas de deux — A duet of dance in which two performers — traditionally a man and a woman — execute ballet movements together, is classified as a pas de deux, and Jupiter and Venus will engage in a celestial rendition of this over three successive mornings. On Aug. 11, the two most luminous planets will rise side by side in the east-northeast about three hours before dawn. On Aug. 12, Venus will have noticeably shifted to Jupiter’s lower right as the two come closest together, merely 0.8 degrees apart. Lastly, on Aug. 13, the duo will part ways, with Venus now situated directly beneath Jupiter.
Sept. 7: Total lunar eclipse — Regard this as the counterpart of the lunar eclipse from last March. Once more, the moon will traverse directly into Earth’s shadow, and on this occasion, residents in central Africa and eastern Europe extending to eastern Asia, Japan, Indonesia, and Australia will have the opportunity to enjoy the spectacle. Unfortunately, the Americas will witness none of it, as the moon will be below the horizon and daylight during this eclipse.
Sept. 21: Partial solar eclipse — The moon’s outer shadow, or penumbra, intersects a large region of the South Pacific and Southern Oceans. New Zealand will experience a fairly considerable solar obscuration shortly following local sunrise: 61% for Auckland and 73% at Oban. An even larger portion of the sun will be concealed for segments of Antarctica, but likely the only observers will be penguins.
Nov. 5: Supermoon — The moon will officially reach its full phase at 8:19 a.m. EST on this date. Additionally, due to this month’s full moon coinciding with the moon’s perigee — its closest point to Earth — about nine hours later, it will be the largest of the year. The moon will approach a distance of 221,726 miles (356,833 km) from our planet, granting skywatchers a glimpse of an extra-large, ultra-bright moon, referred to as a “supermoon.”
Dec. 14: Geminid meteors — This is arguably the most dependable and one of the finest meteor displays of the year. As many as 75 slow, elegant Geminids may be observed per hour under optimal conditions. This year, the moon, a waning crescent, provides minimal interference. The meteors seem to radiate from a location in the sky close to the star Castor in the constellation Gemini (thus the name “Geminids”), which will be quite elevated in the northeast sky as early as 10 p.m. Even when the narrow moon is visible, the shower remains highly worthwhile to witness. Remember to dress warmly!
Joe Rao serves as an educator and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He contributes articles about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmers’ Almanac and various other publications.
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