Another year of skywatching is upon us, and there’s a lot to look forward to in 2025!
Here’s a rundown of some of the more noteworthy sky events — including multiple meteor showers, occultations of Mars and the Pleiades Star Cluster, a “ringless” Saturn and the first total eclipse of the moon for the United States since 2022 — that will take place this year.
Space.com’s Night Sky column will provide more extensive coverage of most of these events as they draw closer.
Joe Rao is a veteran meteorologist and eclipse chaser who also serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium.
Jan. 3: Quadrantid meteor shower — This very sharply peaked meteor display is due to reach its maximum at 1400 GMT today. That favors the West Coast of North America, where dawn will be breaking just as the “Quads” are reaching their peak. Anywhere from 60 to 120 meteors per hour might be seen by a single observer watching from a dark sky site. Farther to the east, morning twilight and sunrise will intervene, but a good number of these meteors may still be expected. The moon will not pose any interference.
Related: Meteor showers: When is the next one?
Jan. 9: The moon hides the Pleiades — A waxing gibbous moon crosses in front of this famous open cluster of stars during the early evening hours. The Pleiades will be best viewed with binoculars or a small, low-power telescope. Stars will disappear along the unilluminated portion of the moon and reappear along the bright side about an hour later.
Winter into early spring: “The Venus Show” — This most brilliant of planets dazzles evening skywatchers in January and February, setting nearly four hours after the sun, soaring high into the western sky and becoming so intensely brilliant that it is capable of casting shadows. It drops back toward the sun during March but appears as a beautiful slender crescent even in binoculars. Venus transitions to the morning sky in April, this time reappearing as a magnificent predawn object for early spring.
Jan. 13: The moon occults Mars — A full moon will pass in front of Mars during the evening hours. Mars will be just two days from opposition and will be shining almost as brightly as Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
Feb. 6: The moon hides the Pleiades again — Once again, the moon passes in front of the Pleiades cluster, but this time it happens during the after-midnight hours, low in the west-northwest sky. The central and western U.S. are favored to see this; in the eastern U.S., this event occurs either with the moon straddling the horizon or after the moon has set.
March 13-14: Total eclipse of the moon — This event strongly favors the Americas, including Alaska and Hawaii, for it is this region of the world, with a population of over one billion people, that will be turned toward the moon when it begins its plunge through Earth’s shadow. The lunar eclipse primarily an after-midnight affair across the eastern half of the North American continent, while those located farther west will view it chiefly during the late evening hours of March 13.
March 23-May 6: Saturn’s rings mostly disappear — As viewed through telescopes, the famous ring system of Saturn will seem to disappear. From our Earthly perspective, the rings turn edge-on to Earth on March 23; the rings will then tip so that we are no longer looking at their north half but rather the south half. The sun is still shining on the north half of the rings, however; the south half is dark, so we can’t see it. We must wait until May 6, when sunshine finally begins illuminating the south half of the ring system. Then they’ll reappear as a thin bright line across Saturn’s disk. But for 44 days, the rings will be all but invisible, even in the largest of telescopes.
Related: Best telescopes: Observe stars, galaxies, nebulas, planets and more
March 29: Partial eclipse of the sun — The dark shadow cone of the moon, from where a total solar eclipse can be seen, will completely miss Earth, passing approximately 180 miles (290 kilometers) above the North Pole. But the moon’s outer shadow, or penumbra, will scrape a part of the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in a partial eclipse that will be visible in varying extent from northwest Africa, much of Europe (save for some eastern sections) and northwest Russia, as well as Iceland, Greenland and a slice of eastern North America
June 29: The moon and Mars pair up — The moon and Mars have another rather close interaction. This time, the moon is a waxing crescent, and, during the evening hours, it will appear to slide just underneath Mars, which has faded considerably since last January. Still, the pair make for a lovely sight in the west-southwest sky as darkness falls.
July 20: A third Pleiades occultation — This might be the best moon/Pleiades interaction of 2025, if only from a purely aesthetic standpoint. A slender waning crescent moon will approach the Seven Sisters during the predawn hours as seen from the Eastern U.S. but will not begin hiding any of their stars until about an hour before sunrise as the dawn sky begins to brighten. Farther to the west, the sky will be darker and you’ll be able to readily watch as the moon covers and uncovers members of this cluster. Binoculars or a small, low-power telescope will enhance the “DaVinci glow” (Earthshine), which will impart a striking 3D look to the moon.
Aug. 11-12: The moonlit Perseid meteors — This year, unfortunately, this famous meteor shower will be hindered by a bright gibbous moon, which will be rising around 9:20 p.m. on the evening of Aug. 11 and 9:45 p.m. on the evening of Aug. 12, obscuring many of the fainter meteors. But still, the Perseids occasionally produce brilliant fireballs or meteors that appear to explode in mid-flight (called bolides), so they are well worth the effort to look for despite the moon’s presence. Such meteors can be quite spectacular, bright enough to attract attention even in the moonlight.
Aug. 11-13: Venus/Jupiter pas de deux — A dance duet in which two dancers — typically a man and a woman — perform ballet steps together, is a pas de deux, and Jupiter and Venus will perform a celestial version of this on three consecutive mornings. On Aug. 11, the two brightest planets will rise side by side in the east-northeast about three hours before sunrise. On Aug. 12, Venus will have shifted noticeably to Jupiter’s lower right as the two come closest together, only 0.8 degrees apart. Finally, on Aug. 13, the pair will separate, with Venus now positioned directly below Jupiter.
Sept. 7: Total lunar eclipse — Consider this to be the flip side of the lunar eclipse of last March. Once again, the moon will cross directly into Earth’s shadow, and, on this occasion, people in central Africa and eastern Europe east to eastern Asia, Japan, Indonesia and Australia will be able to enjoy the event. Unfortunately, the Americas will see none of it, because the moon will be below the horizon and it will be daytime when this eclipse is taking place.
Sept. 21: Partial eclipse of the sun — The moon’s outer shadow, or penumbra, interacts with a large swath of the South Pacific and Southern Oceans. New Zealand will be treated to a fairly significant solar obscuration shortly after local sunrise: 61% for Auckland and 73% at Oban. Even a larger amount of the sun will be covered for parts of Antarctica, but likely the only ones who will see it will be penguins.
Nov. 5: Supermoon — The moon will officially become full at 8:19 a.m. EST on this day. And because this month’s full moon coincides with the moon’s perigee — its closest approach to Earth — about nine hours later, it will also be the year’s biggest. The moon will get just 221,726 miles (356,833 km) from our planet, offering skywatchers a view of an extra-big, extra-bright moon, nicknamed a “supermoon.”
Dec. 14: Geminid meteors — This quite possibly is the most reliable and one of the best meteor displays of the year. As many as 75 slow, graceful Geminids may be seen per hour under ideal conditions. This year, the moon, a waning crescent, offers little or no interference. The meteors appear to emanate from a spot in the sky near the star Castor in the constellation Gemini (hence the name “Geminids”), which will be fairly high in the northeast sky as early as 10 p.m. And even when the narrow moon is in the sky, the shower is still well worth watching. Remember to bundle up!
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmers’ Almanac and other publications.