Mark These 2025 Celestial Events on Your Calendar
Astronomy buffs have a lot to look forward to in 2025: eclipses, meteor showers and planetary alignments will light up (or darken) the sky. Here are the events you can add to your calendar.
January
The first month of the year will bring a lesser-known meteor shower and some planetary action.
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January 3–4: Quadrantids meteor shower . The Quadrantids are active from December 28 to January 12, but are expected to peak around 4 a.m. EST on January 4. The moon will only be 47% illuminated, and in ideal conditions the shower could produce over 100 meteors per hour. Viewing is best in the Northern Hemisphere.
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January 13: Wolf Moon . The first full moon of 2025 will be especially attractive because it will pass close to (almost in front of) Mars. The red planet will disappear behind the Moon at 9:16 pm EST and reappear at 10:31 pm IST.
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January 15: Mars in opposition . Peak sightings of Mars occur in January. In a state of opposition, the entire illuminated surface of the Red Planet faces the Earth. Look for it in the eastern sky as the sun sets in the west.
February
The main event of February is the planetary parade , when the planets appear to be lined up in the Earth’s sky. The parade actually begins on January 10th, when the Moon conjuncts Jupiter, and continues until February. Saturn will fall mid-month, but tiny Mercury will be barely visible in the parade on February 28th.
The crescent of Venus will also be visible on February 19, when the planet will be at its closest point to Earth.
March
There are a couple of eclipses in March:
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March 14: Total lunar eclipse . When the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, it will take on a dark red hue. Although the total lunar eclipse will be visible around the world, the total 65-minute totality will only occur in the Americas and Antarctica.
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March 26: Partial solar eclipse . Canadians and Americans living on the East Coast will get the best view of the March partial solar eclipse, which will cover up to 93% of the sun’s area. If you can’t travel to see it, you can watch the livestream on YouTube .
April
The Lyrid meteor shower will be active from April 15 to 30, peaking on the night of April 21 to 22. Under ideal conditions, about 10–20 meteors (and possibly fireballs) are visible per hour. For the best viewing, look for showers before moonrise.
Maybe
The Eta Aquarids , one of two showers caused by Halley’s Comet, are expected to peak on the night of May 6-7. Viewers in the Southern Hemisphere can see up to 60 meteors per hour. Residents of the Northern Hemisphere will still be treated to a spectacle, but a less spectacular one.
July
The Delta Aquarids and Alpha Capricornids peak in late July (29–30). The former can have up to 20 shooting stars per hour under the best conditions in the Southern Hemisphere, the latter has fewer meteors, but they are very bright. The sky must be relatively dark for good visibility.
August
The usually impressive Perseids will be a little less impressive in 2025; Rain peaks on August 12–13 just a few days after the full moon. However, it may still be worth looking for as it often produces around 100 meteors per hour. At the same time, you can catch the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the eastern sky (an hour before sunrise on August 12).
September
Saturn will be in opposition on the night of September 21st. Like Mars in January, this event will show Saturn at its brightest form visible to the naked eye.
(A second partial solar eclipse will be visible from New Zealand on the same day.)
October
The Orionids are active from October 2 to November 12, with a peak on the night of October 22-23. The moon will only be 2% full, making the sky dark for clear viewing. The shower produces 10–20 meteors per hour.
Although the Draconids peak just a day after the October full moon (Hunter Moon on October 6), astronomers say there is a slight chance of a meteor storm this year .
november
The moon and meteors will light up the sky in November:
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November 5: Supermoon . The second supermoon of 2025 will be the largest and brightest since 2019 due to its proximity to Earth.
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November 16–17: Leonids meteor shower . Under ideal conditions, the Leonids from Comet 55P/Temple-Tuttle produce 10-15 meteors per hour. On the peak night of 2025, the Moon will be only 9% full.
December
Finally, the brightly colored Geminids will be active from November 19 to December 24, with a peak forecast for December 13–14. Unlike 2024, the Moon will not interfere with viewing. Look for them between mid-evening and 2 a.m., when 120 meteors per hour can be seen in the Northern Hemisphere.