Celestial enthusiasts have much to look forward to in 2025, with eclipses, meteor showers, and planetary alignments lighting up (or darkening) the sky. Here are the events to add to your calendar.
The first month of the year will bring a lesser-known meteor shower and some planetary action.
Jan. 3–4: Quadrantid meteor shower. The Quadrantids are active from Dec. 28 to Jan. 12 but are expected to peak around 4 a.m. EST on Jan. 4. The moon will be only 47% illuminated, and the shower can produce more than 100 meteors per hour in ideal conditions. Viewing is best in the Northern Hemisphere.
Jan. 13: Wolf Moon. The first full moon of 2025 has extra appeal, as it will pass close to (almost in front of) Mars. The red planet will appear to disappear behind the moon at 9:16 p.m. EST and reappear at 10:31 p.m. EST.
Jan. 15: Mars at opposition. Peak Mars viewing is happening in January. When at opposition, the Red Planet's entire illuminated face is toward Earth. Look for it in the eastern sky as the sun sets toward the west.
February's main event is a planetary parade, when the planets appear to be in one line in Earth's sky. The parade actually begins on Jan. 10 when the Moon joins up with Jupiter and continues through February. Saturn will drop off mid-month, but tiny Mercury will be barely visible in the parade on Feb. 28.
A crescent Venus will also be visible on Feb. 19 when the planet is at its closest point to Earth.
March has a pair of eclipses:
March 14: Total lunar eclipse. As the moon passes through Earth's shadow, it'll cast a deep red hue. Though the total lunar eclipse will be visible around the world, the full 65-minute totality will only happen in the Americas and Antarctica.
March 26: Partial solar eclipse. Canadians and Americans along the east coast will get the best view of March's partial solar eclipse, which will cover up to 93% of the sun. If you can't travel to see it, you can watch the livestream on YouTube.
The Lyrid meteor shower will be active between April 15 and April 30, with a peak on the night of April 21–22. Around 10–20 meteors (and possibly fireballs) are visible per hour in ideal conditions. For best viewing, look for the shower before the moon rises.
The Eta Aquarids—one of two showers resulting from Halley's Comet—is expected to peak on the night of May 6–7. Viewers in the Southern Hemisphere may see up to 60 meteors per hour. Those in the Northern Hemisphere will still get a show, but a less spectacular one.
The Delta Aquarids and Alpha Capricornids are both peaking at the end of July (29–30). The former may have up to 20 shooting stars per hour with best conditions in the Southern Hemispherel the latter has fewer meteors, but they are very bright. The sky should be relatively dark for good viewing.
The usually spectacular Perseids will be a bit less so in 2025; the shower's peak on Aug. 12–13 lands just a few days after the full moon. However, it may still be worth looking for, as it often produces nearly 100 meteors per hour. At the same time, though, you can catch the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the eastern sky (an hour before sunrise on Aug. 12).
Saturn will be at opposition on the night of Sept. 21. Just like Mars in January, this event will show Saturn at its brightest, visible to the naked eye.
(There's also a second partial solar eclipse visible from New Zealand on the same day.)
The Orionids are active from Oct. 2 to Nov. 12, with a peak on the night of Oct. 22–23. The moon will be only 2% full, leaving the sky dark for solid viewing. The shower produces 10–20 meteors per hour.
While the Draconids are peaking just one day after October's full moon (the Hunter's Moon on Oct. 6), astronomers say there's a tiny possibility of a meteor storm this year.
The moon and meteors will light up the sky in November:
Nov. 5: Supermoon. The second supermoon of 2025 will be the biggest and brightest since 2019 thanks to its proximity to Earth.
Nov. 16–17: Leonid meteor shower. In idea conditions, the Leonids, which come from the 55P/Temple-Tuttle comet, produce 10–15 meteors per hour. On peak night in 2025, the moon will be just 9% full.
Finally, the brightly colored Geminids will be active from Nov. 19 to Dec. 24 with a peak predicted for Dec. 13–14. Unlike 2024, the moon won't interfere with viewing. Look for them between mid-evening and 2 a.m., when it's possible to see 120 meteors per hour in the Northern Hemisphere.
