THERE’S no end of awe-inspiring sights to see overhead – but 2025 will bring four special events that you shouldn’t miss.
Stargazers, mark your calendars.
A blood moon might sound ominous, but it’s just a fun name for a space effect called a lunar eclipse.
And there are two such lunar eclipses happening in 2025.
The first is due to take place from March 13 into March 14, and the second will occur from September 7 into September 8.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon.
This puts the Moon into the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, known as the umbra.
It means that sunlight isn’t directly reaching the Moon, but some is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere.
This can give the Moon a reddish hue for a few hours, hence the name Blood Moon.
This one must not be missed – as it doesn’t happen very often.
Saturn’s rings will effectively vanish from view if you’re looking from Earth.
Both the Earth and Saturn are tilted to slightly different degrees.
And at some points, Saturn’s rings are tilted to exactly the right way that we’re seeing them edge on.
That means they appear to vanish. Of course they haven’t really gone, it’s just a matter of perspective.
It happens every 15 years, roughly, and is best seen with an amateur telescope.
And you’ll be able to see the event in March and November 2025.
Here are the 10 best locations to see the night sky in the U.S. and U.K.:
United States
United Kingdom
Venus and Jupiter aren’t exactly neighbours: they’re hundreds of millions of miles apart.
But in 2025, they’ll look like they live right next door to each other.
From late August 11 into the morning of August 12, the pair of planets will be extremely close in the night sky.
If you’ve ever seen either planet, you’ll know that they shine brightly in the sky.
Here's an easy guide to get you started...
Planets are typically far brighter than stars, so they’re great for stargazers to spot.
Venus will be the brighter of the pair, but Jupiter will also be plainly visible.
It’s best viewed with a telescope so you can see Jupiter’s details – but this event can be clearly seen even with the naked eye.
The Geminids meteor shower isn’t exactly rare because it happens every year.
Meteors can turn all sorts of colours when they burn up, depending on what they're made up of.
The chemical composition of a meteor can be the difference of it shining a blue-green, an orange-yellow, and even violet.
If a meteor burns a bright green or blue, it is because it has magnesium inside it.
If it burns an orange-yellow, it’s composition features sodium.
If it’s just yellow, it’s made up of iron.
If it shines violet, it has a lot of calcium inside it.
If it’s red, this is most likely the result of glowing air plasma, or atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen.
But it’s one of the best opportunities to see a shooting star.
You can expect to see as many as 120 to 160 meteors per hour at the Geminids peak.
We see the shooting stars because we’re in the debris field of the asteroid 3200 Phaetheon.
You can usually see shooting stars from December 4 through to December 16.
But you’d typically expect the peak to occur on December 14.
The meteors can appear at any point in the sky, so all you really need is a clear night and a bit of patience.
Make sure you let your eyes adjust to the darkness – this also means not looking at your phone screen.
