There are always exciting events happening each night including the twinkling of stars in the sky or the annual parade of constellations. The year 2025 is no exception and such exciting events are to happen in the new year too.
The night sky is extremely beautiful and you can see the phenomena mentioned here, even if you live in a light-polluted city like many others. For most events you don’t need binoculars or a telescope.
March and September: These two upcoming months will be full of lunar eclipse. The lunar eclipse will begin on the morning of Monday, September 8, when the Moon will completely go into the Earth’s shadow. Lightly inclined red light will appear because at that time we will be seeing the reflection of sunrise and sunset. Total lunar eclipses are more common than solar eclipses and can be seen from all areas of Earth where night falls.
Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view with unaided eyes. They are also safe for photography. A tripod, a camera or a phone that can take timed exposures are all you need.
The eclipse begins with Earth’s shadow gradually covering the Moon over about an hour. Similarly, it takes about an hour for Earth’s shadow to move away from the Moon after totality.
Viewed from the east coast of Australia, the total eclipse will last from 3:30 am to 4:53 am on September 8. In New Zealand, this will occur from 5:30 a.m. until moonset. From South Australia or Northern region, this eclipse will occur from 3 am to 4.23 am and from Western Australia from 1.30 am to 2.53 am.
Earlier on the evening of Friday, March 14, people in Aotearoa, New Zealand, will be able to see a completely eclipsed Moon rising above the horizon just after sunset. Viewers in eastern Australia will also get a brief glimpse of the partially eclipsed Moon after moonrise. It can be seen only for 34 minutes from Sydney, 43 minutes from Brisbane and 16 minutes from Cairns.
March: Saturn’s rings, which reveal its identity, are disappearing
It is always thrilling to view Saturn and its beautiful rings through a telescope. Whether you are watching them for the first time or for the hundredth time, it never fails to impress. However, the rings will disappear as Earth passes through the plane of the rings in early 2025.
This phenomenon occurs twice during Saturn’s 29-year revolution around the Sun, i.e. at an interval of approximately 15-15 years. However, this event will happen on March 24 but we will not be able to see it because Saturn will be very close to the Sun on this day.
Before then, in the evenings from mid-February and mornings from the end of March, we will be able to see Saturn with its very narrow, tilted rings.
A small telescope is required to view Saturn with or without its rings. If you don’t have such a telescope you can visit a public observatory, such as the Sydney Observatory, or attend an observing session with a local astronomical group, such as the Astronomical Society of Victoria at the Melbourne Observatory.
There will be meteor shower in May and December
The two main meteor showers of the year are the Eta Aquariids and the Geminids. In 2025, the Eta Aquariids will be best visible on the morning of Wednesday, May 7, while the Geminids will be best visible on the morning of Sunday, December 14 and Monday, December 15.
This year, viewing conditions are favorable for both meteor showers, as there will be no bright moon in the morning sky on May 7 and December 14. To see them, look to the northeast (Eta Aquarid) and north (Geminid) before dawn.
The darker the sky, the better. Stay away from street lights or any other light, only then can you enjoy the sparkling meteors.
Ecliptic of five planets will happen in January, April and August
The five planets in the solar system – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – move along a line in the sky called the ecliptic. You can normally see these planets with your eyes.
As the planets move, they sometimes appear to pass close to each other and take on interesting patterns. Of course, they appear close only from our perspective. In reality these planets are tens or hundreds or thousands of kilometers apart.
On January 18-19 in the year 2025, the brightest planet Venus will be close to the ringed planet Saturn in the evening sky.
After this, from April 1 to 15, Mercury, Venus and Saturn form a slowly changing compact group in the eastern sky at sunrise.
Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in the Solar System, are separated by just two moon-widths in the morning sky on August 12 and 13.
The gathering of stars also appears in different forms in June and August. As the year progresses, different constellations appear in the evening sky. In 2024, Orion and Scorpius (the hunter and the scorpion) are seen meeting in the sky.
Now in 2025, constellation lovers will have their eyes set on the Southern Cross (astronomers call it Crux) and Sagittarius. The Southern Cross is the most famous constellation in the southern sky. It is easy to find, as it is made up of a compact group of bright stars in the shape of a cross.
The two pointer stars of Centaurus’ neighboring constellation, Centaur, also help reveal its position. From Sydney and further south, the Southern Cross is always above the horizon. However, it can be best seen in the evening around June, when it is high in the southern sky.
After Scorpius i.e. Scorpio is the constellation Dhanu i.e. Sagittarius. It is best seen in the evening in August because it is directly overhead at that time of year.
The constellation’s brightest stars, arranged in dots, give the appearance of a teapot, and are often referred to by that name. Sagittarius is an important constellation for Australian astronomers because it contains the center of the Milky Way galaxy.