Stargazers and astronomy lovers are in for a treat in 2025 as the year brings various celestial events. From lunar and solar eclipses to supermoons, and from meteor showers to planetary alignments, here is your guide to unique cosmic events this year. (Report: AP, Pics: AFP)
Updated On: 2025-01-07 07:05 PM IST
Compiled by : Raaina Jain
A supermoon rises over Singapore on October 17, 2024
Three supermoons are on tap this year in October, November and December. The full moon will look particularly big and bright those three months as it orbits closer to Earth than usual. November's supermoon will come closest, passing within 221,817 miles (356,980 kilometres). Last year featured four supermoons, wrapping up in November.
The Harvest Moon during a partial lunar eclipse, rising over Istanbul on September 18, 2024
The moon will vanish for more than an hour over North and South America on March 14, followed two weeks later by a partial solar eclipse visible from Maine, eastern Canada, Greenland, Europe, Siberia and northwestern Africa.
The cosmic event will repeat in September with an even longer total lunar eclipse over Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, and a partial solar eclipse two weeks later near the bottom of the world.
A view of the waxing crescent moon and Venus following a lunar occultation of the second planet from the sun, seen from Kuwait City on March 24, 2023
Six planets will line up in the sky to form a long arc around mid-January. All but Neptune and Uranus should be visible with the naked eye just after sunset, weather permitting. Mercury will make a cameo appearance by the end of February.
Northern lights (Aurora Borealis) illuminate the sky in Finland on October 11, 2024
Last year, the sky was painted with gorgeous auroras in unexpected places. Space weather forecasters anticipate more geomagnetic storms that could yield even more northern and southern lights. That's because the sun has reached its solar maximum during its current 11-year cycle that could continue through this year.
Northern Lights illuminate the sky during the Perseids Meteor shower in California on August 12, 2024
The Perseids and Geminids are perennial crowd-pleasers, peaking in August and December, respectively. But don't count out the smaller, less dramatic meteor showers like the Lyrids in April, the Orionids in October and the Leonids in November.
Meteor showers are generally named for the constellation in which they appear to originate. They occur whenever Earth plows through streams of debris left behind by comets and sometimes asteroids.
