2025 calendar of celestial wonders: eclipses, supermoons and a parade of planets

However, the total solar eclipse that struck North America last year will not happen in 2025. The next such show will have to wait until 2026. But already in January will start a "parade of planets" that will last several weeks, and in February Mercury will join it, forming a rare seven-planet alignment, according to Phys.org.

In fact, five planets are already arranged in the sky: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus (Mercury and Neptune are "missing" for now). You may need binoculars or a telescope to see some of them. But if you're lucky with the weather, such observations can be a great way to start the new year.

Eclipses

In 2025, there will be two pairs of eclipses at once.

• on 14 March, in many regions of North and South America, the Moon will "disappear" for an hour, hiding in the Earth's shadow. Two weeks later (29 March) there will be a partial solar eclipse, which can be seen by residents of Maine (USA), eastern Canada, Greenland, Europe, Siberia and north-west Africa.
• The pattern will repeat in September: another total lunar eclipse (this time particularly visible in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia), followed by a partial solar eclipse in the southern hemisphere.

Supermoons

In October, November and December, the Moon will be closer to the Earth than usual, so it will appear very bright and large. The November super moon will be the closest: about 356,980 kilometres from Earth.

Parade of planets

Already in mid-January, the six planets will form a long arc: almost all will be visible, except Neptune and Uranus. By the end of February, Mercury will also "return", allowing you to see rare "convergences" in the sky. In spring the planets will begin to "diverge" in their orbits and will no longer line up.

Polar Lights

In 2025, the Sun is more active than usual, and flares on it can cause powerful geomagnetic storms. This means that the chances of seeing the northern or southern lights in unusual latitudes increase. Experts advise keeping an eye on space weather news so as not to miss a sudden light show.

Meteor streams

Perseids in August and Geminids in December are the most famous "star showers", but there are others: Lyrids in April, Orionids in October and Leonids in November. The darker the location and less moonlight, the better the chance of seeing more meteors. The key is to know the dates of peak activity and look at the sky away from city lights.