The world will have to wait until 2026 for the next total solar eclipse. However, the sky promises plenty of other big events in 2025.
The new year starts off with a six-planet parade in January that people will be able to see for weeks. The smallest planet, Mercury, will join the crowd for a seven-planet line in February.
The Planetary Society’s chief scientist Bruce Betts said about the visible planets, “People should go out and see them sometime during the next many weeks. I certainly will.”
Here is a look ahead to the major sky events in 2025:
Eclipses
The moon will disappear for more than an hour over North and South America on March 14. The event will be followed two weeks later by a partial solar eclipse. People in Maine, eastern Canada, Greenland, Europe, Siberia and northwestern Africa will be able to watch the show.
In September, there will be an even longer total lunar eclipse over Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Two weeks later, a partial solar eclipse will take place in the area over the South Pacific, including New Zealand and parts of Antarctica.
Supermoons
Three supermoons are coming this year in October, November and December.
The full moon will look especially big and bright those three months as it orbits closer to Earth than usual.
November’s supermoon will come closest, passing within 356,980 kilometers from Earth. Last year had four supermoons, ending in November.
Planet parade
This month, six of our seven neighboring planets will line up in the sky to form a long arc. All but Neptune and Uranus should be visible with the eye just after sunset, weather permitting.
The parade will continue for weeks. Mercury will make a short appearance by the end of February. The planets will slowly exit, one by one, through spring.
Northern and southern lights
Geomagnetic storms painted the sky with beautiful colors in unexpected places last year.
Space weather experts predict more of these storms this year. Such storms could produce even more northern and southern lights.
The reasoning for the prediction is that the sun has reached its solar maximum during its current 11-year cycle. The cycle could continue through this year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Shawn Dahl urges everyone to follow space weather news, so as not to miss any colorful shows.
Meteor showers
The Perseid and Geminid meteor events, or showers, are well-known crowd-pleasers. The Perseids will take place in August. The Geminids come in December. But do not forget about the smaller meteor showers including the Lyrids in April, the Orionids in October and the Leonids in November.
Areas away from cities, where night skies are darker, are best for watching the events. Generally, meteor showers are named for the constellation which they appear to come from. They take place whenever Earth moves through paths of debris left behind by comets and sometimes asteroids.
I’m John Russell.
Marcia Dunn reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
eclipse – n. the total or partial obscuring of one celestial body by another
supermoon – n. a kind of full moon that takes place when the moon is at or near the closest point to earth in its orbit
arc – n. a special kind of curved or arched path
maximum – n. the upper limit; the highest or furthest point
cycle – n. a course or series of events or operations that happen regularly
constellation – n. a configuration of stars
debris – n. the remains of something (often said of something that has been destroyed or broken)