Greatest brightness for Venus caused by a combination of two factors: illumination and disk size.

Venus’ greatest brightness always happens about a month before and a month after Venus reaches inferior conjunction. Its next inferior conjunction – is March 22-23, 2025.

The smallest planet in our solar system is Mercury. This rocky little world becomes visible during the final week of February, shining almost as brightly as Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, at magnitude -1.2. It will set just over an hour after the sun on Feb. 25.

Mercury will be in conjunction with Saturn, with the two planets appearing relatively close — just 1.5 degrees apart. Mercury will be positioned to Saturn’s right and shining about eight times brighter.

Mercury will be in conjunction with Saturn, with the two planets appearing relatively close — just 1.5 degrees apart. Mercury will be positioned to Saturn’s right and shining about eight times brighter.

In the evening, just after sunset, seven planets: Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars, are aligning in the sky. Four of them (Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars) will be easily visible to the naked eye. To see Uranus and Neptune, you need a binoculars or a small telescope. Saturn will be the most difficult target to see because the planet sits close to the Sun.

Here are some definitions regarding planetary alignment:
– The planetary alignment is:
   *   An astronomical event when planets gather closely on one side of the Sun at the same time, as seen from above the Solar System.  … and
   *   A visual phenomenon when the planets appear close together in a small sky sector, as seen from the Earth.

– Types of planetary alignments
   *   Mini planetary alignment – 3 planets.
   *   Small planetary alignment – 4 planets.
   *   Large planetary alignment – 5 or 6 planets.
   *   Great (full) planetary alignment – all Solar System planets (+ Pluto sometimes).

Mercury (mag -0.2) will appear at its farthest apparent distance east from the Sun: the celestial bodies will be separated by 18°12′. The event is called the greatest elongation. It’s the best time to observe Mercury

Maximum at 7:38 pm.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes completely through the Earth’s dark shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse, the Moon will gradually get darker and then take on a rusty or blood red color.

An equinox is one of two days in the year when the sun crosses the equator and day and night become equal in length.

The Autumn or Fall Equinox signals the end of Summer on the astronomical calendar. As with the Spring Equinox this is a point of seasonal equilibrium with days and nights being almost exactly 12 hours long each.

Conjunction time: 12:00 GMT

Conjunction distance: 2°06′

On April 10, Mercury (mag 1.0) will be close to Saturn (mag 1.2) in the sky. Saturn will be in the constellation Aquarius, and Mercury will be in the constellation Pisces. Observe them with the naked eye or through a pair of binoculars. However, in some locations, the objects will be too close to the horizon to be visible.

Mercury (mag -0.3) will appear at its farthest apparent distance west from the Sun: the celestial bodies will be separated by 27°24′. The event is called the greatest elongation. It’s the best time to observe Mercury, so don’t miss the chance!

Bright fast meteors, some with trains. Associated with Comet Thatcher.

The OLDEST Meteor Shower: Named after constellation Lyra, the Lyrids are one of the oldest recorded meteor showers—according to some historical Chinese texts, the shower was seen over 2,500 years ago. The fireballs in the meteor shower are created by debris from comet Thatcher, which takes about 415 years to orbit around the Sun. The comet is expected to be visible from Earth again in 2276…. More details can be found in the 2025 Meteor Shower Calendar from International Meteor Organization

Associated with Comet Halley

The radiant, the point in the sky where the Eta Aquarids seem to emerge from, is in the direction of the constellation Aquarius. The shower is named after Eta Aquarii, one of the stars within the constellation.

The Eta Aquarids is one of two meteor showers created by debris from Comet Halley. The Earth passes through Halley’s path around the Sun a second time in October. This creates the Orionid meteor shower, which peaks around October 20.

Comet Halley takes around 76 years to make a complete revolution around the Sun. The next time it will be visible from Earth is in 2061….. More details can be found in the 2025 Meteor Shower Calendar from International Meteor Organization

Meteors/hour: 18

Moon illumination: 38%

Active: Apr 15-30

Radiant location: Lyra

Visible from: everywhere

Associated with Comet Halley

The radiant, the point in the sky where the Eta Aquarids seem to emerge from, is in the direction of the constellation Aquarius. The shower is named after Eta Aquarii, one of the stars within the constellation.

The Eta Aquarids is one of two meteor showers created by debris from Comet Halley. The Earth passes through Halley’s path around the Sun a second time in October. This creates the Orionid meteor shower, which peaks around October 20.

Comet Halley takes around 76 years to make a complete revolution around the Sun. The next time it will be visible from Earth is in 2061….. More details can be found in the 2025 Meteor Shower Calendar from International Meteor Organization

Meteors/hour: 50

Moon illumination: 72%

Active: Apr 19 – May 28

Radiant location: Aquarius

Visible from: everywhere

Venus (mag -4.4) will appear at its farthest apparent distance west from the Sun: the celestial bodies will be separated by 45°54′. The event is called the greatest elongation.

The winter solstice marks the date when the Earth’s axis is furthest away from the sun. At winter solstice the sun is at its most northern point in the sky. After the solstice, days gradually get more hours of sunlight although temperatures continue to get colder for a time.

On June 23, the 8%-illuminated Moon will be close to the Pleiades star cluster (mag 1.2) in the sky. Observe them with the naked eye or through a pair of binoculars in the constellation Taurus.

On July 4, Mercury (mag 0.5) will appear at its farthest apparent distance west from the Sun: the celestial bodies will be separated by 25°54′.

There is still some uncertainty regarding the parent comet responsible for producing the Delta Aquariid meteor shower. It was thought that the meteor shower originated from the breakup of the Marsden and Kracht sungrazing comets – comets that get within about 850,000 miles (approx. 1 400 000 kilometres) of the Sun at their closest approach. Recently however, another sungrazing comet called Comet 96P/Machholz has been identified as the likely source of the meteor shower. Discovered in 1986 by Donald Machholz, the comet has an estimated diameter of 4 miles (6.4 kilometres) and takes just over 5 years to complete one orbit around the Sun. As the comet gets heated by the Sun, ice in the comet vaporises and loosens small bits of rock and dust which forms the stream of debris that produces the Delta Aquariids meteor shower.

Made of tiny space debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle, the Perseids are named after the constellation Perseus. This is because the direction, or radiant, from which the shower seems to come in the sky lies in the same direction as Perseus. The Perseids are widely sought after by astronomers and stargazers because most years at its peak, one can see 60 to 100 meteors in an hour from a dark place.

Meteors/hour: 25

Moon illumination: 42%

Active: Jul 12 – Aug 23

Radiant location: Aquarius

Visible from: everywhere

Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn — will align in the morning sky. Four of these planets (Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn) will be visible to the naked eye.

Meteors/hour: 100

Moon illumination: 91%

Active: Jul 17 – Aug 24

Radiant location: Perseus

Visible from: Northern Hemisphere

Mercury (mag -0.2) will appear at its farthest apparent distance west from the Sun: the celestial bodies will be separated by 18°36′.

Wake up super-early, grab a bucket of freshly-brewed coffee and head out to a place where you can enjoy the Heavenly Show. More details are on my favorite resource timeanddate.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes completely through the Earth’s dark shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse, the Moon will gradually get darker and then take on a rusty or blood red color.

The material we see as meteors from the Southern Taurids radiant comes from the comet known as Encke’s Comet. Officially known as 2P/Encke, this comet was discovered four times before it received its name.

Over this period, there will be a chance of seeing Southern Taurid meteors whenever the shower’s radiant point – in the constellation Cetus – is above the horizon, with the number of visible meteors increasing the higher the radiant point is in the sky.
Seen from Auckland, the shower will not be visible before around 20:39 each night, when its radiant point rises above your eastern horizon. It will then remain active until dawn breaks around 06:15.
The shower is likely produce its best displays in the hours around 02:00 NZDT, when its radiant point is highest in the sky.

Saturn will reach opposition on September 21, 2025, at 05:37 GMT. This is the best time to observe and photograph Saturn, as it will be brighter than at any other time of the year and visible throughout the night. During the opposition, Saturn will shine with a magnitude of 0.6 in the constellation Pisces. It will be easily visible to the naked eye. To explore the planet’s rings, use a telescope.

An equinox is one of two days in the year when the sun crosses the equator and day and night become equal in length.

According to the astronomical definition of the seasons, the Spring equinox marks the beginning of spring, which lasts until the summer solstice

The Orionid meteor shower is the second meteor shower created by Comet Halley. The Eta Aquarids in May is the other meteor shower created by debris left by Comet Halley.
Halley takes around 76 years to make a complete revolution around the Sun. It will next be visible from Earth in 2061.
Orionids are named after Orion, because the meteors seem to emerge or radiate from the same area in the sky as the constellation.

Meteors/hour: 20

Moon illumination: 0%

Active: Oct 2 – Nov 7

Radiant location: Orion

Visible from: everywhere

Mercury (mag -0.1) will appear at its farthest apparent distance east from the Sun: the celestial bodies will be separated by 23°54′. The event is called the greatest elongation.

The material we see as meteors from the Southern Taurids radiant comes from the comet known as Encke’s Comet. Officially known as 2P/Encke, this comet was discovered four times before it received its name.

Over this period, there will be a chance of seeing Southern Taurid meteors whenever the shower’s radiant point – in the constellation Cetus – is above the horizon, with the number of visible meteors increasing the higher the radiant point is in the sky.
Seen from Auckland, the shower will not be visible before around 20:39 each night, when its radiant point rises above your eastern horizon. It will then remain active until dawn breaks around 06:15.
The shower is likely produce its best displays in the hours around 02:00 NZDT, when its radiant point is highest in the sky.

Meteors/hour: 5-10

Moon illumination: 99%

Active: Sept 20 – Nov 20

Radiant location: Taurus

Visible from: everywhere

The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 13:21 UTC. This is the second of three supermoons for 2025. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.

Fast bright meteors with fine trains.
The Leonid meteor shower is associated with the Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.
The radiant (the point where the meteors seem to stream from) is at the head or ‘sickle’ of the constellation Leo the Lion, hence the name.
As the comet follows its path around the sun, it leaves a path of tiny debris. The cometary debris enters our planet’s atmosphere at speeds of up to 70 kilometres per second, vaporising and causing the streaks of light we call meteors.

Uranus will reach opposition on November 21, 2025, at 12:17 GMT. This is the best time to observe and photograph Uranus, as it will be brighter than at any other time of the year and visible throughout the night.
During the opposition, Uranus will be at a magnitude of 5.6 in the constellation Taurus. However, even at this time, Uranus is too faint to be visible to the naked eye.

The meteors of the Geminid meteor shower are very bright, moderately fast, and are unusual in being multi-coloured – mainly white, some yellow and a few green, red and blue. These colours are partly caused by the presence of traces of metals like sodium and calcium, the same effect that is used to make fireworks colourful.
The Geminids are considered to be one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year, with the possibility of sighting around 120 meteors per hour at its peak, which is on December 14. The shower owes its name to the constellation Gemini because the meteors seem to emerge from this constellation in the sky.

What sets the Geminids apart from other meteor showers is their origin: while most meteor showers originate from comets, Geminids are leftover bits and pieces of the asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon. Unlike comets, asteroids don’t develop tails when approaching the Sun, and their composition is different.
However, scientists are still debating if Phaethon is even an asteroid – although it is built like one, it doesn’t move like one. Its orbit is highly elliptical, like a comet, which is why some scientists debate if Phaethon could be a completely new class of celestial objects: a rock comet.

Meteors/hour: 150

Moon illumination: 27%

Active: Dec 4-20

Radiant location: Gemini

Visible from: everywhere

The December solstice marks the first day of astronomical summer in the Southern Hemisphere. It will be the longest day in the Southern Hemisphere and we’ll experience the greatest amount of sunlight.