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Your guide to Australia's skies: The lunar eclipses, meteor showers and celestial events happening in 2025

Zara Zadro

January 6, 2025 - 10.19pm

The new year brings a host of astronomical events to be excited for.

Here are the key events you should look out for in 2025.

Total eclipse of the moon: September

Towards the end of the year, Australians can look forward to a total lunar eclipse in the southern sky.

In the early morning of September 8, the full moon will move into the shadow of Earth and appear completely black, surrounded by a glowing orange-red ring.

Lunar eclipse moon darkens in sky as it moves into the Earth's shadow. — The total eclipse of the moon takes place in September. AP

This glow occurs when the only light reflecting off the moon is sunlight refracted through the Earth's atmosphere. When this light refracts, the red light travels more directly through the atmosphere than blue and green light due to its longer wavelength, allowing it to reach the moon.

Meteor showers: May and December

Geminid meteor shower in the sky, when Earth passes through a comet — The Geminid meteor shower will be visible in the north of the sky on December 14 and 15. Getty Images/iStockphoto

There are two main meteor showers this year in May and December, the Eta Aquariids and the Geminids.

A meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through the path of a comet and bit of comet debris scatter across the sky.

See the Eta Aquariids on the morning of Wednesday, May 7 and the Geminids on the mornings of Sunday, December 14 and Monday, December 15 by looking to the northeast (Eta Aquariids) and north (Geminids) before dawn.

If you get up before sunrise on May 7, you'll be able to see Halley's comet, one of the few comets visible with the naked eye, in the Eta Aquariids.

In 2025, viewing conditions are expected to be ideal, as no bright moon will be lightening the sky - but try to find the darkest sky you can, and keep away from any bright light sources.

Supermoon sightings: September, October, and November

Supermoon in Sydney, when full moon occurs at the moon's closest orbit point to the Earth. — A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the Moon's closest point to Earth during its orbit. AP

There are three predicted supermoons, on September 7 (Harvest Moon), October 8 (Hunter's Moon), and November 4 (Diva Moon).

A supermoon occurs when a full moon or new moon nearly coincides with a perigee - the closest that the Moon comes to the Earth during orbit, resulting in a larger and brighter-than-usual moon in the sky.

Planetary movements: January, April, and August

Saturn, top, and Jupiter, below, are seen after sunset from Shenandoah National Park, in Virginia. — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are visible from Earth at various times of the year. NASA

There are five planets you can see with the naked eye - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

These planets move across the sky on a line known as the 'ecliptic', sometimes passing close to each other and producing patterns visible from Earth.

In 2025, you can look out for these patterns throughout the year:

January 18–19: the brightest planet, Venus, is close to the ringed planet Saturn in the evening sky
April 1–15: Mercury, Venus and Saturn form a slowly changing compact group in the eastern sky near sunrise
August 12–13: Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets, are only separated by two moon-widths in the morning sky.

Saturn's 'disappearing' rings: March

In early 2025, Earth will pass through the plane of Saturn's rings, a phenomenon that happens roughly ever 15 years during Saturn's 29-year path around the Sun.

Unfortunately, when it does happen in March, Earth will be close to Saturn itself to view this phenomenon through a telescope.

However, in the evenings until mid-February and in the morning from late March we will be able to see Saturn with quite narrow, tilted rings, again, requiring the use of a small telescope.