The first month of 2025 will be filled with several exciting astronomical events. There will be such long-awaited phenomena as Saturn’s coverage by the Moon, Venus‘ maximum elongation, and Mars’ opposition. In addition, we will see two more transits of Titan’s shadow across Saturn’s disc. Although not the last in the series, they are much more favorable for observations than those that will take place in February.
The beginning of the month marks the peak of one of the most powerful meteor showers of the year, the Quadrantids, with the radiant in the constellation of Boötes. This time, we were very lucky with the Moon’s phase: the narrow peak of the shower, expected on the night of 3-4 January, will be observed a few days after the new moon phase.
In the middle of the month, comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is expected to reach perihelion, which is predicted to be very bright. However, most of the time, it will be visible only in the Southern Hemisphere, and quite close to the Sun. And although the most favorable conditions will be for northern observers at the maximum brilliance, it will be possible to see it only in a glimpse, just before dawn (11-13 January) or after sunset (14-15 January).
The winter sky will delight your eyes with such bright star-rich constellations as Perseus, Auriga, Taurus, Orion, Canis Major and Gemini. There are quite a few different deep-space objects – nebulae, galaxies and star clusters. It is better to pay attention to them near the new moon, i.e. at the beginning and end of the month.
The list of events
👀 🔭 📷 3 January – The Moon (16%) is in conjunction with Venus (-4.5m); at 3:24 p.m. UTC (10:24 a.m. UTC-5) our natural satellite will be 1.4° north of the bright Evening Star.
👀 🔭 📷 3 January – the peak of the Quadrantids meteor shower, expected ZHR = 80.
👀 🔭 📷 4 January – at 1:28 p.m. UTC (8:28 a.m. UTC-5), the Earth will be at perihelion, the closest point in its orbit to the Sun.
👀 🔭 📷 4 January – Saturn’s coverage by the Moon, visible throughout Ukraine.
👀 🔭 📷 7 January – the transit of Titan’s shadow across Saturn’s disc, starting at 4:30 p.m. UTC (11:30 a.m. UTC-5) and lasting until the planet sets over the horizon. The best time to observe is from 4:50 p.m. UTC (11:50 a.m. UTC-5) to 5:35 p.m. UTC (12:35 p.m. UTC-5).
👀 🔭 📷 10 January – The Moon (81%) is 0.3° from the Pleiades cluster on the night of 9-10 January.
👀 🔭 📷 10 January – Venus (-4.6) in the greatest eastern elongation.
👀 🔭 📷 13 January – Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) passes perihelion; its predicted brightness reaches -4m, but due to its proximity to the Sun, observations of this event will be significantly hampered.
👀 🔭 📷 14 January – the lunar full moon, the exact time is 10:28 p.m. UTC (5:28 p.m. UTC-5).
👀 🔭 📷 14 January – the Moon (100%) conjunct Mars (-1.4m); at 4:30 a.m. UTC (11:30 p.m. UTC-5), when both bodies will be low on the western horizon for Ukrainian residents, Mars will be only 0.6° from the Moon, and the USA and parts of Africa will see a cover that night.
👀 🔭 📷 16 January – Mars (-1.4m) in opposition.
👀 🔭 📷 18 January – the conjunction of Venus (-4.6m) and Saturn (1.1m); at 3:53 p.m. UTC (10:53 a.m. UTC-5) Venus will be 2.2° north.
👀 🔭 📷 23 January – the transit of Titan’s shadow across Saturn’s disc, the transit starts at 3:31 p.m. UTC (10:31 a.m. UTC-5) and the best time to observe is from 3:50 p.m. UTC (10:50 a.m. UTC-5) to 4:40 p.m. (11:40 a.m. UTC-5).
👀 🔭 📷 29 January – the new moon.
A detailed overview of the most interesting events
3 January: maximum of the Quadrantids meteor shower
The first powerful “starfall” of the year is observed during the first week of January. This is one of the few saturated streams for which there is no certainty about the parent body. The most likely candidate is the asteroid 2003 EH1, not a comet, which is more typical for meteor showers and is true, in particular, for the Geminids and Perseids.
The Quadrantids Radiant (the imaginary point of departure for meteors) is located in Boötes, but at the time of its discovery in 1825, this area of the sky belonged to the Quadrans Muralis, a constellation that is no longer in use. The maximum of the shower is very narrow and lasts less than 8 hours, but the ZHR of the shower can reach 80.
This year, the conditions for observing will be relatively favorable, as the Moon was in its new moon phase on 31 December. However, the maximum activity is forecast for 3 January at 3:00 p.m. UTC (10:00 a.m. UTC-5). Although the radiant flux in our latitudes never goes below the horizon, it will be low at this time and will rise only in the second half of the night.
4 January: Saturn is covered by the Moon
It is a rather rare event that occurs when the Moon is exactly between the Earth and Saturn. As our natural satellite is a fairly close body, it is visible in a slightly different way for each part of the world against the background of distant objects, so the coverage can be observed not from every place. This time, Ukraine and all European countries were lucky. But in the US, the coverage will not be visible. Coverage time varies slightly depending on the geographical location of the observer. For example, in Kyiv, the event will start at 5:53 p.m. UTC (12:53 p.m. UTC-5) and end at 6:42 p.m. UTC (1:42 p.m. UTC-5). For London, the event will last from 5:20 p.m. UTC (12:20 p.m. UTC-5) to 6:30 p.m. UTC (1:30 p.m. UTC-5). The planet will hide behind our satellite on its dim side and appear on its bright side.
When planning your observations, keep two things in mind. Firstly, Saturn will not be visible for most of the specified time: it disappears completely behind the Moon in less than a minute and reappears with the same speed during the final stage of the coverage. For Ukraine, the beginning of the occultation is much more favorable in terms of observations, as both bodies are still quite high above the horizon at this time. The further west you go, the more favorable the conditions will be, and you can check the specific circumstances for your location here. Secondly, it is worth noting that the Moon is much brighter than Saturn, and the moment of its appearance from the brightly lit side is easy to miss.
10 January: Venus in the greatest eastern elongation
The term “greatest eastward elongation” means that the planet will be visible in the evening sky at the greatest possible angular distance from the Sun. In the case of Venus, you will be able to easily see it with the naked eye right after our daytime luminary sets. The planet will be visible in the south-southwest direction as a small star, which will increase in brightness as the sky darkens. At its maximum elongation, Venus’s brilliance will reach -4.6m. And through the telescope, you will be able to see that it looks like a tiny Moon in the 51% phase. You can read more about observing Venus in the corresponding article.
16 January – Mars opposition
In astronomy, opposition is a specific configuration of bodies external to the Earth’s orbit when the Sun and the object in question are facing in opposite directions. The distance to Earth is often the shortest possible throughout the year, making opposition the most favorable time for observations.
It is during the opposition that Mars is at its brightest, in which case the stellar magnitude will reach -1.4m. The angular size will be 14.5’, allowing observers with telescopes to see the polar caps and large irregularities in the terrain. The exact time of the opposition is 16 January at 1:17 a.m. UTC (8:17 p.m. UTC-5), but you won’t notice much difference if you observe the planet in the days before and after this time. Moreover, in this case, the shortest distance between us and Mars will be on 12 January, at 96.084 million km.
In addition to being the first opposition for Mars since December 2022 and the only one in 2025-2026, the current opposition is also the most successful in the next 6 years. Although this event will not be a “great confrontation”. The difference in observational conditions, as well as the mismatch of the dates of maximum approach and confrontation, are related to the ellipticality of the orbits of both the Earth and the Red Planet. Therefore, during each opposition, we find ourselves at slightly different distances. This year, on the night of the opposition, Mars will line up almost in line with the brightest stars of the Gemini – Castor and Pollux, which will add to the aesthetic pleasure even when observing without optical instruments.
29 January: New Moon – it is time for deep-space objects
The beginning and end of the month are ideal for observing faint objects, as they coincide with the new moon. In January, we suggest paying attention to a variety of star clusters that are available for observation in winter. One of them is the fairly bright scattered cluster M41 (Messier), which is 4° north of Sirius and, under a clear atmosphere, can be visible to the naked eye. And 13°-14° east of the brightest star in our sky, in the constellation Puppis, you can try to catch a couple of other clusters – M46 and M47. We also suggest trying to find the Beehive Cluster (M44) in the constellation Cancer. Even in urban lighting conditions, M44 can sometimes be seen with the naked eye.
