Note: The dates and times provided below are for Phoenix, Arizona. You may need to make appropriate time adjustments based on where you live.
Events Intro
The tables below is a list of astronomical events for this year. The following columns listed are:
- Date – The Date and day of the event.
- Event – The title of the event.
- Images – If an icon or icons are present in this column selecting the icon will open a new tab in your browser with detail images of the event.
- Equipment – List of equipment that would be appropriate for observing the event. This equipment includes:
- Visual – Naked eye observing of the event.
- Binoculars – A good pair of binoculars.
- Telescope – This event requires higher magnification to view and so would require a telescope.
- References – When selecting a number in the References column a new tab will be open in your browser where you can find more information on the event.
- Comments – Additional information on the event.
2024 Astronomical Events (PDF) – Astronomical Events for the year in a printable PDF document.
10 – October
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10-02 (Wed) | New Moon | Visual | Dark Skies! | ||
| 2024-10-17 (Thu) | Full Moon | Visual | Hunters Moon: Naming full moons is silly, but it makes the news a lot of times. |
10-November
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-11-01 (Fri) | New Moon | Visual | Dark Skies! | ||
| 2024-11-10 (Sun) | Moon-Saturn Appulse |   | Visual Binoculars | 1 | The Moon and Saturn within 38’ of each other in the western horizon about 44° above the horizon at 7:00 PM. |
| 2024-11-11 (Mon) | Moon/Neptune Occultation |    | Binoculars Telescope | 1 | The Moon will pass in front of Neptune at about 6:20 PM (39° above horizon) and emerge from behind the moon at about 7:18 PM (48° above horizon). |
| 2024-11-15 (Fri) | Full Moon | Visual | Beaver Moon: Naming full moons is silly, but it makes the news a lot of times. | ||
| 2024-11-17 (Sun) | Uranus at Opposition | Telescope | 1 | Uranus lies opposite to the Sun in the sky and will be visible for most of the night. | |
| 2024-11-20 (Wed) | Mercury PM sighting |  | Visual | 1 | Since Mercury is so close to the sun it is generally difficult to spot in the sky. However, this evening, it will appear 9° above the western horizon just after sunset. |
12 – December
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024.12.01 (Sun) | New Moon | Visual | Dark Skies! | ||
| 2024.12.07 (Sat) | Jupiter at Opposition | Telescope | 1 | Jupiter lies opposite to the Sun in the sky and will be visible for most of the night. | |
| 2024.12.15 (Sun) | Full Moon | Visual | Cold Moon: Naming full moons is silly, but it makes the news a lot of times. | ||
| 2024.12.18 (Wed) | Moon-Mars Appulse |  | Visual Binoculars | 1 | The Moon and Mars within 47’ of each other in the eastern horizon about 70° above the horizon at 2:00 AM. |
| 2024.12.21 (Sat) | Mercury AM sighting |  | Visual | 1 | Since Mercury is so close to the sun it is generally difficult to spot in the sky. However, on this morning, it will appear 16° above the eastern horizon just before sunrise. |
| 2024.12.23 (Mon) | Jupiter Double Transit |   | Telescope | Io and Ganymede Double shadow transit from 00:47 to 01:50. Jupiter is well placed for this event. | |
| 2024.12.30 (Mon) | New Moon | Visual | Dark Skies! | ||
| 2024.12.30 (Mon) | Jupiter Double Transit |   | Telescope | Io and Ganymede Double shadow transit from 03:35 to 04:55 with altitude range of 24deg to 8 deg above the horizon. |
01 – January 2025
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025.01.03 (Fri) | Quadrantids (40) | Visual | Max at 40 MPH from Friday evening to Saturday morning | ||
| 2025.01.09 (Thu) | Moon in Pleiades (M-45) | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Time 16:30 – 19:31 | Alt 32° – 69° | | |
| 2025.01.10 (Fri) | Venus PM sighting | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Venus at greatest Eastern Elongation. Look for it in the west shortly after sunset | |
| 2025.01.13 (Mon) | Full Moon | Visual | Wolf Moon | ||
| 2025.01.13 (Mon) | Moon/Mars Occultation | 1, 2 | Binoculars Telescope | Time 18:47 – 19:46 | Alt 13° – 24° | | |
| 2025.01.15 (Wed) | Mars at Opposition | Telescope | Mars closest approach to earth | ||
| 2025.01.29 (Wed) | New Moon | N/A | |||
| 2025.01.30 (Thu) | Venus PM sighting | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Venus at highest altitude in evening sky | |
02 February
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025.02.05 (Wed) | Moon in Pleiades (M-45) | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Time 23:00 – 01:24 | Alt 38° – 10° | | |
| 2025.02.12 (Wed) | Full Moon | Visual | Snow Moon | ||
| 2025.02.27 (Thu) | New Moon | N/A | |||
03 March
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025.03.08 (Sat) | Mercury PM sighting | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Highest Altitude in evening sky | |
| 2025.03.13 (Thu) | Full Moon | Visual | Worm Moon | ||
| 2025.03.13 (Thu) | Total Lunar Eclipse | 1, 2, 3 | Visual Binoculars | Time=22:09 – 01:43 | Alt=44° – 55° | Max= Midnight @ 58° | |
| 2025.03.20 (Wed) | Vernal Equinox | N/A | |||
| 2025.03.29 (Sat) | New Moon | N/A |
04 April
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025.04.12 (Sat) | Full Moon | Visual | Pink Moon | ||
| 2025.04.20 (Sun) | Mercury AM sighting | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Mercury at highest altitude in morning sky | |
| 2025.04.22 (Tue) | Lyrids (20) | Visual | Will peak on Tuesday evening to Wednesday Morning at 20 MPH | ||
| 2025.04.27 (Sun) | New Moon | N/A |
05 May
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025.05.12 (Mon) | Full Moon | Visual | Flower Moon | ||
| 2025.05.26 (Mon) | New Moon | N/A | |||
| 2025.05.31 (Sat) | Venus AM sighting | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Venus at Greatest Western Elongation. Best chance to see it in the morning sky |
06 June
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025.06.11 (Wed) | Full Moon | Visual | Strawberry Moon | ||
| 2025.06.25 (Wed) | New Moon | N/A | |||
| 2025.06.29 (Sun) | Moon/Mars Appulse | 1 | Binoculars Telescope | Closes at 18:22 Alt=54° within ½° of each other |
07 July
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025.07.04 (Fri) | Mercury PM sighting | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Greatest Eastern Elongation. Best chance to see it in the evening sky. | |
| 2025.07.10 (Thu) | Full Moon | Visual | Buck Moon | ||
| 2025.07.20 (Sun) | Moon in Pleiades (M-45) | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Time=02:10 | Alt=10° – This might be a good photo. | |
| 2025.07.24 (Thu) | New Moon | N/A | |||
| 2025.07.28 (Mon) | Delta Aquarids (20) | Visual | Best time to view from Monday evening to Tuesday morning peaking at 20 MPH |
08 August
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025.08.09 (Sat) | Full Moon | Visual | Sturgeon Moon | ||
| 2025.08.19 (Tue) | Mercury AM sighting | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Greatest Western Elongation. Best chance to see it in the morning sky. | |
| 2025.08.23 (Sat) | New Moon | N/A |
09 September
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025.09.07 (Sun) | Full Moon | Visual | Corn Moon | ||
| 2025.09.19 (Fri) | Moon/Venus Appulse | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Possible photo opportunity | 05:00 @ 10° Within 1° of each other | |
| 2025.09.21 (Sun) | New Moon | N/A | |||
| 2025.09.21 (Sun) | Saturn | Telescope | Saturn at Opposition. Closest approach to earth. | ||
| 2025.09.22 (Mon) | Autumnal Equinox | N/A | |||
| 2025.09.23 (Tue) | Neptune | Telescope | Neptune at opposition |
10 October
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025.10.06 (Mon) | Full Moon | Visual | Harvest Moon (Supermoon) | ||
| 2025.10.09 (Thu) | Moon in Pleiades (M-45) | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Time= 20:45 – 22:27 | Alt=10° – 30° | |
| 2025.10.11 (Sat) | Jupiters Moons | 1 | Telescope | Double Moon Shadows | Time=01:00 – 03:07 | Alt=14° – 40° | | |
| 2025.10.18 (Sat) | Jupiters Moons | 1 | Telescope | Double Moon Shadows | Time=03:02 – 05:07 | Alt=44° – 69° | | |
| 2025.10.21 (Tue) | New Moon | N/A | |||
| 2025.10.21 (Tue) | Orionids (20) | Visual | Best viewed from Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning peaking at 20 MPH | ||
| 2025.10.29 (Wed) | Mercury PM sighting | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Greatest Eastern Elongation. Best chance to see in the evening sky. |
11 November
12 December
| Date | Event | Images | Equipment | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025.12.03 (Wed) | Moon in Pleiades (M-45) | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Time=17:51 – 20:08 | Alt=19° – 46° | |
| 2025.12.04 (Thu) | Full Moon | Visual | Cold Moon (Supermoon) | ||
| 2025.12.07 (Sun) | Mercury AM sighting | 1 | Visual Binoculars | Greatest Western Elongation. Best chance to see in the morning sky | |
| 2025.12.19 (Fri) | New Moon | N/A | |||
| 2025.12.22 (Mon) | Ursids (5) | Visual | Best viewed on Monday morning peaking at 5-10 MPH |