March 2025
| 1st | This and tomorrow evening, the waxing crescent Moon and Venus are close together and provide a brilliant sight in clear skies after sunset. |
| 4th | The Galilean moons of Jupiter, Ganymede and Europa, will cast a double shadow on the planets surface in the early hours of the 5th |
| 5th | Jupiter’s moon Callisto will sit at 1 arcsecond north of Jupiter’s northern limb in the early evening whilst Venus is at a 10% phase and appears as 52 arcseconds across. |
| 6th | In the early morning, the 42% lit waxing Crescent Moon and Jupiter are approaching on the north west horizon. Later in the day, after sunset the first quarter Moon can be seen close to Jupiter |
| 8th | Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation at 18.2 degrees from the Sun in the evening sky. The Moon will at a 70% lit waxing gibbous phase by 14:00 UT. The clair-obscur effect ‘The Jewelled Handle’ should also be visible. |
| 9th | In the early hours of the morning, Mars will appear very close to a 74% lit waxing gibbous Moon. At 01:48 UT, Mars will be lit at a magnitude of -0.1 and placed at 55 arcseconds south of the Moons centre. |
| 11th | The inferior planet Venus now has a phase of 5% with its stunning crescent appearing at 56 arcseconds across. The Galilean moon Ganymede will transit across Jupiter before midnight. |
| 12th | For those of us interested in minor planets, ‘8 Flora’ reaches opposition today. |
| 13th | Magnitude -4.2 Venus and +1.0 Mercury appear to be separated by 5.6 degrees as seen low on the western horizon after sunset. |
| 14th | A total lunar eclipse is to be seen around 03:57 UT and ending after the Moon sets. Totality occurs just before moonset. |
| 18th | One of the Moons many valleys, Vallis Capella, should be worth a good look over the next few days. |
| 20th | With the Sun crossing the earth’s celestial equator at 09:01 UT today, this marks the northern hemispheres Sprint Equinox whilst in the southern hemisphere this is the Autumn Equinox. |
| 23rd | Venus reaches inferior conjunction today with a pass of 8.4 degrees from the centre of the Sun’s disc. TAKE PRECAUTIONS WHEN LOOKING AT THE SUN! |
| 24th | The Moons librations favours features as seen on the south west side, an area known for the Mare Orientale aka ‘The Eastern Sea’. |
| 25th | There is no Moon this evening to wash light across the sky, a good time for deep sky observations. |
| 29th | A partial eclipse of the Sun is visible from around 10:00 UT, TAKE PRECAUTIONS WHEN LOOKING AT THE SUN! |
| 30th | Today marks the Daylight Saving change from 01:00 UT, clocks should be advanced one hour to become 02:00 UT |
January 2025 (scroll down the page for the previous months)
| 2nd | The moon Ganymede is occulted by Jupiter after which Io transits the planet after which Ganymede’s shadow appears a couple of hours later, then followed by an eclipse by Jupiter on Ganymede. |
| 3rd | As the evening twilight fades away, mag. -4.3 Venus can be seen at just under 2 degrees north-north west of a waxing crescent Moon. The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks tonight. |
| 4th | The Earth is at perihelion today (when it is closest to the Sun) and Saturn is occulted by a waxing crescent Moon. |
| 6th | Two clair-obscure effects to be seen on the Moons surface, these are the Lunar X and V. |
| 7th | Titan’s shadow transits Saturn just after sunset and another clair-obscure effect is seen, the Eyes of Clavius at around midnight. |
| 9th | The Moon approaches the Pleiades open cluster and will pass over some of the brighter stars early on the 10th |
| 10th | Venus reaches its greatest eastern elongation, 47.2 degree separation from the Sun |
| 12th | Venus appears as 50% (Dichotomy) after which it will be seen as a crescent |
| 13th | Once again Ganymede will shadow transit Jupiter, to be seen 15:00 |
| 14th | Mars at mag. -1.4 can be seen 10 arcminutes north of the Moons northern limb |
| 16th | Mars stil at mag. -1.4 will be at opposition |
| 18th | Venus will be shining bright at 2.2 degrees north of the dimmer Saturn |
| 20th | Ganymede is first seen transiting Jupiter in the early evening with a shadow transit over midnight |
| 23rd | The Galilean moon Callisto is to be seen at 3 arcseconds below Jupiters southern pole in the morning |
| 25th | Owing to lunar libration the large lunar sea ‘Mare Orientale’ can be seen in better detail on the Moons surface |
| 27th | Ganymede and it shadow make 2 separate transits of Jupiter |
| 28th | As the Moon is not ‘out’ this evening and if the sky is clear, it is a good opportunity to view the Sword of Orion and the ‘Orion Nebula’ (M42) as it sits high in the sky |
| 31st | Around midday with the right viewing conditions it may be possible to see the occultation of the moon Titan on Saturn’s northern limb. Titan will disappear behind Saturn and later reappear |
February 2025
| 1st | Venus and Saturn are naked eye visible in the evening twilight whilst Neptune needs at least binoculars to spot it. The Moon is a 12% lit waxing crescent. |
| 4th | Ganymede can be seen transiting Jupiter after midnight. |
| 5th | The Moon is a 55% lit waxing gibbous and will sit 4.1 degree north of the planet Uranus seen at mag. +5.7. A clair-obscur effect ‘Stars of Aristillus’ (in the crater called Aristillus) can also be seen on the lunar surface in the late evening. |
| 6th | The Moons libration effect will allow better visibility of a cluster of dark lava filled craters in the south east region for example the craters Lyot, Oken and Jeans. |
| 7th | After midnight the 69% lit waxing Moon will sit 4.8 degree north of the planet Jupiter which is at mag. -2.3. |
| 8th | Jupiters moon Callisto will sit 3 arcseconds south of the southern pole in early evening. For those keen daylight observers you might be able to catch the moon Titan transiting Saturn in the afternoon and its shadow from midday to evening time. |
| 9th | Magnitude -0.8 Mars will lie approx. 4.8 arcminutes south of the Moons southern edge in the early evening. |
| 10th | The planet Venus will appear 30% illuminated when viewed through the eyepiece with its apparent diameter at 36 arcseconds. |
| 12th | The minor planet 29 Amphitrite reaches opposition today. |
| 13th | After midnight, mag. +1.3 Regulus (Alpha Leonis) sits 1.2 degree south of the Moons southern edge. |
| 14th | Another clair-obscur effect on the Moon in the early hours of the morning that resembles a set of steps and known as the ‘Zeno Steps’, as it appears in the 65km crater called Zeno. |
| 17th | A 25% illuminated Venus is to be seen this evening through the eyepiece with an apparent diameter of 40 arcseconds. |
| 20th | With the hope of a clear evening, the Beehive Cluster (M44) should be visible as the Moon will not be seen this evening. Binoculars as a minimum will be required. |
| 22nd | The planet Venus will appear at 20% illumination as a stunning crescent with an apparent diameter of 44 arcseconds. |
| 24th | There is another Titan shadow crossing over the Saturn surface that starts just after midday and the shadow can be seen into mid evening. |
| 25th | The moon Ganymede transits Jupiter during the evening with the moon Europa keeping up with it and then its shadow is seen later whilst another moon, Io, undergoes an occultation. |
| 27th | Venus this evening is seen as 15% illuminated with an apparent diameter of 47 arcseconds. |
| 28th | Spotting a thin Moon, at less than 1% lit waving crescent, may be possible 50 minutes after the Sun has set. |
Source: Unless specified otherwise the above detail is taken from the BBC Sky At Night magazine for that month, the exact timings have been left out to encourage members to seek out the data for themselves.
Brian Shepherd