There's a lot going on in the night sky through 2025! The WCA has put together a list of the most exciting events visible from Waterloo, and when you'll be able to see them.
February 16: Venus at maximum brightness
Venus is the third brightest object in the sky (after the Sun and Moon), but in mid-February it will be at its maximum brightness for 2025. At this time, Venus will be "only" 60 million kilometres from the Earth, and will appear about 20 times brighter than the brightest star in the sky, Sirius.
Look out for it near the horizon in the west, for a few hours after sunset.
March 13/14: Total lunar eclipse
In mid-March, the Earth will pass directly between the Moon and the Sun, blocking out the light from the Sun and causing a total lunar eclipse. While these events aren't as rare or dramatic as the solar eclipse we saw last year, it's still a fantastic event to witness!
Expect to see the circular shadow of the Earth cast on the surface of the full moon in the early hours of March 14, followed by a dramatic red "blood Moon" at 2:30am as the Sun's light is almost completely blocked by the Earth. This will be the last total lunar eclipse visible from Ontario until 2029, so don't miss it!
August 12: Perseids meteor shower
One of the biggest meteor showers of the year, the Perseids will peak on the night of August 12. Under the right conditions, this shower can produce more than one shooting star per minute, best viewed in the north of the sky. This year, August 12 will also see a bright 90% full moon, which might spoil the show a little -- try to get outside between 10-11pm, before the Moon rises high into the sky.
The WCA runs a yearly public event celebrating the Perseids, so watch out for details nearer the time. Our 2024 event also featured a guest lecture from Dr. Liza Sazonova, about the history of astronomy!
All year long: Northern lights
Our Sun goes through an 11-year Solar cycle, during which the number of sunspots on the surface of the Sun varies dramatically. This surface activity is responsible for the aurora borealis (northern lights), as particles thrown out of the Sun interact with the Earth's magnetic field.
The current Solar cycle is due to peak in the middle of 2025, making this the best year to spot the northern lights for the next decade. There's usually only a day or two's notice before a northern lights show though, so watch out for the next "solar storm"!
February 24: The parade of planets
During the last few days of February and the first few days of March, all seven planets in the Solar System will be visible at the same time, forming a "parade of planets". While the planets won't actually be "aligned", they will be in the same part of the Solar System at the same time, making them all visible in the night sky. Spotting all seven will be a challenge though! Uranus and Neptune are too faint to see with the naked eye, and require a telescope or good pair of binoculars to spot, while Mercury and Saturn will set below the western horizon about one hour after sunset, providing only a short window to see them.
However, Venus, Jupiter and Mars will be shining brightly across the sky for several hours after sunset right through February, making it a good time to go searching for planets! Waterloo News have posted an article with more information on how to see these planets!
July 20: Crescent moon in the Pleiades
The Pleiades star cluster is a favourite point in the sky for stargazers -- to the naked eye it might look like a fuzzy blob, but through a small telescope it clearly stands out as a small cluster of bright blue stars.
Early in the morning of July 20, the crescent Moon will pass directly in front of the Pleiades, eclipsing some of these stars from view. You'll need to be up early though: this will start around 4:30am, and continue until the Sun rises at around 6am.
August 12: Alignment of Jupiter and Venus
On August 12, the two brightest planets in the sky -- Jupiter and Venus -- will align with the Earth, and appear less than one degree apart in the night sky.
These will rise above the eastern horizon at about 3:30am, and will be visible until the Sun rises around 3 hours later.
November 5: Super full moon
The distance from the Earth to the Moon varies by about 10% over the course of a month. When a full moon coincides with this close approach between the Earth and Moon, we get a "supermoon": a full moon that appears particularly large and bright in the sky.
November's full moon will be the brightest full moon of the year. A full moon in November is also known as a "Beaver Moon", as it occurs at the time of year when beavers build their dams.
