Welcome to the Boston Astronomy website!
This website has been created by and is supported by John Sheff, a Boston, MA - area amateur astronomer and informal astronomy educator. You can contact me at jsheff@bostonastronomy.net. My intention in creating this site is to provide a convenient resource for access to news and information about astronomy and space-related activities of interest to the community and the public.
Upcoming Astronomy-Related Events in the Boston Area
Thursday, January 9, 2025, 8:00 PM - 10 PM
Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston (ATMoB) Monthly Meeting
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
60 Garden St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Speaker and Topic: TBA
The sky as seen from Boston on January 15, 2025, at 8:00 PM EST
Major Astronomical Events |
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January 2025 |
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| Jan. 2 | Thur. | 10:00 AM EST | Quadrantid meteors peak (good) |
| Jan. 3 | Fri. | 7:13:48 AM EST | Latest sunrise of the year (7:13:48 AM EST) |
| Jan. 3 | Fri. | 10:00 AM EST | Moon 1.4° S of Venus, 47° from Sun in evening sky |
| Jan. 4 | Sat. | 8:28 AM EST | Earth @ perihelion (0.9833 AU / 147,093,163 km / 91,399,454 mi) |
| Jan. 4 | Sat. | 12:00 PM EST | Moon 0.7° N of Saturn, 61° from Sun in evening sky |
| Jan. 5 | Sun. | 10:00 AM EST | Moon 1.1° N of Neptune, 72° from un in evening sky |
| Jan. 6 | Mon. | 1:00 AM EST | Blue Origin launch |
| Jan. 6 | Mon. | 6:56 PM EST | First Quarter Moon |
| Jan. 7 | Tue. | 7:01 PM EST | Moon @ perigee (370,165 km / 230,010 mi / 58.04 Earth radii) |
| Jan. 9 | Thur. | 4:48 PM EST | BepiColombo Mercury flyby # 6 |
| Jan. 9 | Thur. | 11:00 AM EST | Moon 4° N of Uranus, 124° from Sun in evening sky |
| Jan. 10 | Fri. | 12:00 AM EST | Venus @ greatest eastern elongation (47.2° from Sun) |
| Jan. 10 | Fri. | 6:00 PM EST | Moon 5° N of Jupiter, 141° from Sun in evening sky |
| Jan. 11 | Sat. | 5:00 PM EST | Space-X Starship 7 launch (first block 2 ship) |
| Jan. 11 | Sat. | 9:00 PM EST | Venus @ dichotomy |
| Jan. 12 | Sun. | 1:42 AM EST | Mars nearest Earth (.642 AU / 96,079,251 km / 59,700,879 mi/ 5.3 lm) |
| Jan. 13 | Mon. | 5:27 PM EST | Full Moon ("Full Wolf Moon") |
| Jan. 13 | Mon. | 9:25 PM - 10:41 PM EST | Moon occults Mars, 175° from Sun in morning sky |
| Jan. 15 | Wed. | 10:00 PM EST | Mars @ opposition |
| Jan. 19 | Sun. | 10:00 AM EST | Sun enters Capricornus |
| Jan. 20 | Mon. | 11:00 PM EST | Pluto @ solar conjunction |
| Jan. 20 | Mon. | 11:54 PM EST | Moon @ apogee (404,298 km / 251,219 mi / 63.42 Earth radii) |
| Jan. 21 | Tue. | 3:31 PM EST | Last Quarter Moon |
| Jan. 29 | Wed. | 7:36 AM EST | New Moon |
| Jan. 30 | Thur. | 6:05 PM EST | Juno perijove # 69 |
| Jan. 31 | Fri. | 12:00 AM EST | Moon 1.1° N of Saturn, 35° from Sun in evening sky |
Bold = cool or important |
* = not visible from Boston | ||
An Overview of Major Astronomical and Space Events in 2025 |
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| Jan. 2 | Thur. | 10:00 AM EST | Quadrantid meteors peak (good) |
| Jan. 3 | Fri. | 7:13:48 AM EST | Latest sunrise of the year (7:13:48 AM EST) |
| Jan. 4 | Sat. | 8:28 PM EST | Earth @ perihelion (0.9833 AU / 147,093,163 km / 91,399,454 mi) |
| Jan. 9 | Thur. | 4:48 PM EST | BepiColombo Mercury flyby # 6 |
| Jan. 10 | Fri. | 12:00 AM EST | Venus @ greatest eastern elongation (47.2° from Sun) |
| Jan. 11 | Sat. | 5:00 PM EST | Space-X Starship 7 launch (first block 2 ship) |
| Jan. 11 | Sat. | 9:00 PM EST | Venus @ dichotomy |
| Jan. 12 | Sun. | 5:00 PM EST | Mars nearest Earth (.642 AU / 96,041,852 km / 59,677,634 mi) |
| Jan. 13 | Mon. | 9:25 PM - 10:41 PM EST | Moon occults Mars |
| Jan. 15 | Wed. | 10:00 PM EST | Mars @ opposition |
| Jan. 30 | Thur. | 6:05 PM EST | Juno perijove # 69 |
| Feb. 9 | Sun. | 7:00 AM EST | Mercury @ superior conjunction |
| Feb. 14 | Fri. | 5:00 PM EST | Venus @ greatest illuminated extent (344 square arc-seconds) |
| Feb. 16 | Sun. | 4:00 AM EST | Venus @ greatest brilliancy (mag. -4.64) |
| Mar. 1 | Sat. | 1:00 PM EST | Europa Clipper Mars gravity assist |
| Mar. 4 | Tue. | 11:04 AM EST | Juno periove # 70 |
| Mar. 8 | Sat. | 2:00 AM EST | Mercury @ greatest eastern elongation (18.3° E of Sun) |
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Mar. 9 |
Sun. |
2:00 AM EST / 3:00 AM EDT |
Daylight Saving Time begins |
| Mar. 12 | Wed. | 6:00 AM EDT | Saturn @ solar conjunction |
| Mar. 14 | Fri. | 2:26:00 AM EDT | Total lunar eclipse begins |
| Mar. 14 | Fri. | 2:58:47 AM EDT | Greatest eclipse |
| Mar. 14 | Fri. | 3:32:04 AM EDT | Total lunar eclipse ends |
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Mar. 17 |
Mon. |
6:53 AM EDT - 6:53 PM EDT |
Equilux (day and night of equal length) |
| Mar. 19 | Wed. | 7:00 PM EDT | Neptune @ solar conjunction |
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Mar. 20 |
Thur. |
5:01 AM EDT |
March (Spring) Equinox |
| Mar. 22 | Sat. | Parker Solar Probe perihelion # 23 | |
| Mar. 22 | Sat. | 9:00 PM EDT | Venus @ inferior conjunction |
| Mar. 23 | Sun. | 12:05 PM EDT | Saturn ring-plane crossing |
| Mar. 24 | Mon. | 4:00 PM EDT | Mercury @ inferior conjunction |
| Mar. 29 | Sat. | 6:31 AM EDT | Partial Solar Eclipse - Sun & Moon rise |
| Mar. 29 | Sat. | 7:07:54 AM EDT | Partial solar eclipse ends |
| Apr. 4 | Fri. | 5:31 AM EDT | Juno perijove # 71 |
| Apr. 20 | Sun. | Lucy flies by asteroid Donaldjohanson | |
| Apr. 21 | Mon. | 3:00 PM EDT | Mercury @ greatest western elongation (27° W of Sun) |
| Apr. 22 | Tue. | 9:00 AM EDT | Lyrid meteors (poor) |
| April 24 | Thur. | 2:00 AM EDT | Venus @ greatest brilliancy (mag. -4.54) |
| Apr. 27 | Sun. | 1:00 PM EDT | Venus @ greatest illuminated extent (309 square arc-seconds) |
| May 1 | Thur. | 8:00 AM EDT | Vesta @ opposition |
| May 3 | Sat. | Astronomy Day | |
| May 4 | Sun. | 8:00 PM EDT | Saturn's ring plane passes N of the Sun |
| May 6 | Tue. | 11:01 PM EDT | Juno perijove # 72 |
| May 17 | Sat. | 8:00 PM EDT | Uranus @ solar conjunction |
| May 29 | Thur. | Summer solstice in Mars's Northern Hemisphere | |
| May 30 | Fri. | 12:00 AM EDT | Mercury @ superior conjunction |
| May 31 | Sat. | 11:00 PM EDT | Venus @ greatest western elongation (45.9° E of Sun) |
| Jun. 1 | Sun. | 6:00 PM EDT | Venus @ dichotomy |
| Jun. 8 | Sun. | 4:31 PM EDT | Juno perijove # 73 |
| Jun. 14 | Sat. | 5:07 AM EDT | Earliest sunrise of year (5:07:00 AM EDT) |
| Jun. 19 | Thur. | Parker Solar Probe perihelion # 24 | |
| Jun. 20 | Fri. | 10:42 PM EDT | June (Summer) Solstice |
| Jun. 24 | Tue. | 11:00 EDT | Jupiter @ solar conjunction |
| Jun. 27 | Fri. | 8:25 PM EDT | Latest sunset of year (8:25:23 PM) |
| Jun. 30 | Mon. | Asteroid Day | |
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Jul. 3 |
Thu. | 3:00 PM EDT | Earth @ aphelion (1.017 AU / 152.1 milion km / 94,510,886 miles) |
| Jul. 4 | Fri. | 1:00 AM EDT | Mercury @ greatest eastern elongation (25.9° E of Sun) |
| Jul. 11 | Fri. | 9:40 AM EDT | Juno perijove # 74 |
| Jul. 24 | Thur. | 5:00 PM EDT | Pluto @ opposition |
| Jul. 31 | Thur. | 8:00 PM EDT | Mercury @ inferior conjunction |
| Aug. 12 | Tue. | 3:00 PM EDT | Perseid meteors (poor) |
| Aug. 13 | Wed. | 3:07 AM EDT | Juno perijove # 75 |
| Aug. 19 | Tue. | 6:00 AM EDT | Mercury @ greatest western elongation (18.6° W of Sun) |
| Aug. 31 | Sun. | JUICE mission Venus flyby | |
| Sept. 13 | Sat. | 7:00 AM EDT | Mercury @ superior conjunction |
| Sept. 14 | Sun. | 7:43 PM EDT | Juno perijove # 76 (EOM) |
| Sept. 15 | Mon. | Parker Solar Probe perihelion # 25 | |
| Sept. 21 | Sun. | 2:00 AM EDT | Saturn @ opposition |
| Sept. 22 | Mon. | 2:19 PM EDT | September (Fall) Equinox |
| Sept. 23 | Tue. | 9:00 AM EDT | Neptune @ opposition |
| Sept. 25 | Thur. | 6:39 AM EDT - 6:39 PM EDT | Equilux |
| Sept. 27 | Sat. | Astronomy Day | |
| Oct. 2 | Thu. | 12:00 AM EDT | Ceres @ opposition |
| Oct. 21 | Tue. | 8:00 AM EDT | Orionid meteors (good) |
| Oct. 29 | Wed. | 6:00 PM EDT | Mercury @ greatest eastern elongation (23.9° E of Sun) |
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Nov. 2 |
Sun. |
1:00 AM EST / 2:00 AM EDT |
Daylight Saving Time ends |
| Nov. 17 | Mon. | 12:00 PM EST | Leonid meteors (good) |
| Nov. 20 | Thur. | 4:00 AM EDT | Mercury @ inferior conjunction |
| Nov. 21 | Fri. | 7:00 AM EST | Uranus @ opposition |
| Nov. 29 | Sat. | Fall Equinox in Mars' Northern Hemisphere | |
| Dec. 7 | Sun. | 4:00 PM EST | Mercury @ greatest western elongation (20.7° W of Sun) |
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Dec. 8 |
Mon. |
4:11 PM EST |
Earliest sunset of year (4:11:40 PM EST) |
| Dec. 12 | Fri. | Parker Solar Probe perihelion # 26 (EOM) | |
| Dec. 14 | Sun. | 3:00 AM EST | Geminid meteors (poor) |
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Dec. 21 |
Sun. |
10:03 AM EST |
December (Winter) Solstice |
| Dec. 22 | Mon. | 11:00 AM EST | Ursid meteors (poor) |
Bold = cool or important |
* = not visible from Boston | ||