Monthly Challenge

1 – 12 January – See the Quadrantid meteor shower

The year starts with a bang with the Quadrantids, one of the strongest and most reliable yearly meteor showers. Active from 28 December 2024 until 12 January 2025, this shower is famous for its ‘fireballs’, exceptionally bright meteors.

In 2025 the Quadrantids peak on the night of 4 January, with a possible rate of up to 120 meteors per hour at the maximum. The waxing crescent Moon might drown out a few of the fainter meteors on this night, though luckily it will set below the horizon just before 10 pm from the UK. 

To see this shower bundle up nice and warm, find a dark location free from light pollution, and fill your eyesight with as much of the sky as possible. To work out if you’ve seen a Quadrantid meteor trace it back to its radiant point, which should be in the northern part of the constellation Boötes.

Image

Lunar Occulation of Saturn captured in Stellarium

4 January – See Saturn hide behind the Moon

An occultation in astronomy occurs when, from our vantage point on Earth, one celestial object appears to pass in front of another.

On 4 January from the UK we’ll see a lunar occultation of Saturn, meaning Saturn will appear to pass behind the Moon, which will be nearing its first quarter phase. 

At around 5.15 pm Saturn will be visible just about touching the northwest of the Moon, and will then disappear behind the shadowed portion of the Moon. Around 6.30 pm Saturn will reappear from behind the southeast of the lunar disk. 

Other regions won’t see an occultation, but Saturn and the Moon will appear close to each other in the sky, known as conjunction

2025 Stargazing Dates

We have a new venue for stargazing, at Typebagger Forest (see Events page)

Dates for 2025 are as follows

Just to let you know our StarGazing dates at the Tyrebagger are as follows
January   15th from   7.30pm
January   29th from   7.30pm
February 19th from   7.30pm
February 26th from   7.30pm
March       5th from   7.30pm
March    19th  from   7.30pm
March     26th from   7.30pm
Thanks      Alex     AberdeenWestAstronomy

All welcome!