by Mark Phillips using data from Dominic Ford’s in-the-sky.org
The charts show the sky at 21:00 GMT 15 January 2025.
Highlights:
- Jupiter and Mars well placed. Mars at opposition on 16 Jan.
- Venus is getting higher in the evening sky and will reach its greatest elongation (separation from the Sun) on 10 Jan, shining at mag -4.4.
- There will be a Lunar occultation of Saturn in the early evening of 4 Jan.
- On 20 Jan, Venus and Saturn will be close together, 2.5° apart.
- The Quadrantid meteor shower, one of the best of the year, will be active from 28 December to 12 January, producing its peak rate (>100) around 3 January. But the peak is very narrow – just a few hours, making it tricky to observe.
- New Moon 30 Dec / 29 Jan, Full Moon 13 Jan.
- The constellation of Orion is prominent in the southern sky.
Lunar occultation of Saturn
Visible from Edinburgh on Sat, 04 Jan 2025. It will begin with the disappearance of Saturn behind the Moon at 17:20 GMT in the southern sky at an altitude of 24.9 degrees. Its reappearance will be visible at 18:28 GMT at an altitude of 20.9 degrees.
Click on an item to expand for more information:
For 15 Jan 2025 from in-the-sky.org
Mercury will soon pass behind the Sun. From Edinburgh, it is not observable – it will reach its highest point in the sky during daytime and is 0° below the horizon at dawn.
25 Dec 2024 – Mercury at greatest elongation west
08 Mar 2025 – Mercury at greatest elongation east
09 Mar 2025 – Mercury at highest altitude in evening sky
04 Apr 2025 – Mercury at highest altitude in morning sky
Venus is emerging into the evening sky as it approaches greatest elongation east. From Edinburgh, it will become visible at around 16:38 (GMT), 24° above your southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 20:45.
10 Jan 2025 – Venus at greatest elongation east
10 Feb 2025 – Venus at highest altitude in evening sky
31 May 2025 – Venus at greatest elongation west
19 Aug 2025 – Venus at highest altitude in morning sky
Mars, Ron Morley
Mars is currently approaching opposition. From Edinburgh, it is visible in the morning sky, becoming accessible around 16:51, when it reaches an altitude of 7° above your north-eastern horizon. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 00:30, 59° above your southern horizon. It will be lost to dawn twilight around 08:03, 8° above your north-western horizon.
12 Jan 2025 – Mars at perigee
16 Jan 2025 – Mars at opposition
24 Feb 2025 – Mars ends retrograde motion
10 Jan 2027 – Mars enters retrograde motion
New storm on Jupiter, Ron Morley
Jupiter is currently an early evening object. From Edinburgh, it is visible in the evening sky, becoming accessible around 16:38 (GMT), 29° above your eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 21:11, 55° above your southern horizon. It will continue to be observable until around 04:25, when it sinks below 7° above your north-western horizon.
07 Dec 2024 – Jupiter at opposition
04 Feb 2025 – Jupiter ends retrograde motion
11 Nov 2025 – Jupiter enters retrograde motion
10 Jan 2026 – Jupiter at opposition
Saturn and Moons, David Brett
Saturn will soon pass behind the Sun at solar conjunction. From Edinburgh, it will become visible at around 17:10 (GMT), 23° above your south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 20:59.
15 Nov 2024 – Saturn ends retrograde motion
23 Mar 2025 – Saturn ring plane crossing
06 May 2025 – Equinox on Saturn
13 Jul 2025 – Saturn enters retrograde motion
Uranus is currently an early evening object, now receding into evening twilight. From Edinburgh, it is visible in the evening sky, becoming accessible around 17:49 (GMT), 45° above your south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 19:53, 52° above your southern horizon. It will continue to be observable until around 01:08, when it sinks below 21° above your western horizon.
17 Nov 2024 – Uranus at opposition
30 Jan 2025 – Uranus ends retrograde motion
06 Sep 2025 – Uranus enters retrograde motion
21 Nov 2025 – Uranus at opposition
Neptune will soon pass behind the Sun at solar conjunction. From Edinburgh, it will become visible at around 17:49 (GMT), 29° above your south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 22:13.
07 Dec 2024 – Neptune ends retrograde motion
04 Jul 2025 – Neptune enters retrograde motion
23 Sep 2025 – Neptune at opposition
10 Dec 2025 – Neptune ends retrograde motion
Data from in-the-sky.org
| Comet name | Mag | Constellation | Separation from Sun | Trend | Absolute magnitude last updated |
| C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) | 7.3 | Scorpius | 19° | Brightening | 15 Dec 2024 |
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 10.5 | Aquila | 38° | Fading | 3 Dec 2024 |
| 333P/LINEAR | 12.3 | Draco | 88° | Fading | 3 Dec 2024 |
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 12.9 | Cassiopeia | 130° | Fading | 3 Oct 2024 |
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 13.3 | Norma | 30° | Fading – in outburst | 3 Oct 2024 |
| 154P/Brewington | 13.8 | Leo | 125° | Fading | 8 Feb 2017 |
| 48P/Johnson | 14.1 | Sagittarius | 21° | Brightening | 31 Oct 2018 |
| C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) | 14.2 | Orion | 175° | Fading | 2 Dec 2023 |
| C/2021 G2 (ATLAS) | 14.3 | Libra | 39° | Brightening | 4 Apr 2024 |
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 14.4 | Sagittarius | 30° | Fading | 5 Sep 2024 |
| 13P/Olbers | 14.5 | Ophiuchus | 12° | Fading | 3 Oct 2024 |
| 21P/Giacobini-Zinner | 14.6 | Serpens Cauda | 22° | Brightening | 4 Feb 2019 |
| C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) | 14.7 | Cygnus | 73° | Fading | 1 May 2024 |
| C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) | 15.1 | Vela | 96° | Fading | 3 Oct 2024 |
| 65P/Gunn | 15.3 | Scorpius | 21° | Brightening | 1 Aug 2017 |
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 15.4 | Aquarius | 77° | Fading | 3 Dec 2024 |
| C/2024 B1 (Lemmon) | 15.5 | Hercules | 49° | Fading | 2 Nov 2024 |
| 32P/ComasSola | 15.6 | Virgo | 58° | Fading | 14 Sep 2017 |
| 60P/Tsuchinshan | 15.9 | Pisces | 107° | Brightening | 3 Oct 2020 |
| 37P/Forbes | 16.0 | Capricornus | 37° | Fading | 3 Dec 2024 |
| C/2020 V2 (ZTF) | 16.0 | Pavo | 51° | Fading | 30 Aug 2023 |
| 217P/LINEAR | 16.1 | Sagittarius | 9° | Brightening | 30 Nov 2017 |
| C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) | 16.2 | Columba | 115° | Fading | 30 Aug 2023 |
| 43P/Wolf-Harrington | 16.2 | Pisces | 123° | Brightening | 4 Dec 2018 |
| 47P/Ashbrook-Jackson | 16.2 | Sagittarius | 19° | Brightening | 29 Feb 2012 |
The Quadrantid meteor shower will be active from 28 December to 12 January, producing its peak rate of meteors around 3 January.
From Edinburgh the radiant point is circumpolar, which means it is always above the horizon and the shower will be active throughout the night.
The radiant point culminates (is highest in the sky) after dawn – at around 09:00 GMT – and so the shower is likely produce its best displays shortly before dawn, when its radiant point is highest.
At this time, the Earth’s rotation turns Edinburgh to face optimally towards the direction of the incoming meteors, maximising the number that rain vertically downwards, producing short trails close to the radiant point. At other times, there will be fewer meteors burning up over Edinburgh, but those that do will tend to enter the atmosphere at an oblique angle, producing long-lived meteors that may traverse a wide area of the sky before completely burning up.
At its peak, the shower is expected to produce a nominal rate of around 120 meteors per hour (ZHR). However, this zenithal hourly rate is calculated assuming a perfectly dark sky and that the radiant of the shower is situated directly overhead. In practice, any real observing sight will fall short of these ideal conditions.
The shower will peak close to new moon, and so moonlight will present minimal interference.
The parent body responsible for creating the Quadrantid shower has been identified as asteroid 2003 EH1.
Orion is the most instantly recognisable of all constellations – the figure of a man represented by the stars Rigel and Betelgeuse, both among the top ten brightest stars in the sky.
| Stars | Open Clusters | Globular Clusters | Galaxies |
| Rigel (mag 0.3) | NGC 1980 (mag 2.5) | NGC 1924 (mag 12.5) | |
| Betelgeuse (mag 0.6) | Messier 42 (mag 4.0) | NGC 1762 (mag 12.6) | |
| Bellatrix (mag 1.7) | NGC 1981 (mag 4.2) | IC 421 (mag 12.6) | |
| Epsilon Orionis Nebula (mag 1.7) | NGC 2169 (mag 5.9) | NGC 1713 (mag 12.7) | |
| Alnilam (mag 1.7) | NGC 1662 (mag 6.4) | NGC 1671 (mag 12.9) | |
| Alnitak (mag 1.9) | NGC 2175 (mag 6.8) | NGC 1684 (mag 13.0) | |
| Saiph (mag 2.1) | NGC 2194 (mag 8.5) | NGC 1691 (mag 13.2) | |
| Mintaka (mag 2.2) | NGC 2186 (mag 8.7) | NGC 1729 (mag 13.2) | |
| TYC4766-2445-2 (mag 2.2) | NGC 2180 (mag 9.0) | NGC 1843 (mag 13.3) | |
| ι-Ori (mag 2.8) | NGC 2112 (mag 9.1) | IC 392 (mag 13.5) | |
| π³-Ori (mag 3.2) | NGC 2141 (mag 9.4) | NGC 2110 (mag 13.5) | |
| η-Ori (mag 3.4) | NGC 1663 (mag 14.5) | NGC 1875 (mag 13.6) | |
| Meissa (mag 3.5) | NGC 1977 | NGC 1819 (mag 13.7) | |
| τ-Ori (mag 3.6) | NGC 2143 | NGC 1670 (mag 13.9) | |
| π⁴-Ori (mag 3.7) | NGC 2184 | NGC 1740 (mag 14.0) | |
| π⁵-Ori (mag 3.7) | NGC 2202 | NGC 1661 (mag 14.2) | |
| TYC4771-1188-2 (mag 3.7) | NGC 1678 (mag 14.3) | ||
| σ-Ori (mag 3.8) | IC 414 (mag 14.4) | ||
| O²-Ori (mag 4.1) | NGC 1682 (mag 14.4) | ||
| φ²-Ori (mag 4.1) | NGC 1719 (mag 14.4) | ||
| μ-Ori (mag 4.1) | IC 412 (mag 14.6) | ||
| e-Ori (mag 4.1) | IC 413 (mag 14.7) | ||
| ζ-Ori (mag 4.2) | NGC 1753 (mag 14.8) | ||
| π²-Ori (mag 4.3) | NGC 1690 (mag 14.9) | ||
| φ¹-Ori (mag 4.4) | NGC 2119 (mag 15.0) | ||
| ν-Ori (mag 4.4) | NGC 1709 (mag 15.0) | ||
| χ¹-Ori (mag 4.4) | NGC 1685 (mag 15.2) | ||
| ξ-Ori (mag 4.4) | IC 2112 (mag 15.4) | ||
| A-Ori (mag 4.5) | IC 404 (mag 15.5) | ||
| π⁶-Ori (mag 4.5) | NGC 1717 (mag 15.6) |
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Much of the material is provided with thanks to Dominic Ford on his excellent site in-the-sky.org.