Don’t miss these astrophotography opportunities in January 2025

Every month brings some unique astronomical events which can be seen with the naked eye and can be photographed. In this article, let us take a look at the astrophotography opportunities in January 2025.

January 3-4: Quadrantids meteor shower

At its height, the Quadrantids shower produced up to 40 meteors per hour, which is above typical. It is believed to have been created by dust grains left behind by 2003 EH1, a defunct comet found in 2003. Every year, from January 1 to 5, the shower is held. This year, it peaks on the evening of the third and the morning of the fourth. There should be a great spectacle because the crescent moon will set early in the evening, leaving a gloomy sky. It will be best viewed after midnight from a dark spot. Although they might occur anywhere in the sky, meteors will emanate from the constellation Bootes.

January 4: Lunar occultation of Saturn

On the evening/night of 4^th January, the ringed planet Saturn will disappear behind the moon, of course, from our perspective. Like any other occultation, it will occur in two parts: the disappearance, when Saturn hides behind the moon, and the reappearance, when Saturn reveals itself from the other side. This occultation, however, won’t be visible from all locations in the world. For some locations, it will only appear as a close approach or a conjunction between the Moon and Saturn. We recommend checking Stellarium to see if it is visible from your location.

January 10: Venus at greatest eastern elongation

For the last few months, Venus appears as the “evening star” as it is visible after sunset in the western sky. On 10^th January, it will reach its greatest elongation of 47.2 degrees from the Sun. It will be a perfect opportunity to photograph the bright planet either with a telephoto lens/telescope or with a wide-angle lens along with landscape elements.

January 13: Full Wolf Moon

The first full moon of 2025 will appear on the 13th of January. The January full moon is also known as the wolf moon. Full moons are always a great opportunity to photograph it with a telephoto lens. It will also allow you to capture the moonrise in the evening and moonset in the early morning.

January 16: Mars at opposition

The Sun will completely reveal the face of the red planet as it approaches Earth. It will be brighter than at any other time of year and visible throughout the night. This is the optimal moment to observe and photograph Mars. A medium-sized telescope will show you some of the dark intricacies of the planet’s orange surface.

Other opportunities throughout the month

Along with the celestial events mentioned above, the sky will present more opportunities to catch a few more objects. And some will be better than before.

Venus shines bright in the evening sky

Venus continues to shine at -4 magnitude and is difficult to miss in the western sky after sunset. It will also come close to the moon on 3rd January. This bright planet is visible from light-polluted skies, and you can photograph it with a wide-field or mid-telephoto lens with landscape elements.

Milky Way season never ends

The days of the Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way are over for this season. However, the Cygnus arm and the Orion arm will give you ample opportunity to capture the band of the Milky Way. The Cygnus arm can be seen right after sunset in the Northeastern sky, and it sets at midnight. During its setting, many deepscape opportunities can be utilized, including Andromeda galaxy, Triangulam galaxy, North America nebula, etc. The Orion arm, along with many significant constellations, including Orion, Gemini, Auriga, and Canis Major, will be present throughout the winter nights.

Parade of planets

All the bright planets, including Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, can be easily spotted in the night sky throughout the month. With long exposures or with a telescope, you can also spot Neptune and Uranus in the sky.

Hope you have a great month with lots of astrophotography opportunities ahead.

Clear skies!

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