BackThe list below details upcoming conjunctions (if less than 2 degrees), occultations, eclipses, oppositions and elongations. It doesn't give every event, just the next one to happen involving the planet(s) concerned: it will be updated each time a date passes. In addition, events that are too close to the Sun or the horizon to be sensibly viewed, or are in the daytime in the case of conjunctions & occultations, are also excluded. Note that "a.m." implies that the event is best seen around dawn, "p.m." around sunset, and "night" throughout the hours of darkness.
"Opposition" is the time when a planet further from the Sun than the Earth is (physically) at its nearest point to the Earth, and so best placed for observation (but see footnote). "Elongation" is the time when a planet nearer to the Sun than the Earth is at its greatest distance (i.e. angle) from the Sun in the sky, either to its east (in the evening) or its west (in the morning).
| 8th March 2025, pm | Mercury at eastern elongation (16deg above horizon at sunset) |
| 14th March 2025, am | PARTIAL LUNAR ECLIPSE (from 3:57am to 6:16am GMT) |
| 20th March 2025, 9:01am GMT | Vernal Equinox |
| 29th March 2025, am | PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE (from 10:10am to 12:02pm GMT) |
| 1st June 2025, am | Venus at western elongation (14deg above horizon at sunrise) |
| 21st June 2025, 3:42am BST | Summer Solstice (in the northern hemisphere). |
| 3rd July 2025, 8:24pm BST | Earth at aphelion (farthest from the Sun) - Sun is at its smallest apparent size for the year |
| 19th August 2025, am | Mercury at western elongation (14deg above horizon at sunrise) |
| 7th September 2025, am | TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE (from 7:25pm [Moonrise] to 7:52pm BST) |
| 21st September 2025, night | Saturn at opposition |
| 22nd September 2025, 7:20pm BST | Autumnal Equinox |
| 19th October 2025, pm | Conjunction, Mercury-Mars (2deg, but only 4deg above horizon at sunset) |
| 25th November 2025, am | Conjunction, Mercury-Venus (1 1/6deg, 7deg above horizon at sunrise) |
| 21st December 2025, 3:03pm GMT | Winter Solstice (in the northern hemisphere). |
| 3rd January 2026, 5:15pm GMT | Earth at perihelion (nearest to the Sun) - Sun is at its largest apparent size for the year |
| 10th January 2026, night | Jupiter at opposition |
| 19th April 2026, am | Conjunction, Mars-Saturn (11/4deg, with Mercury nearby, but only 3deg above horizon at sunrise) |
| 20th April 2026, am | Close conjunction, Mercury-Saturn (2/3deg, with Mars nearby, but only 3deg above horizon at sunrise) |
| 12th August 2026, pm | Nearest TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE to the UK since 2015. Visible as a very large (91% in London) partial eclipse in UK (from 6:16pm to 8:04pm BST, max at 7:11pm) |
| 14th August 2026, pm | Venus at eastern elongation (10deg above horizon at sunset) |
| 28th August 2026, am | EXTREMELY LARGE PARTIAL LUNAR ECLIPSE (from 2:23am to 6:08am BST) |
| 15th November 2026, pm | Conjunction, Mars-Jupiter (11/5deg, 10deg above horizon at midnight) |
| 19th February 2027, night | Mars at opposition (astronomical opposition is on the 22nd - see footnote) |
| 2nd August 2027, am | LARGE PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE (from 9:06am to 11:00am BST) |
| 26th January 2028, pm | LARGE PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE (from 3:36pm to 4:29pm [sunset] GMT) |
| 22nd October 2028, am | Conjunction, Mercury-Jupiter (1deg, 14deg above horizon at sunrise) |
| Footnote: | Note that the astronomical definition of opposition is when the planet is directly opposite the Sun in the sky [hence "opposition"], which will usually not be quite the same time as the point of closest approach due to the eccentricity and relative orientations of the orbits. The difference is only significant for Mars and the asteroids, however. Return |