Things will get exciting as early as January – the comet “C 2024 G3” could be visible in the night sky. It is unclear whether it will survive the flyby of the sun. “It comes to its closest point to the sun, the so-called perihelion. If the sun does not dissolve it through its heat, it will become visible in the night sky on January 13th,” explains astrophysicist Konstanze Zwintz from the University of Innsbruck.
Comets are made of ice and dust, so the sun’s heat can have a big impact on them. If “C 2024 G3” becomes too small, it will no longer be visible. The second chance – at least for those with a telescope – comes at the end of the year. Then three more comets will pass Earth. In 2024, the comet “Tsuchinshan-ATLAS” was a popular photo opportunity; it was visible to the naked eye in the night sky for several days.
Game of hide and seek with sun, earth and moon
On March 29th, a partial solar eclipse will be visible in the sky over Austria. If you want to watch the spectacle, you should definitely wear glasses with a special sunscreen. Those who cannot observe them will feel little, says Zwintz: “It will feel like a cloud is passing by. It might get a little darker.” A second partial solar eclipse next year will only be visible in the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand.
APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH
During a solar eclipse, the moon blocks the sun. During a lunar eclipse, however, the Earth blocks the light from the sun that illuminates the moon. This event will also be observable in 2025. “There will be a total lunar eclipse on March 14th. “But the moon is already setting at the beginning of the eclipse, which means we can only partially observe it,” says Zwintz. “We have more chances on September 7th, the second such event. Totality begins at 7:30 p.m. Austrian local time.”
Planet Party in February
Once a year the moon appears particularly large. At this time our earth’s satellite is particularly close, and at the same time there is a full moon – this will be the case on November 5th in 2025.
Sky observers will get an overall view of the remaining seven planets in the solar system on February 28th. Then all seven will be visible in the night sky at the same time.
Various lunar space travel plans
According to the original plans of the US space agency NASA, the first moon landing with humans should have taken place in 2025 after the “Apollo” program more than 50 years ago. After several postponements, this will now happen in 2027 at the earliest. With “Artemis 2”, people are supposed to orbit the moon again this year, but whether this deadline will last remains to be seen.
In addition to the USA, countries such as China and Russia are also preparing their own lunar programs this year. China also wants to collect a sample from an asteroid near Earth – and also want to have put people on the moon by 2030.
Despite the war, the Russian space agency Roscosmos is planning to spend the equivalent of three billion euros and wants to bring tourists to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time since 2021. India is planning a manned moon landing by 2040, and Japan wants to launch a lunar vehicle to Earth’s satellite in the next few years.
NASA/ Johnson Space Center
50 years of the European Space Agency
In 2025, many important space missions will be running simultaneously. The James Webb and Euclid space telescopes will send new data to Earth, the distant Voyager 1 may resume research, and the European Hera probe will examine an asteroid. These are just a few examples of this year’s space ventures.
In May the European Space Agency (ESA) celebrates its 50th anniversary. The ESA was founded in 1975 with now 22 member states. It is best known for its earth observation satellites and research missions, but is considered less successful in building rockets. After years of delays, the first commercial flight of the Ariane 6 launch vehicle is scheduled for next year. ESA’s “Vega-C rocket” was only able to successfully lift off in 2024, two years after a failed launch.
