Observations of the Sun, the Moon, and Planets 2025

Observation Overview | Special Events | References

It was not until 2018 that I began to observe the moon a little more in detail and to document my "more important" observations. On this page, I collect, somewhat unsystematically, my observations of the moon, the sun, and the planets from 2025, which might be of interest to other beginners and are therefore described here.

Note: Older observations are listed on the "Astronomy" overview page. The same applies to deep sky and comet observations ("incidental" DSO observations are mentioned here).

Observation Overview

Date 2025	Objects Observed	Location	Devices Used	Eyepieces, Cameras, and More Used	Remarks	Further Remarks
Jan 3	Venus, Moon	Erk		Sony RX10 M4	Took photos of Venus and the Moon	Crescent of the Moon, distance nearly 2° (conjunction)
Jan 4	Venus, Moon	Erk		Sony RX10 M4	Took photos of Venus and the Moon	Crescent of the Moon, distance nearly 13°
Jan 4	Saturn, Moon	Erk		Sony RX10 M4	Took photos of Saturn and the Moon after Saturn was hidden by the Moon	Crescent of the Moon; took only photos after Saturn had left the Moon
Jan 18	Saturn, Venus, Mars, Jupiter	MH	LT25, TLAPO804	Sony RX10 M4, Sony RX100 M4; 4 mm, 16 mm, 24 mm	First observed Venus and Saturn with a small binoculars from the terrace: Saturn's ring not visible. I also took photos of both (RX10, RX100), but they did not turn out... Then observed with the TLAPO804 telescope on the balcony: Venus and Saturn together (24 mm eyepiece, just fitted into the FOV), Saturn's ring could at best be guessed. Observed individually, Venus was visible as a crescent (barely half) and the flat ring of Saturn was also visible (4 mm eyepiece). Mars was an unstructured disc with a 4 mm eyepiece; Jupiter only observed by eye.	Venus and Saturn were close together these days (2°10' minimum on Jan 18) We also saw the ISS and Jupiter; Mars was nice and reddish to the eye. Fog came from the west and the sky was quite "bubbly" (poor seeing)...

All observations done in Mühlhausen/Kraichgau (MH), except for where noted otherwise; SM/F = Sumène/France, Erk = Erkerode/Germany.

Special Events

January 3, 2025: Venus close to the Crescent of the Moon

Photos of the Crescent of the Moon with Venus; according to SkySafari they are a nearly 2° distant from each other

January 4, 2025: Venus near the Crescent of the Moon

Photos of the Crescent of the Moon with Venus; according to SkySafari they are a nearly 13° distant from each other

January 4, 2025: Saturn leaves the Crescent of the Moon after Being Covered

Saturn ring? (magnification of the previous photo)

Photos of the Crescent of the Moon with Saturn

January 18: Venus and Saturn

Saturn left, Venus right

References

Books (in German)

Lambert Spix (2013, 3. Auflage). moonscout - Mondmeere, Krater und Gebirge einfach finden und beobachten. Oculum-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938469-58-3
Lambert Spix & Frank Gasparini (2011, 1. Auflage). Der Moonhopper. Oculum-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938469-54-5
Ronald Stoyan, Hans-Georg Purucker (2013, 1. Auflage). Reiseatlas Mond. Oculum-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938469-64-4
Robin Scagell (2016). 101 Himmelsobjekte, die man gesehen haben muss. Kosmos Verlag (out of print).