🌞 Makemake at Solar Conjunction
📅 4 October 2025 | 10:51 IST
🪐 Dwarf planet Makemake slips behind the Sun — reaching 53.61 AU from Earth!
☀️ Now lost in the solar glare, invisible for weeks
🔭 Will reappear gradually in the pre-dawn sky
🌌 Sets the stage for its opposition in 6 months — when it becomes an all-night cosmic treat!
🌌 NGC 253 – Sculptor Galaxy at Its Best!
📅 3 October 2025 onwards
✨ Mag 7.1 | A stunning edge-on spiral galaxy
🔭 Visible from 21:29 to 03:14 IST in New Delhi
⏫ Peaks at 36° above the southern horizon at 00:21
📍 Best seen from southern skies, but catch it from India with binoculars or a small telescope!
💫 One of the brightest galaxies beyond our Local Group — a must-watch for deep-sky lovers!
🌌 Andromeda Galaxy at its Best!
📅 2 October 2025 onwards
✨ Mag 3.4 — visible all night from dark skies
🔭 Culminates at 00:20 IST, reaching 77° above New Delhi’s northern horizon
📍 Best seen from the Northern Hemisphere
👀 Visible with binoculars or small telescope
🌠 Our nearest galactic neighbor, shining 2.5 million light-years away — don’t miss this cosmic marvel!
🌕 1 Ceres at Opposition
📅 2 October 2025 | 18:42 IST
🪐 Brightest & closest to Earth — mag 7.6
🔭 Located in Cetus constellation
📍 From New Delhi: visible 20:44–04:27
⏫ Culminates at 51° around midnight
🌌 Although still just a star-like point, this is the best time to observe the largest object in the asteroid belt — dwarf planet Ceres!
🔥 Venus at Perihelion
📅 2 October 2025 | 17:04 IST
🌞 Closest to the Sun: 0.72 AU
🌀 Venus has the most circular orbit in the Solar System
⚡ Just 1.5% variation between its closest and farthest points
☀️ Receives nearly constant solar energy all year round
✨ A smooth, stable solar dance — Venus keeps it perfectly round.
🌓 First Quarter Moon
📅 30 Sept 2025 | 🕔 05:24 IST
🌙 The Moon reaches its halfway point — exactly half-illuminated and shining bright in the evening sky!
📍 From New Delhi:
🔹 Rises: 13:18
🔹 Sets: 23:08
🔭 Best view: Sunset to midnight
✨ A perfect night for lunar watching — with craters & shadows beautifully defined!
🌌✨ 47 Tucanae – Globular Glory!
📅 27 Sept 2025
💫 The second brightest globular cluster in the night sky, 47 Tuc (NGC 104, mag 4.0), is now well placed in the constellation Tucana 🐧
🔭 Best visible around midnight from the Southern Hemisphere
📍 Declination: 72°S — not visible from India or locations north of 2°S
🔎 A faint sparkle to the naked eye in dark skies, but a stunning view through binoculars or a telescope!
🌕✨ Lunar Occultation of Antares
📅 27–28 Sept 2025
🕓 21:39 IST – 01:31 IST
🌙 The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii) — the heart of Scorpius — in a stunning celestial event!
📍 Visible from:
Antarctica, NW French Southern Territories & Bouvet Island
❌ Not visible from India
💫 A close conjunction between the Moon & Antares will still be seen across much of the world — a must-watch pairing in Scorpius ♏
🔭 Best viewed with binoculars for a sparkling edge!
🌕📏 Moon at Apogee
📅 26 Sept 2025 | 🕒 15:15 IST
🌙 The Moon reaches its furthest point from Earth – about 406,700 km away!
🔁 Its orbit is an ellipse, not a perfect circle — that’s why the Moon sometimes looks slightly smaller in the sky.
✨ Angular size: ~29.4 arcmin (vs. 33.5 at closest)
🌓 A subtle shift, but a key part of the Moon’s monthly journey.
🌙☀️ Moon at Perihelion
📅 25 Sept 2025 | 🕓 03:15 IST
✨ The Moon reaches its closest point to the Sun – just 1.0008 AU away!
🌍 Earth–Moon distance: 404,000 km
☀️ Earth–Sun distance at this time: 1.0030 AU
🔄 This cosmic moment happens near New Moon, as the Moon slips between Earth and Sun, hidden in glare.
📏 A subtle shift in space — but a key part of the Moon’s orbital dance!
