🚀☀️ Aditya-L1 Anniversary
📅 Launched: 2 September 2023
🇮🇳 India’s first solar mission — by ISRO
🔭 Studying the Sun from Lagrange Point 1
🌞 Unraveling mysteries of solar winds, flares & corona
🛰️ Carries 7 powerful scientific instruments
🌌 Advancing space weather forecasting for Earth
🔥 A milestone in India’s journey to the heart of our solar system!
🌠 Aurigid Meteor Shower 2025
📅 Peak Night: 31 Aug – 1 Sep
🕛 Best Time: 03:00 – 05:30 AM IST
📍 Visible from: New Delhi (and across India)
✨ Watch the sky light up as Auriga’s fiery trails streak across the eastern horizon!
The Aurigid Meteor Shower will reach its peak in the early morning hours of 1st September, offering a brief but brilliant celestial show.
🔭 Look east after 11:54 PM and catch the magic building toward dawn, when Earth turns directly into the meteor stream.
Expect short, sharp bursts near the radiant and long graceful streaks gliding across the sky!
🪐 Pro-tip: Head to a dark spot, bring a blanket, and let your eyes adjust to the night — no telescope needed.
🌌 Let the cosmos surprise you!
🌓 MOON AT FIRST QUARTER
🗓 31 August 2025 | 11:55 IST
📍 Visible from New Delhi: 13:02 – 23:00 IST
🌙 The Moon appears half-lit in the evening sky,
rising after midday and setting by midnight —
a perfect sight for early evening stargazing!
🔄 This phase marks a key moment in the Moon’s 29.5-day cycle
— from new to full and back again.
🌇 At first quarter:
🔹 The Moon climbs high at sunset
🔹 Then slowly dips westward as night unfolds
✨ A striking balance of light and shadow —
the Moon in perfect celestial symmetry.
Step out after sunset,
and watch the sky split in two.
🌕📏 THE MOON AT APOGEE
🗓 29 August 2025 | 21:03 IST
Tonight, the Moon reaches its farthest point from Earth —
a distance of 406,700 km 🌌
🌀 Its orbit is elliptical, not a perfect circle,
causing monthly shifts in distance and apparent size.
📏 Appears slightly smaller in the sky
📐 Angular size: down to 29.4 arcminutes
✨ The difference might be subtle to the naked eye,
but it’s a reminder of the Moon’s graceful celestial dance.
From supermoons to micromoons —
the Moon’s orbit shapes our view in quiet ways.
🌙✨ LUNAR OCCULTATION OF SPICA
🗓 27 August 2025 | Starts at 18:09 IST
Tonight, the Moon passes in front of Spica (Alpha Virginis),
creating a stunning lunar occultation —
though only visible from Antarctica ❄️🌌
🔭 From New Delhi, the occultation won’t be visible,
but a close conjunction between the Moon and Spica
can still be enjoyed just after sunset 🌠
💡 Why it matters:
Due to the Moon’s proximity to Earth,
its position varies across the globe —
so the event looks different from different locations.
📍 Keep your eyes on Virgo after dusk —
even without the occultation, the celestial meetup is worth a look!
A beautiful lunar alignment —
reminding us how perspectives shift across Earth’s skies.
🌙🔴 CONJUNCTION OF THE MOON & MARS
🗓 26 August 2025 | 22:11 IST
📍 Visible from New Delhi: 19:28 – 20:39 IST
✨ A beautiful cosmic pairing in Virgo —
The 3-day-old Moon (mag –10.2) passes just 2°47′ south of Mars (mag 1.6) 🌌
📉 Low on the western horizon — only 14° high
🕓 Short window to catch it: just under 2 hours after sunset
🔭 Best seen with binoculars or the naked eye
— too wide for a telescope view
🌗 This close approach, called an appulse,
is a lovely moment of alignment — the Moon and Mars in the evening twilight.
Look west after sunset —
a brief but brilliant planetary pairing awaits!
🪨✨ ASTEROID 6 HEBE AT OPPOSITION
📍 Constellation: Aquarius
🗓 Visible from New Delhi: 21:12 – 04:08 IST
🔭 Best viewing time: 00:40 IST | 44° high in southern sky
Tonight, Asteroid 6 Hebe shines at its brightest & closest,
perfectly positioned for stargazers across the globe! 🌌
🔹 Rises in the southeast at 21:12
🔹 Reaches its highest point near midnight
🔹 Sets in the southwest around 04:08
📍 A prominent main-belt asteroid, Hebe offers a rare glimpse
into the early building blocks of our solar system.
Aim your telescope or binoculars skyward —
Hebe is stealing the spotlight tonight!
🌑 NEW MOON
🗓 23 August 2025 | 11:37 IST
The sky’s darkest night is here 🌌
As the Moon aligns perfectly between Earth and Sun,
it becomes invisible, lost in the Sun’s brilliance.
🔄 This marks the start of a new lunar cycle —
from darkness to crescent, and onward to full.
🌍 At new moon:
— The Moon’s unlit side faces Earth
— Sun, Moon & Earth form a straight line
— No moonlight = prime stargazing conditions
🌙 The Moon travels 12° across the sky daily,
rising & setting nearly an hour later each night.
A fresh celestial beginning —
the perfect time to reset your night sky watch!
Separation: The Moon and Mercury will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing 3°42′ to the north of Mercury.
Visiblibity from New Delhi: The pair will be visible in the dawn sky, rising at 04:29 (IST) – 1 hour and 21 minutes before the Sun – and reaching an altitude of 13° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks around 05:35.
The Moon will be at mag -8.8, and Mercury at mag -0.5
In the early hours, the Moon and Jupiter come together in a striking conjunction, sharing the same right ascension with the Moon passing 4°46′ north of Jupiter. From New Delhi, they rise around 2:36 AM and climb to 36° above the eastern horizon before fading into dawn by 5:35 AM. With the Moon shining at magnitude –10.5 and Jupiter glowing at –2.0, this celestial pairing promises a brilliant view in the pre-dawn sky.
