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Skywatching Science Skywatching The Next Full Moon is the Snow… Skywatching Home What’s Up Eclipses Explore the Night Sky Night Sky Network More Tips and Guides FAQ 23 Min Read The Next Full Moon is the Snow Moon
A full moon hike at Bryce Canyon National Park. Credits:
National Park Service The next full moon will be Wednesday morning, Feb. 12, 2025, appearing opposite the Sun (in Earth longitude) at 8:53 a.m. EST. The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Monday night into early Thursday evening. The bright star Regulus will appear near the full moon.
Sky chart showing Jupiter and Mars high overhead after nightfall in February. NASA/JPL-Caltech The Maine Farmers’ Almanac began publishing Native American names for full moons in the 1930s, and these names are now widely known and used. According to this almanac, as the full moon in February, the tribes of the northeastern U.S. called this the Snow Moon or the Storm Moon because of the heavy snows in this season. Bad weather and heavy snowstorms made hunting difficult, so this Moon was also called the Hunger Moon. NOAA monthly averages for the Washington, D.C. area airports from 1991 to 2020 show January and February nearly tied as the snowiest months of the year (with February one tenth of an inch ahead).
Here are the other celestial events between now and the full moon after next with times and angles based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington:
As winter continues in the Northern Hemisphere, the daily periods of sunlight continue to lengthen. Wednesday, Feb. 12 (the day of the full moon), morning twilight will begin at 6:04 a.m. EST, sunrise will be at 7:03 a.m., solar noon will be at 12:23 p.m. when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 37.7 degrees, sunset will be at 5:43 p.m., and evening twilight will end at 6:41 p.m.
Daylight Saving Time starts on the second Sunday in March for much of the United States. The day before, Saturday, March 8, morning twilight will begin at 5:32 a.m., sunrise will be at 6:30 a.m., solar noon will be at 12:19 p.m. when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 46.5 degrees, sunset will be at 6:08 p.m., and evening twilight will end at 7:06 p.m. Early on Sunday morning, March 9, the clock will “spring forward” from 1:59:59 a.m. EST to 3:00:00 a.m. EDT. Sunday, March 9, morning twilight will begin at 6:30 a.m., sunrise will be at 7:28 a.m., solar noon will be at 1:19 p.m. when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 46.9 degrees, sunset will be at 7:09 p.m., and evening twilight will end at 8:07 p.m. By Friday, March 14 (the day of the full moon after next), morning twilight will begin at 6:23 a.m., sunrise will be at 7:20 a.m., solar noon will be at 1:17 p.m. when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 48.9 degrees, sunset will be at 7:14 p.m., and evening twilight will end at 8:12 p.m.
This should still be a good time for planet watching, especially with a backyard telescope. On the evening of the March 14, the full moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and Uranus will all be in the evening sky. The brightest of the planets, Venus, will be 28 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon, appearing as a 29% illuminated crescent through a telescope. Second in brightness will be Jupiter at 71 degrees above the south-southeastern horizon. With a telescope you should be able to see Jupiter’s four bright moons, Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Io, noticeably shifting positions in the course of an evening. Jupiter was at its closest and brightest in early December. Third in brightness will be Mars at 48 degrees above the eastern horizon. Mars was at its closest and brightest for the year just a month ago. Fourth in brightness (and appearing below Venus) will be Saturn at 11 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon. With a telescope you may be able to see Saturn’s rings and its bright moon Titan. The rings will appear very thin and will be edge-on to Earth in March 2025. Saturn was at its closest and brightest in early September. The planet Uranus will be too dim to see without a telescope when the Moon is in the sky, but later in the lunar cycle, if you are in a very dark area with clear skies and no interference from moonlight, it will still be brighter than the faintest visible stars. Uranus was at its closest and brightest in mid-November.
During this lunar cycle, these planets, along with the background of stars, will rotate westward by about a degree each night around the pole star Polaris. Venus, named after the Roman goddess of love, will reach its brightest around Feb. 14, making this a special Valentine’s Day. After about Feb. 17, the planet Mercury, shining brighter than Mars, will begin emerging from the glow of dusk about 30 minutes after sunset. Feb. 24 will be the first evening Mercury will be above the western horizon as twilight ends, while Feb. 25 will be the last evening Saturn will be above the western horizon as twilight ends, making these the only two evenings that all of the visible planets will be in the sky after twilight ends. For a few more evenings after this, Saturn should still be visible in the glow of dusk during twilight. Around March 8 or 9, Mercury will have dimmed to the same brightness as Mars, making Mars the third brightest visible planet again. By the evening of March 13 (the evening of the night of the full moon after next), as twilight ends, Venus and Mercury will appear low on the western horizon, making them difficult targets for a backyard telescope, while Jupiter and Mars (and Uranus) will appear high overhead and much easier to view.
Comets and Meteor Showers
No meteor shower peaks are predicted during this lunar cycle. No comets are expected to be visible without a telescope for Northern Hemisphere viewers. Southern Hemisphere viewers may still be able to use a telescope to see comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS), although it is fading as it moves away from Earth and the Sun, and some recent reports suggest that it might be breaking apart and disappearing from view.
Evening Sky Highlights
On the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 12 (the evening of the full moon), as twilight ends at 6:41 p.m. EST, the rising Moon will be 7 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon with the bright star Regulus 2 degrees to the right. The brightest planet in the sky will be Venus at 28 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon, appearing as a crescent through a telescope. Next in brightness will be Jupiter at 71 degrees above the south-southeastern horizon. Third in brightness will be Mars at 48 degrees above the eastern horizon. The fourth brightest planet will be Saturn at 11 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon. Uranus, on the edge of what is visible under extremely clear, dark skies, will be 68 degrees above the south-southwestern horizon. The bright star closest to overhead will be Capella at 75 degrees above the northeastern horizon. Capella is the 6th brightest star in our night sky and the brightest star in the constellation Auriga (the charioteer). Although we see Capella as a single star, it is actually four stars (two pairs of stars orbiting each other). Capella is about 43 light years from us.
Also high in the sky will be the constellation Orion, easily identifiable because of the three stars that form Orion’s Belt. This time of year, we see many bright stars in the sky at evening twilight, with bright stars scattered from the south-southeast toward the northwest. We see more stars in this direction because we are looking toward the Local Arm of our home galaxy (also called the Orion Arm, Orion-Cygnus Arm, or Orion Bridge). This arm is about 3,500 light years across and 10,000 light years long. Some of the bright stars from this arm that we see are the three stars of Orion’s Belt, and Rigel (860 light years from Earth), Betelgeuse (548 light years), Polaris (about 400 light years), and Deneb (about 2,600 light years).
Facing toward the south from the Northern Hemisphere, to the upper left of Orion’s Belt is the bright star Betelgeuse (be careful not to say this name three times). About the same distance to the lower right is the bright star Rigel. Orion’s belt appears to point down and to the left about seven belt lengths to the bright star Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Below Sirius is the bright star Adhara. To the upper right of Orion’s Belt (at about the same distance from Orion as Sirius) is the bright star Aldebaran. Nearly overhead is the bright star Capella. To the left (east) of Betelgeuse is the bright star Procyon. The two stars above Procyon are Castor and Pollux, the twin stars of the constellation Gemini (Pollux is the brighter of the two). The bright star Regulus appears farther to the left (east) of Pollux near the eastern horizon. For now, Mars is near Castor and Pollux, while Jupiter is near Aldebaran, but these are planets (from the Greek word for wanderers) and continue to shift relative to the background of the stars. Very few places on the East Coast are dark enough to see the Milky Way (our home galaxy), but if you could see it, it would appear to stretch overhead from the southeast to the northwest. Since we are seeing our galaxy from the inside, the combined light from its 100 to 400 billion stars make it appear as a band surrounding Earth.
As this lunar cycle progresses, the planets and the background of stars will rotate westward by about a degree each evening around the pole star Polaris. The brightest of the planets, Venus, will reach its brightest around Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. Bright Mercury will begin emerging from the glow of dusk around Feb. 17 and will be above the horizon as twilight ends beginning Feb. 24, initiating a brief period when all the visible planets will be in the evening sky at the same time that will end after Feb. 25, the last evening Saturn will be above the horizon as twilight ends. Feb. 24 and 25 will also be the two evenings when Mercury and Saturn will appear closest together.
The waxing crescent “Wet” or “Cheshire” Moon will appear near Mercury on Feb. 28 and Venus on March 1, appearing like a bowl or a smile above the horizon. The waxing gibbous Moon will appear near Mars and Pollux on March 8. Mercury will reach its highest above the horizon as twilight ends on March 8 but will be fading, appearing fainter than Mars. The nearly full moon will appear near Regulus on March 11. Venus and Mercury will be closest to each other on March 12.
By the evening of Thursday, March 13 (the evening of the night of the full moon after next), as twilight ends at 8:11 p.m. EDT, the rising Moon will be 14 degrees above the eastern horizon. The brightest planet in the sky will be Venus at 4 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon, appearing as a thin, 4% illuminated crescent through a telescope. Next in brightness will be Jupiter at 62 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon. Third in brightness will be Mars at 72 degrees above the southeastern horizon. Mercury, to the left of Venus, will also be 4 degrees above the western horizon. Uranus, on the edge of what is visible under extremely clear, moonless dark skies, will be 45 degrees above the western horizon. The bright star closest to overhead will still be Capella at 75 degrees above the northwestern horizon.
Morning Sky Highlights
On the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025 (the morning of the night of the full moon), as twilight begins at 6:04 a.m. EST, the setting full moon will be 13 degrees above the western horizon. No planets will appear in the sky. The bright star appearing closest to overhead will be Arcturus at 65 degrees above the southeastern horizon. Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Boötes (the herdsman or plowman) and the 4th brightest star in our night sky. It is 36.7 light years from us. While it has about the same mass as our Sun, it is about 2.6 billion years older and has used up its core hydrogen, becoming a red giant 25 times the size and 170 times the brightness of our Sun. One way to identify Arcturus in the night sky is to start at the Big Dipper, then follow the arc of the dipper’s handle as it “arcs toward Arcturus.”
As this lunar cycle progresses the background of stars will rotate westward by about a degree each morning around the pole star Polaris. The waning Moon will appear near Regulus on Feb. 13, Spica on Feb. 17, and Antares on Feb. 21. The nearly full moon will appear near Regulus on March 12.
By the morning of Friday, March 14 (the morning of the full moon after next), as twilight begins at 6:23 a.m. EDT, the setting full moon will be 12 degrees above the western horizon. No visible planets will appear in the sky. The bright star closest to overhead will be Vega at 68 degrees above the eastern horizon. Vega is the 5th brightest star in our night sky and the brightest star in the constellation Lyra (the lyre). Vega is one of the three bright stars of the “Summer Triangle” (along with Deneb and Altair). It is about 25 light-years from Earth, has twice the mass of our Sun, and shines 40 times brighter than our Sun.
Detailed Daily Guide
Here is a day-by-day listing of celestial events between now and the full moon on March 14, 2025. The times and angles are based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, and some of these details may differ for where you are (I use parentheses to indicate times specific to the D.C. area). If your latitude is significantly different than 39 degrees north (and especially for my Southern Hemisphere readers), I recommend using an astronomy app that is set up for your location or a star-watching guide from a local observatory, news outlet, or astronomy club.
Sunday morning, Feb. 9 Mars will appear to the upper left of the waxing gibbous Moon. In the early morning at about 2 a.m. EST, Mars will be 8 degrees from the Moon. By the time the Moon sets on the northwestern horizon at 5:58 a.m., Mars will have shifted to 6 degrees from the Moon. For parts of Asia and Northern Europe the Moon will pass in front of Mars. Also, Sunday morning, the planet Mercury will be passing on the far side of the Sun as seen from Earth, called superior conjunction. Because Mercury orbits inside of the orbit of Earth it will be shifting from the morning sky to the evening sky and will begin emerging from the glow of dusk on the west-southwestern horizon after about Feb. 17 (depending upon viewing conditions).
Sunday evening into Monday morning, Feb. 9 – 10 The waxing gibbous Moon will have shifted to the other side of the Mars (having passed in front of Mars in the afternoon when we could not see them). As evening twilight ends (at 6:38 p.m. EST) the Moon will be between Mars and the bright star Pollux, with Mars 3 degrees to the upper right and Pollux 3 degrees to the lower left. By the time the Moon reaches its highest for the night at 10:27 p.m., Mars will be 4.5 degrees to the right of the Moon and Pollux 2.5 degrees to the upper left of the Moon. Mars will set first on the northwestern horizon Monday morning at 5:44 a.m., just 22 minutes before morning twilight begins at 6:06 a.m.
Wednesday morning, Feb. 12 As mentioned above, the full moon will be Wednesday morning, Feb. 12, at 8:53 a.m. EST. This will be on Thursday morning from Australian Central Time eastward to the international date line in the mid-Pacific. The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Monday night into early Thursday evening.
Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, Feb. 12 to 13 The bright star Regulus will appear near the full moon. As evening twilight ends at 6:41 p.m. EST, Regulus will be less than 2 degrees to the right of the Moon, very near its closest. By the time the Moon reaches its highest for the night at 12:55 a.m., Regulus will be 3 degrees to the right. As morning twilight begins at 6:03 a.m., Regulus will be 5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon.
Friday evening, Feb. 14 Venus, the brightest of the planets, will be near its brightest for the year (based on a geometric estimate called greatest brilliancy). As evening twilight ends at 6:43 p.m. EST, Venus will be 28 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon. Venus will set on the western horizon about 2.5 hours later at 9:09 p.m. Having Venus, named after the Roman goddess of love, shining at its brightest on this evening will make for a special Valentine’s Day!
Sunday night into Monday morning Feb. 16 to 17 Bright star Spica will appear near the waning gibbous Moon. As Spica rises on the east-southeastern horizon at 10:19 p.m. EST, it will be 3.5 degrees to the lower left of the Moon. Throughout the night Spica will appear to rotate clockwise around the Moon. As the Moon reaches its highest at 3:37 a.m., Spica will be 2 degrees to the left of the Moon. By the time morning twilight begins at 5:58 a.m., Spica will be a little more than a degree above the Moon.
Monday evening, Feb. 17 This will be the first evening Mercury will be above the west-southwestern horizon 30 minutes after sunset, a rough approximation of when it might start emerging from the glow of dusk before evening twilight ends. Increasing the likelihood it will be visible, Mercury will be brighter than Mars, but not as bright as Jupiter.
Monday evening, Feb. 17 At 8:06 p.m. EST, the Moon will be at apogee, its farthest from Earth for this orbit.
Midday on Thursday, Feb. 20 The waning Moon will appear half full as it reaches its last quarter at 12:32 p.m. EST.
Friday morning, Feb. 21 The bright star Antares will appear quite near the waning crescent Moon. As the Moon rises on the southeastern horizon at 2:05 a.m. EST, Antares will be one degree to the upper left. Antares will appear to rotate clockwise and shift away from the Moon as morning progresses. By the time morning twilight begins at 5:53 a.m., Antares will be 2 degrees to the upper right of the Moon. From the southern part of South America, the Moon will actually block Antares from view.
Monday, Feb. 24 This will be the first evening Mercury will be above the western horizon as evening twilight ends at 6:54 p.m. EST, setting three minutes later at 6:57 p.m. This will be the first of two evenings when all the visible planets will be in the evening sky at the same time after twilight ends.
This also will be the evening when Mercury and Saturn will appear nearest to each other, 1.6 degrees apart. To see them you will need a very clear view toward the western horizon and will likely have to look before evening twilight ends at 6:54 p.m. EST, as Mercury will set three minutes later at 6:57 p.m., and Saturn two minutes after Mercury at 6:59 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 25 This will be the last evening Saturn will be above the western horizon as evening twilight ends at 6:55 p.m. EST, setting one minute later at 6:56 p.m. This will be the last of two evenings when all of the visible planets will be in the evening sky at the same time after twilight ends. Mercury and Saturn will appear almost as close together as the night before, with Mercury setting six minutes after Saturn at 7:02 p.m. Saturn, appearing about as bright as the star Pollux, may still be visible in the glow of dusk before evening twilight ends for a few evenings after this.
Thursday evening, Feb. 27 At 7:45 p.m. EST will be the new Moon, when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth.
The day of, or the day after, the new Moon marks the start of the new month for most lunisolar calendars. The second month of the Chinese calendar starts on Friday, Feb. 28. Sundown on Feb. 28 also marks the start of Adar in the Hebrew calendar. In the Islamic calendar the months traditionally start with the first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon. Many Muslim communities now follow the Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia, which uses astronomical calculations to start months in a more predictable way (intended for civil and not religious purposes). This calendar predicts the holy month of Ramadan will start with sunset on Feb. 28, but because of Ramadan’s religious significance, it is one of four months in the Islamic year where the start of the month is updated based upon the actual sighting of the crescent Moon. Ramadan is honored as the month in which the Quran was revealed. Observing this annual month of charitable acts, prayer, and fasting from dawn to sunset is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
Friday evening, Feb. 28 As evening twilight ends at 6:58 p.m. EST, you may be able to see the thin, waxing crescent Moon barely above the western horizon. The Moon will set two minutes later at 7 p.m. Mercury will be 3.5 degrees above the Moon. For this and the next few evenings the waxing crescent Moon will appear most like an upward-facing bowl or a smile in the evening sky (for the Washington, D.C. area and similar latitudes, at least). This is called a “wet” or a “Cheshire” Moon. The term “wet Moon” appears to originate from Hawaiian mythology. It’s when the Moon appears like a bowl that could fill up with water. The time of year when this occurs as viewed from the latitudes of the Hawaiian Islands roughly corresponds with Kaelo the Water Bearer in Hawaiian astrology. As the year passes into summer, the crescent shape tilts, pouring out the water and causing the summer rains. The term “Cheshire Moon” is a reference to the smile of the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
Saturday afternoon, March 1 At 4:14 p.m. EST, the Moon will be at perigee, its closest to Earth for this orbit.
Saturday evening, as evening twilight ends at 6:59 p.m. EST, the thin, waxing crescent Moon will be 13 degrees above the western horizon, with Venus 7 degrees to the upper right of the Moon. Mercury will appear about 10 degrees below the Moon. The Moon will set 76 minutes later at 8:15 p.m.
Tuesday, March 4 This is Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), which marks the end of the Carnival season that began on January 6. Don’t forget to march forth on March Fourth!
Thursday, March 6 The Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its first quarter at 11:32 a.m. EST.
Saturday morning, March 8 Just after midnight, Mercury will reach its greatest angular separation from the Sun as seen from Earth for this apparition (called greatest elongation).
Saturday evening, will be when Mercury will appear at its highest (6 degrees) above the western horizon as evening twilight ends at 7:06 p.m. EST. Mercury will set 34 minutes later at 7:40 p.m. This will also be the evening Mercury will have dimmed to the brightness as Mars, after which Mars will be the third brightest visible planet again.
Also on Saturday evening into Sunday morning, March 8 to 9, Mars will appear near the waxing gibbous Moon with the bright star Pollux (the brighter of the twin stars in the constellation Gemini) nearby. As evening twilight ends at 7:06 p.m. EST, Mars will be 1.5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon and Pollux will be 6 degrees to the lower left. As the Moon reaches its highest for the night 1.25 hours later at 8:22 p.m., Mars will be 1.5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon and Pollux will be 5.5 degrees to the upper left. By the time Mars sets on the northwestern horizon at 4:53 a.m., it will be 4 degrees to the lower left of the Moon and Pollux will be 3 degrees above the Moon.
Sunday morning, March 9 Daylight Saving Time begins. Don’t forget to reset your clocks (if they don’t automatically set themselves) as we “spring forward” to Daylight Saving Time! For much of the U.S., 2 to 3 a.m. on March 9, 2025, might be a good hour for magical or fictional events (as it doesn’t actually exist).
Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning, March 11 to 12 The bright star Regulus will appear close to the nearly full moon. As evening twilight ends at 8:09 p.m. EDT, Regulus will be 4 degrees to the lower right of the Moon. When the Moon reaches its highest for the night at 11:52 p.m., Regulus will be 3 degrees to the lower right. By the time morning twilight begins at 6:26 a.m., Regulus will be about one degree below the Moon.
Wednesday morning, March 12 Saturn will be passing on the far side of the Sun as seen from Earth, called a conjunction. Because Saturn orbits outside of the orbit of Earth it will be shifting from the evening sky to the morning sky. Saturn will begin emerging from the glow of dawn on the eastern horizon in early April (depending upon viewing conditions).
Wednesday evening, March 12 The planets Venus and Mercury will appear closest to each other low on the western horizon, 5.5 degrees apart. They will be about 5 degrees above the horizon as evening twilight ends at 8:10 p.m. EDT, and Mercury will set first 27 minutes later at 8:37 p.m.
Friday morning, March 14: Full Moon After Next The full moon after next will be at 2:55 a.m. EDT. This will be on Thursday evening from Pacific Daylight Time and Mountain Standard Time westward to the international date line in the mid Pacific. The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Wednesday evening into Saturday morning.
Total Lunar Eclipse As the Moon passes opposite the Sun on March 14, it will move through Earth’s shadow, creating a total eclipse of the Moon. The Moon will begin entering the partial shadow Thursday night at 11:57 p.m., but the gradual dimming of the Moon will not be noticeable until it starts to enter the full shadow Friday morning at 1:09 a.m. The round shadow of Earth will gradually shift across the face of the Moon (from lower left to upper right) until the Moon is fully shaded beginning at 2:26 a.m.
The period of full shadow, or total eclipse, will last about 65 minutes, reaching the greatest eclipse at 2:59 a.m. and ending at 3:31 a.m. Even though it will be in full shadow, the Moon will still be visible. The glow of all of the sunrises and sunsets on Earth will give the Moon a reddish-brown hue, sometimes called a “blood” Moon (although this name is also used for one of the full moons near the start of fall). From 3:31 until 4:48 a.m., the Moon will exit the full shadow of Earth, with the round shadow of Earth again shifting across the face of the Moon (from upper left to lower right). The Moon will leave the last of the partial shadow at 6 a.m. ending this eclipse.
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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
This version of a mosaic captured by the star tracker cameras aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper on Dec. 4, 2024, features the names of stars within view of the cameras. NASA/JPL-Caltech This mosaic of a star field was made from three images captured Dec. 4, 2024, by star tracker cameras aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. Showing part of the constel-lation Corvus, it’s the first imagery of space the orbiter has captured since its launch on Oct. 14, 2024.NASA/JPL-Caltech The spacecraft’s star trackers help engineers orient the orbiter throughout its long journey to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.
Three months after its launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency’s Europa Clipper has another 1.6 billion miles (2.6 billion kilometers) to go before it reaches Jupiter’s orbit in 2030 to take close-up images of the icy moon Europa with science cameras.
Meanwhile, a set of cameras serving a different purpose is snapping photos in the space between Earth and Jupiter. Called star trackers, the two imagers look for stars and use them like a compass to help mission controllers know the exact orientation of the spacecraft — information critical for pointing telecommunications antennas toward Earth and sending data back and forth smoothly.
In early December, the pair of star trackers (formally known as the stellar reference units) captured and transmitted Europa Clipper’s first imagery of space. The picture, composed of three shots, shows tiny pinpricks of light from stars 150 to 300 light-years away. The starfield represents only about 0.1% of the full sky around the spacecraft, but by mapping the stars in just that small slice of sky, the orbiter is able to determine where it is pointed and orient itself correctly.
The starfield includes the four brightest stars — Gienah, Algorab, Kraz, and Alchiba — of the constellation Corvus, which is Latin for “crow,” a bird in Greek mythology that was associated with Apollo.
Engineers on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission work with the spacecraft’s star trackers in a clean room at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2022. Used for orienting the spacecraft, the star trackers are seen here with red covers to protect their lenses.NASA/JPL-Caltech Hardware Checkout
Besides being interesting to stargazers, the photos signal the successful checkout of the star trackers. The spacecraft checkout phase has been going on since Europa Clipper launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Oct. 14, 2024.
“The star trackers are engineering hardware and are always taking images, which are processed on board,” said Joanie Noonan of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, who leads the mission’s guidance, navigation and control operations. “We usually don’t downlink photos from the trackers, but we did in this case because it’s a really good way to make sure the hardware — including the cameras and their lenses — made it safely through launch.”
Pointing the spacecraft correctly is not about navigation, which is a separate operation. But orientation using the star trackers is critical for telecommunications as well as for the science operations of the mission. Engineers need to know where the science instruments are pointed. That includes the sophisticated Europa Imaging System (EIS), which will collect images that will help scientists map and examine the moon’s mysterious fractures, ridges, and valleys. For at least the next three years, EIS has its protective covers closed.
Europa Clipper carries nine science instruments, plus the telecommunications equipment that will be used for a gravity science investigation. During the mission’s 49 flybys of Europa, the suite will gather data that will tell scientists if the icy moon and its internal ocean have the conditions to harbor life.
The spacecraft already is 53 million miles (85 million kilometers) from Earth, zipping along at 17 miles per second (27 kilometers per second) relative to the Sun, and soon will fly by Mars. On March 1, engineers will steer the craft in a loop around the Red Planet, using its gravity to gain speed.
More About Europa Clipper
Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, managed the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
Find more information about Europa Clipper here:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/
View an interactive 3D model of NASA’s Europa Clipper News Media Contacts
Gretchen McCartney
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-287-4115
gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
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Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Hubble News Archive Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary More 35th Anniversary Online Activities 5 Min Read Straight Shot: Hubble Investigates Galaxy with Nine Rings
LEDA 1313424, aptly nicknamed the Bullseye, is two and a half times the size of our Milky Way and has nine rings — six more than any other known galaxy. Credits:
NASA, ESA, Imad Pasha (Yale), Pieter van Dokkum (Yale) NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured a cosmic bullseye! The gargantuan galaxy LEDA 1313424 is rippling with nine star-filled rings after an “arrow” — a far smaller blue dwarf galaxy — shot through its heart. Astronomers using Hubble identified eight visible rings, more than previously detected by any telescope in any galaxy, and confirmed a ninth using data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Previous observations of other galaxies show a maximum of two or three rings.
“This was a serendipitous discovery,” said Imad Pasha, the lead researcher and a doctoral student at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. “I was looking at a ground-based imaging survey and when I saw a galaxy with several clear rings, I was immediately drawn to it. I had to stop to investigate it.” The team later nicknamed the galaxy the “Bullseye.”
LEDA 1313424, aptly nicknamed the Bullseye, is two and a half times the size of our Milky Way and has nine rings — six more than any other known galaxy. High-resolution imagery from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope confirmed eight rings, and data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii confirmed a ninth. Hubble and Keck also confirmed which galaxy dove through the Bullseye, creating these rings: the blue dwarf galaxy that sits to its immediate center-left. NASA, ESA, Imad Pasha (Yale), Pieter van Dokkum (Yale)
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Hubble and Keck’s follow-up observations also helped the researchers prove which galaxy plunged through the center of the Bullseye — a blue dwarf galaxy to its center-left. This relatively tiny interloper traveled like a dart through the core of the Bullseye about 50 million years ago, leaving rings in its wake like ripples in a pond. A thin trail of gas now links the pair, though they are currently separated by 130,000 light-years.
“We’re catching the Bullseye at a very special moment in time,” said Pieter G. van Dokkum, a co-author of the new study and a professor at Yale. “There’s a very narrow window after the impact when a galaxy like this would have so many rings.”
Galaxies collide or barely miss one another quite frequently on cosmic timescales, but it is extremely rare for one galaxy to dive through the center of another. The blue dwarf galaxy’s straight trajectory through the Bullseye later caused material to move both inward and outward in waves, setting off new regions of star formation.
How big is the Bullseye? Our Milky Way galaxy is about 100,000 light-years in diameter, and the Bullseye is almost two-and-a-half times larger, at 250,000 light-years across.
This illustration compares the size of our own Milky Way galaxy to gargantuan galaxy LEDA 1313424, nicknamed the Bullseye. The Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years in diameter, and the Bullseye is almost two-and-a-half times larger, at 250,000 light-years across. NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)
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The researchers used Hubble’s crisp vision to carefully to pinpoint the location of most of its rings, since many are piled up at the center. “This would have been impossible without Hubble,” Pasha said.
They used Keck to confirm one more ring. The team suspects a 10th ring also existed, but has faded and is no longer detectable. They estimate it might lie three times farther out than the widest ring in Hubble’s image.
A One-to-One Match with Predictions
Pasha also found a stunning connection between the Bullseye and a long-established theory: The galaxy’s rings appear to have moved outward almost exactly as predicted by models.
“That theory was developed for the day that someone saw so many rings,” van Dokkum said. “It is immensely gratifying to confirm this long-standing prediction with the Bullseye galaxy.”
If viewed from above, it would be more obvious that the galaxy’s rings aren’t evenly spaced like those on a dart board. Hubble’s image shows the galaxy from a slight angle. “If we were to look down at the galaxy directly, the rings would look circular, with rings bunched up at the center and gradually becoming more spaced out the farther out they are,” Pasha explained.
To visualize how these rings may have formed, think about dropping a pebble into a pond. The first ring ripples out, becoming the widest over time, while others continue to form after it.
The researchers suspect that the first two rings in the Bullseye formed quickly and spread out in wider circles. The formation of additional rings may have been slightly staggered, since the blue dwarf galaxy’s flythrough affected the first rings more significantly.
This illustration shows the massive galaxy nicknamed the Bullseye face-on. Dotted circles indicate where each of its rings are, which formed like ripples in a pond after a blue dwarf galaxy (not shown) shot through its core about 50 million years ago. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope helped researchers carefully pinpoint the location of most of its rings, many of which are piled up at the center. Data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii helped the team confirm another ring. NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)
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Individual stars’ orbits were largely undisturbed, though groups of stars did “pile up” to form distinguishable rings over millions of years. The gas, however, was carried outward, and mixed with dust to form new stars, further brightening the Bullseye’s rings.
There’s a lot more research to be done to figure out which stars existed before and after the blue dwarf’s “fly through.” Astronomers will now also be able to improve models showing how the galaxy may continue to evolve over billions of years, including the disappearance of additional rings.
Although this discovery was a chance finding, astronomers can look forward to finding more galaxies like this one soon. “Once NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope begins science operations, interesting objects will pop out much more easily,” van Dokkum explained. “We will learn how rare these spectacular events really are.”
The team’s paper was published on the February 4, 2025 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
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