SkyEye

Neptune in 2025

The path of Neptune against the background stars in 2025

The chart shows the path of Neptune across the background stars over the course of the year. Stars to magnitude +10.5 are shown. The white circles represent the planet on the first day of the month and are scaled according to apparent magnitude. The faint paths before the first circle and after the last circle represent the planet's positions in December of last year and January of next. In general, the planet moves from right to left except when it's in retrograde and proceding in the opposite direction.

The lower chart shows how the appearance of Neptune changes over the year. Below each image is listed the date, the apparent magnitude, the apparent diameter of the disk (in arc-seconds) and the geocentric distance (in au). Because the relative distance of Neptune does not greatly vary throughout the year, neither does its appearance through a telescope.

Neptune is the most distant planet in the solar system from the Sun and the smallest of the four gas giants. Because of its great distance, it is not visible to the naked eye so a small telescope is always necessary to observe it. Neptune spends the entirety of 2025 in the constellation of Pisces. Visible in the evening sky at the beginning of the year, it is soon lost in evening twilight, passing 1.3° south of the Sun at its March conjunction. It reappears in the morning sky, rising earlier every day until it enters the evening sky in June. The planet is in retrograde between July and December, with opposition taking place on 23 September. Neptune passes near no bright stars but it is occulted by the Moon twice in January and February, and undergoes the first two legs of a triple conjunction in right ascension with Saturn in June and August. Mercury is less than a degree away in April and bright Venus passes close by in early May.

All times and dates are in UT with the time given to the nearest hour unless otherwise indicated. Positions are geocentric apparent places and referred to the true equator and equinox of date.

January
100:00Pisces
00:00maximum declination south: −2° 15′ 14″
00:00maximum ecliptic latitude north: −1.29°
515:181.1° south (declination) of Moon: occultation
15:311.0° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon: occultation
February
117:003.3° south (ecliptic latitude) of Venus
21:491.3° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon: occultation
22:461.4° south (declination) of Moon: occultation
320:004.0° south (declination) of Venus
March
108:001.4° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
09:001.6° south (declination) of Moon
216:001.9° south (ecliptic latitude) of Mercury
306:002.2° south (declination) of Mercury
1923:30conjunction
2021:00maximum distance from Earth: 30.8879 au
2101:0010.7° south (declination) of Venus
2713:009.2° south (ecliptic latitude) of Venus
2802:004.2° south (declination) of Mercury
21:001.5° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
22:001.7° south (declination) of Moon
3003:003.4° south (ecliptic latitude) of Mercury
April
1619:000.7° north (declination) of Mercury
1704:000.7° north (ecliptic latitude) of Mercury
2509:001.6° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
10:001.9° south (declination) of Moon
May
217:002.1° south (ecliptic latitude) of Venus
403:002.1° south (declination) of Venus
2219:001.9° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
21:002.1° south (declination) of Moon
June
1903:002.2° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
04:002.5° south (declination) of Moon
2308:00west quadrature
2908:001.0° north (declination) of Saturn
July
104:00maximum declination north: −0° 21′ 4″
511:00stationary (ecliptic longitude): direct motion → retrograde motion
15:00stationary (right ascension): direct motion → retrograde motion
1608:002.4° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
10:002.8° south (declination) of Moon
August
610:001.1° north (declination) of Saturn
1214:002.6° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
16:002.9° south (declination) of Moon
September
821:002.5° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
22:002.9° south (declination) of Moon
2216:00minimum distance from Earth: 28.8842 au
2313:00opposition: magnitude +7.81, apparent diameter 2.53″
October
605:002.5° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
07:002.8° south (declination) of Moon
November
215:002.5° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
17:002.8° south (declination) of Moon
3000:002.7° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
02:003.0° south (declination) of Moon
December
1013:00stationary point (ecliptic longitude): retrograde → direct
1101:00stationary point (right ascension): retrograde → direct
2101:00east quadrature
2707:002.9° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon
09:003.3° south (declination) of Moon
January 2026
100:00maximum ecliptic latitude south: −1.33°