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 | ||
---|---|---|
1 | 00:00 | Pisces |
00:00 | maximum declination south: −2° 15′ 14″ | |
00:00 | maximum ecliptic latitude north: −1.29° | |
5 | 15:18 | 1.1° south (declination) of Moon: occultation |
15:31 | 1.0° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon: occultation | |
February | ||
1 | 17:00 | 3.3° south (ecliptic latitude) of Venus |
21:49 | 1.3° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon: occultation | |
22:46 | 1.4° south (declination) of Moon: occultation | |
3 | 20:00 | 4.0° south (declination) of Venus |
March | ||
1 | 08:00 | 1.4° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon |
09:00 | 1.6° south (declination) of Moon | |
2 | 16:00 | 1.9° south (ecliptic latitude) of Mercury |
3 | 06:00 | 2.2° south (declination) of Mercury |
19 | 23:30 | conjunction |
20 | 21:00 | maximum distance from Earth: 30.8879 au |
21 | 01:00 | 10.7° south (declination) of Venus |
27 | 13:00 | 9.2° south (ecliptic latitude) of Venus |
28 | 02:00 | 4.2° south (declination) of Mercury |
21:00 | 1.5° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon | |
22:00 | 1.7° south (declination) of Moon | |
30 | 03:00 | 3.4° south (ecliptic latitude) of Mercury |
April | ||
16 | 19:00 | 0.7° north (declination) of Mercury |
17 | 04:00 | 0.7° north (ecliptic latitude) of Mercury |
25 | 09:00 | 1.6° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon |
10:00 | 1.9° south (declination) of Moon | |
May | ||
2 | 17:00 | 2.1° south (ecliptic latitude) of Venus |
4 | 03:00 | 2.1° south (declination) of Venus |
22 | 19:00 | 1.9° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon |
21:00 | 2.1° south (declination) of Moon | |
June | ||
19 | 03:00 | 2.2° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon |
04:00 | 2.5° south (declination) of Moon | |
23 | 08:00 | west quadrature |
29 | 08:00 | 1.0° north (declination) of Saturn |
July | ||
1 | 04:00 | maximum declination north: −0° 21′ 4″ |
5 | 11:00 | stationary (ecliptic longitude): direct motion → retrograde motion |
15:00 | stationary (right ascension): direct motion → retrograde motion | |
16 | 08:00 | 2.4° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon |
10:00 | 2.8° south (declination) of Moon | |
August | ||
6 | 10:00 | 1.1° north (declination) of Saturn |
12 | 14:00 | 2.6° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon |
16:00 | 2.9° south (declination) of Moon | |
September | ||
8 | 21:00 | 2.5° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon |
22:00 | 2.9° south (declination) of Moon | |
22 | 16:00 | minimum distance from Earth: 28.8842 au |
23 | 13:00 | opposition: magnitude +7.81, apparent diameter 2.53″ |
October | ||
6 | 05:00 | 2.5° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon |
07:00 | 2.8° south (declination) of Moon | |
November | ||
2 | 15:00 | 2.5° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon |
17:00 | 2.8° south (declination) of Moon | |
30 | 00:00 | 2.7° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon |
02:00 | 3.0° south (declination) of Moon | |
December | ||
10 | 13:00 | stationary point (ecliptic longitude): retrograde → direct |
11 | 01:00 | stationary point (right ascension): retrograde → direct |
21 | 01:00 | east quadrature |
27 | 07:00 | 2.9° south (ecliptic latitude) of Moon |
09:00 | 3.3° south (declination) of Moon | |
January 2026 | ||
1 | 00:00 | maximum ecliptic latitude south: −1.33° |