Celestial Highlights for Monday, August 25, 2025

An Astronomy Picture of the Day Featuring a Shooting Star and Star Cluster NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for August 25, 2025 showcases a meteoric streak illuminating a distant star cluster in a single, breathtaking exposure.

Rare “Black Moon” Yields Moonless Skies With the Moon at new phase on August 23, observers enjoyed truly dark skies over the weekend, ideal for spotting faint stars and the Milky Way amid minimal light pollution.

Six-Planet Parade Dazzles Pre-Dawn Sky Skywatchers in mid-northern latitudes witnessed a six-planet alignment just before sunrise on Monday, with Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn arrayed across the eastern horizon. This “planet parade” offered one of the year’s most spectacular celestial line-ups.

ISS Flybys Add a Human Touch The International Space Station made several brilliant predawn passes over North America and Europe, appearing as a steadily moving “bright star” in the hours before dawn.

Perseid Meteor Shower Finale Continues Though the Perseid meteor shower peaked earlier in August, the final sporadic meteors remained visible under the moonless skies, granting observers occasional bright fireballs well into the early hours.

Clear skies and stellar sights continue to reward those who venture out before sunrise this week.