During April and May 2025, the planet Mars moves swiftly through the stars – and you can watch the changes night by night as it passes through the constellation of Gemini then into Cancer. No telescope or binoculars needed – just your eyes!
Mars is currently playing catch-up with the Earth, having been at its closest for two years back in January. But it’s a race that it will inevitably lose, as it’s farther out from the Sun and that means it moves slower in its orbit. Even so, it will still be in our evening sky until the start of August – although by that time it will be very distant.
At the start of April, Mars is easy to spot because it’s quite high in the sky and it’s close to the two bright stars Castor and Pollux, in the constellation of Gemini, the Twins. Here’s the view at the start of April:
Here’s how Mars moves through the stars during spring 2025:
Mars moves from Gemini into Cancer on 13 April. In the first few days of May it’s close to the lovely Beehive star cluster – a lovely sight through binoculars or a telescope.
But Mars is getting increasingly far from Earth, and is now down to around seven arc seconds in diameter, which is about half its size when it was closest in January. With a telescope and a magnification you might see some of its dark markings. It won’t be close to Earth again until the end of 2026, so make the most of it!