The Mars-Regulus conjunction: online observation – 17 June 2025
On 17 June 2025 planet Mars and the bright star Regulus will have a close conjunction, offering a stunning show because of the elegant colors, red and blue, of the objects involved. We will show it live, online!
The Mars-Regulus conjunction: poster of the event.
Right now, in the evening sky, it is possible to observe the red planet, Mars, near the star Regulus, the brightest one in the zodiacal constellation of Leo. Day by day, the two celestial bodies appeared to draw progressively closer in the sky, and this will culminate in their conjunction on the evening of June 17th. At that moment, the angular separation between Mars and Regulus will be less than one degree, approximately 1.5 times the angular diameter of the Moon’s disk.
This is a must-see celestial event, visible to the naked eye and best appreciated through a pair of binoculars or a telescope at low magnification.
The conjunction occurs because Mars, being a planet (a term of Greek origin meaning “wandering star”), will pass through the region of the celestial sphere occupied by the prominent star Regulus. This is, of course, purely a line-of-sight alignment. At the time of the conjunction, the red planet will be at a distance of approximately 275 million kilometers, whereas the “Heart of the Lion” is nearly 80 light-years away (about 800 trillion kilometers).
Adding to the particular beauty of the conjunction will be the contrasting colors of the two objects: Mars will exhibit its proverbial reddish hue, while Regulus will shine with a blue light. The two celestial bodies involved will also have a similar magnitude, the scale used to measure the brightness of stars.
The name Regulus is derived from the Latin “Regulus,” meaning “little king,” a name attributed to it by Copernicus. It is one of the four Royal Stars of Persia (along with Aldebaran, Antares, and Fomalhaut), which were anciently regarded as the guardians of the solstices and equinoxes. Regulus is the brightest star located near the ecliptic, the projection of Earth’s orbit onto the celestial sphere. The Moon and the planets travel close to this path and therefore they are frequently found in its vicinity.
In reality, Regulus is not a single star but a multiple-star system composed of at least four stellar components, including a white dwarf.
The Virtual Telescope Project will broadcast the conjunction live on June 17th, starting at 21:45 CEST.
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