On Jan. 4, Saturn briefly hid behind the crescent moon, escaping the view of skywatchers in Europe, Africa, western Russia and eastern Greenland in an event known as a lunar occultation. Astronomer Gianluca Masi shared a composite photo taken during the event using the Virtual Telescope Project in Manciano, Italy.

Venus is the planet of love, beauty and pleasure — it governs everything from our finances and relationship dynamics to our values and desires. In Pisces, the love planet immerses itself in the ideal fantasy, encouraging us to dream big when it comes to our desires. This, however, could be our detriment if we lose sight of reality.

This beautiful image shows Saturn re-emerging from behind our moon after a lunar occultation on 4 January. These occur when the moon passes between Earth and another object in the night sky, blocking it from our view. To the right of Saturn, you might just be able to make out the star 85 Aquarius, which underwent occultation at the same time.

As Venus and Saturn meet in Pisces' sign, there's a focus on their life path. Relationships must bring out the best in them to get the stamp of approval from authoritative Saturn. If a connection doesn't challenge Pisces to grow in its emotional intelligence, intuition, and overall self-development, its flaws will undoubtedly become apparent.

An event called a "ring plane crossing" will occur between Saturn and Earth on March 23, 2025, when Saturn's rings will appear to vanish.

Plus: Saturn’s moon Iapetus is visible, our Moon passes the bright star Spica, and Mars skims south of Pollux in Gemini in the sky this week.

Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars will appear to line up and be bright enough to see with the naked eye in the first few hours after dark. This weekend, Venus and Saturn get especially cozy.

To kick off the beginning of the weekend, catch Venus and Saturn meeting as a conjunction on the night of Jan. 17. A telescope is not required to view this astronomy event.

The planetary parade, also known as a planetary alignment, will begin with only four planets—Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. It will last through early March.

A new study implies that in the past, moons in our solar system may have had rings just like planets do — deepening the mystery of why no ringed moons exist today.

An international team of astronomers has reported the detection of a new exoplanet orbiting a bright late F-type star. The newfound alien world, designated TOI-6038 A b, is about six times larger and nearly 80 times more massive than Earth.