Everyone always gushes about Hilton Head Island’s natural beauty—and we don’t disagree, they have a reason to gush! There’s a very noticeable lack of neon signs, billboards, and really anything that’s designed to stick out, for that matter. Throughout your day, you’ll only see greenery, beautiful beaches, and architectural styles that blend in with the landscape on purpose.
But at night, that’s when the feeling-like-you’re-in-the-middle-of-nowhere bliss sets in. And that feeling is totally delightful for those visiting from big cities. Maybe it’s the main reason the trip was booked! That means when you look up on a clear night, the dazzling night sky will most likely catch you off guard, and make you wonder, “When was the last time I saw this many stars?”
This spring, the night sky is going to be full of amazing stargazing, meteor showers, and more! Here is a list of what to look out for:
Total Lunar Eclipse
March 14th, 2025
Also called the Blood Moon (or sometimes, the Blood Worm Moon), North America will be able to see the moon seemingly turn red during the total lunar eclipse. Peak illumination will be around 3am on Friday, March 14th, but the lunar eclipse will start the Blood Moon affect as early as Thursday. Although the Hilton Head area is in for some clouds overnight, you’ll still want to try to spot this phenomenon–at least to catch the Blood Moon earlier on in the night.
Want to learn more about the moon and eclipses? Learn from the experts themselves on Nasa’s website.
Saturn’s Ring Plane Crossing
March 23rd, 2025
Never heard of this happening before? Apparently, this is a rare astronomical event that happens about every 15 years, and it’s a great chance for observatories to better observe Saturn’s rings. For everyone wondering what actually happens, Saturn’s rings are in a specific alignment with Earth so that we see them edge-on. Normally, there’s some kind of tilt, allowing us to see the planet’s many rings, but in this case, the rings will basically vanish.
Take a look at Nasa’s Hubblesite and see an example of this alignment from May of 1995.
Partial Solar Eclipse
March 29th, 2025
A solar eclipse happens when the moon finds its way between the Earth and the sun, allowing for the moon to make a shadow on Earth’s surface. This March, we’ll experience a partial eclipse, meaning that the moon will only block some of the sun’s light. This event will begin around 4:50am and end just before 9am.
Lyrid Meteor Shower
April 22nd, 2025
This meteor shower will actually last from April 16th to the 25th, but the peak is considered to be the night of April 21st and early morning of the 22nd, where you might be able to see around 18 meteors an hour! Set your alarms for early Tuesday morning to see some dazzling shooting stars falling from the Lyra constellation. Sounds like a great start to Earth Day, to us!
Full Pink Moon
April 23rd, 2025
This April, we’ll be able to see a beautiful full moon that’s nicknamed after early spring flowers called ground phlox–specifically the pink kind! The bad news? The moon won’t actually turn pink.
Learn about this full moon’s other nicknames on the Farmer’s Almanac website.
Space’s Smiley Face
April 25th, 2025
Ok, we took some liberties with this cosmic event’s name. It’s actually called a Triple Conjunction, meaning the moon will be in alignment with the planets, Venus and Saturn, making a smiley face you can see from space! If you happen to miss April’s smiley face, look out for another one on September 29th!
Full Flower Moon
May 12th, 2025
May’s full moon is often called the Flower Moon. As you might have guessed, it’s name stems from all of the beautiful flowers that have bloomed during this time period. Other nicknames of this moon are the Budding Moon, Planting Moon, and even the Moon of Shedding Ponies. The Farmer’s Almanac will give you a full explanation of these names of this specific full moon.
