When you wish upon a star…stargazing tips this festive season
December 10, 2024
T’was the night before Christmas and the twinkle of the endless skyscape above couldn’t be more festive!
Winter stargazing season is upon us and, provided you wrap up and take a warming drink, there are few things more uplifting on a clear night than a walk in the International Dark Sky Reserve.
There’s so much to see, explains Elinor Newman, “Queen of the Darkness” who organises the Dark Skies Festival in the National Park.
“This is a great time of year to get outdoors and enjoy the dark skies,” says Elinor.
“The moon – the next full moon (the “cold” moon) is on Sunday, 15 December, and we have a category in our astrophotography competition all about the moon!
“The crescent moon, visible just before and just after the new moon on 30 December, is also beautiful in the sky and doesn’t wash out the other celestial objects.
“We have a wonderful parade of planets visible in the skies at the moment. Venus can be seen glowing brightly in the southwest just after sunset, while Jupiter rises shortly after in the east and Saturn is visible in the south. Later on in the evening, Mars also rises in the northeast, a bright red object that reaches its brightest (known as opposition) on 16 January 2025. Mercury is also showing off in the morning skies, just before sunrise.”
And Elinor adds: “Don’t tell the summer constellations, but I think the winter constellations are some of my favourites! Orion is always a magnificent sight, with the three stars of his belt pointing down to the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. Orion also has some great nebulae to take a look at – get some binoculars and have a look at the area below the leftmost star in his belt. If it is dark and clear enough, this nebula is visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy object.”
Our ever-popular astrophotography competition is currently running, offering prizes of £100 for breathtaking images of the night sky. The deadline for entries to the competition is midnight on Wednesday, 15 January.
This year we have a mobile phone category, so everyone can take part, regardless of whether they have special camera equipment or not!
Click here for details of the competition. Good luck!