Hello and welcome to another year of stargazing. Among the articles about the Star of Bethlehem I said there would surely be, there was one by a Mark Matney suggesting the object may have been a comet. This is not a new idea, indeed there were several plausible ideas put forward in a book by Mark Kidger, but this Mark’s suggestion is backed up by Chinese records of such an object in 5 BC. Certainly, a comet moves, but it is the standing still over a particular place that causes difficulties. Apparently, the comet in 5 BC may fit the criteria for standing still or at least appearing to stand still.
Now it may not feel like it but we are actually speeding through winter as the Earth moves faster in January than it does in July. This is due to the Earth’s elliptical orbit around the sun as well as the orbit being tilted 23 and a half degrees to the plane of that orbit. A consequence of all this is that solar noon becomes slightly out of phase with clock noon. You can try this should the sun shine!
Although we are now well past the winter solstice, the latest sunrises still occur until 5 January. There are many days when the sunrise is at the same late time, while the evenings are lengthening minute by minute. Fascinating stuff. It’s when thinking about this, you can really get a feel for being on a planet in motion.
What can be seen this month? Well, with the full moon at the beginning of the month, on the 3rd, there is plenty of opportunity for viewing the craters as the moon wanes, as well as moonless nights for stargazing. Do wrap up in layers of wool and wear fingerless mittens to keep your hands warm while still able to use equipment. It is advisable to set up any telescope in daylight so it can adjust to the cooler temperatures.
Jupiter is next to the Moon on the 3rd making that an easy object to spot. There will be glare from the light of the full moon though but you should be able to see the planet which is also a very bright object. At the end of the month, on the 23rd, when the Moon begins waxing, you will find Saturn near the Moon. This time, you may be lucky to see more of the planet before the brightness of the full moon obscures the detail.
When the moon is at first quarter, you will see the pretty cluster of the Pleiades – see how many you can count and let us know. This is a good guide to how dark your skies are. Seven sisters? Or is it 44 or is it more?
If you want a chance to see Mercury, do be careful as this tiny planet is visible just before sunrise in the early part of the month – you have to be ready with any equipment so you can see the planet safely before the sun gets in the way. I have to keep saying this as it is so important – please never look at the sun directly.
Betelgeuse in Orion is one to watch as it is nearing its supernova stage. But no one knows exactly when this will happen. It will have no effect upon Earth as it is so far away – it is approximately 700 or so light years away – with 1 light year being 9.3 trillion kilometres. However, because the star is so bright, it is difficult to obtain accurate measurements. Of course, the annual favourite is the nebula, a joy in the better winter observing months when there is less atmospheric disturbance. A reward for those cold nights. See if you can count the four stars of the trapezium asterism within it.
To the left of the Pleiades is the Hyades cluster, near the red star Aldebaran in Taurus. Although it is not actually within that constellation but appears so from our perspective, in reality Aldebaran is about half way between us and the constellation, and conveniently placed to appear as the red eye of the bull constellation. Elnath, a bright star at the end of one of the ‘horns’ is shared by another constellation, that of Auriga, in which lies Capella, the overhead star of winter. So, with Capella, Aldebaran, and Orion, you are well on the way to locating the big winter hexagon asterism.
Andromeda Galaxy and the double cluster in Perseus are well placed for observing and would make a nice double target for a viewing session. Each of the two clusters contains many bright stars including some red ones, and lie in a spiral arm of our galaxy about 7 and a half thousand light years away. It is from Perseus that you get the Perseid meteor shower in August. The galaxy appears as a fuzzy smudge to the naked eye.
Another star of the winter hexagon, Pollux is one of the two stars of Gemini. Did you see any meteors from the Geminids in December? We saw one or two when out and about in Sidmouth. They were, apparently, very good this year. The partner to Pollux, Caster is actually 6 stars, made up of 3 sets of binary stars. There is a lovely open cluster made up of trails of stars between Gemini and Taurus, M35 containing over 100 stars.
Well, there is a certainly a lot to enjoy and also some excitement in the coming months as NASA prepares to launch another rocket in its Artemis mission in preparation for future human landings on the Moon. It is hoped to set up a lunar base which will act as a stepping stone to Mars.
Happy New Year of Stargazing and thank you for listening.
Karen Hedges
January 2026
Karen Hedges 