Christmas is a wonderful time for those who celebrate and once the turkey dinner is done and the wrapping paper has been tidied away, there’s always one last treat that we all can share — the majesty of the winter night sky.
So, gather your friends and family and join us on a Christmas night sky tour featuring glistening constellations, bright planets and, of course, where to find the moon on this silent night.
What to look out for in the Christmas night sky
The hours following sunset on Dec. 25 offer a wealth of naked-eye astronomy targets that can put even the most glitzy Christmas lights to shame, especially when viewed from a dark sky location.
Look to the southwestern horizon soon after nightfall to find the delicate 35%-lit waxing crescent moon shining low in the winter sky. Saturn shines nearby as a bright “evening star” less than 15 degrees to the moon’s upper left. For reference, the width of your fist held at arm’s length accounts for roughly 10 degrees of sky, while the span of your three middle fingers is approximately 5 degrees.
A 6-inch telescope will help reveal several of Saturn’s largest moons, including Rhea, Titan, Tethys and Dione. Sadly, the gas giant‘s sweeping ring system will appear as little more than a thin line, thanks to its current edge-on alignment with Earth following a ring plane crossing in March earlier this year.
The moon‘s thickening crescent will appear beautiful to the unaided eye, while a telescope will allow you to explore the vast, smooth expanses of Mare Crisium and Mare Fecunditatis — two prominent solidified lava plains that scar the moon’s Earth-facing side.
Both Saturn and the moon will set shortly after 11 p.m. local time for viewers in the U.S.
Next, turn your gaze to the eastern sky to find mighty Jupiter shining among the stars of the constellation Gemini, close to Castor and Pollux — which represent the heads of the twin brothers depicted in the celestial formation.
Jupiter will be the second brightest object in the night sky on Dec. 25 — after the moon — and so will be easy to spot as it makes its way overhead east to west over the course of the night. The famous constellation Orion will be visible twinkling to its right throughout, with the stars of the Hyades and Pleiades open star clusters visible above in the constellation Taurus, the bull.
Finally, turn your eyes north to find Polaris — the “North Star” — shining roughly 40 degrees above the horizon (its altitude matches your latitude, so it will appear lower or higher depending on where you are). You can pinpoint Polaris using your smartphone astronomy app, or by finding one of the most recognizable asterisms in the night sky, the Big Dipper, and using it as a guide to point the way.
First, locate the “pan” of the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major, which sits low on the northern horizon after sunset. Next, draw a line from the star representing the outer base of the pan, known as Merak, up through the star representing the pouring lip, which astronomers call Dubhe. Follow that line out into space and the next bright star you find will be the North Star!
The entire sky will appear to revolve around this one point of light as the night plays out, presenting a stunning anchor for anyone hoping to capture a time-lapse “star-trail” portrait of the Christmas sky.
We hope you enjoyed this short tour of the night sky and from everyone at Space.com, we wish you a merry Christmas!
Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com’s readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.