Celestial Spectacle on Christmas Night: Planetary Procession, Star Assemblages, and Orion's Mighty Sword
Gonna be peeping at the night sky on Christmas night this year, eh? Maybe you got a brand new telescope for the occasion - could even be your very first one!
Christmas Eve, December 25th, is a night when stargazers and astronomers, both newbies and veterans, step outside to check out the sky. New telescope owners may find themselves disappointed, though.
If they imagined they'd see breathtaking views through their new telescope, as cool as Hubble Space Telescope and Voyager images on the box, they might be in for a shock. The actual night sky could disappoint them, or they might not even be able to spot their desired planets due to their positions.
That's why we've put together a quick tour of the Christmas night sky to help you satisfy your astronomy cravings and appreciate the reality of sky-watching with your new telescope.
Preparing for Christmas night sky stargazing
Don't just expect amazing things to appear in your telescope view as soon as you point it at the sky. Your new telescope won't magically jump from one celestial object to another all by itself. You'll need some guidance to find the galaxies, star clusters, and planets of the Solar System you've been dreaming about.
For a bit of extra help, check out our guide on spending your first night with a telescope.
Books and star charts
There are numerous great space and astronomy books to help a new telescope owner navigate the sky. Turn Left At Orion by Guy Consolmagno is a classic guide loved by beginners.
You might also want to consult Consolmagno's top 12 astronomy sights for Christmas, full of easy-to-use star charts that'll help you locate deep-sky objects.
Prefer paperback format? Consider Collins' Stargazing or our own The Astronomer's Yearbook. All these resources provide monthly charts and information about astronomical events.
Smartphone apps
Many astronomers use their mobile devices to help them find their way around the sky. Choose from a variety of astronomy apps that use GPS to pinpoint your location and show you what you can see in the night sky above you. For more information, check out our guide to smartphone astronomy apps.
Dark-adapted vision
Even if you and your new equipment are ready to start exploring the cosmos, your eyes won't be. Give them time to adjust to darkness. After a period of 'dark adaptation', your eyes will go through physical and chemical changes that allow them to gather more faint starlight, resulting in better views through your scope. Be patient, avoid using torches unless they're red, and if possible, turn your phone's screen red. Learn more about preparing your eyes for stargazing with our guide to averted vision.
Now that we're set, let's embark on our astronomy tour of the Christmas night sky. Check out our 5 Christmas Night night-sky targets, then head back indoors for another turkey sandwich and a cup of mulled wine.
5 objects to observe on Christmas Night 2024
A planet parade
Four planets of the Solar System will be visible to the naked eye on Christmas Night 2024. Catch Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn low to the horizon. Keep an eye out for Uranus and Neptune through your telescope, too.
The Orion Nebula
In the center of Orion's Sword lies M42, the Orion Nebula, a glowing cloud of dust and gas, a 'stellar nursery' 1,400 light-years from Earth. This is one of the most beautiful celestial objects in the sky and is visible as a small smudge to the naked eye in dark skies.
M42 will rise in the east at around 18:00 UT and will be visible in the south around 23:00 UT. Try spotting the Trapezium, a tiny quartet of pinprick stars at its heart, which can be easily seen with higher magnification eyepieces.
For more advice on observing Orion with your telescope, read our guide to the best targets to see in the Orion constellation.
The Pleiades
The Pleiades, also known as 'The Seven Sisters' due to its seven stars visible to the naked eye, will be a real "Wow!" sight on Christmas Night, visible in the southeast around 19:30 UT. At 430 light-years from Earth, this cluster is an easy observing target.
Through your telescope, its myriad stars will sparkle like tiny diamonds at low magnification, looking like a miniature Plough. Higher magnifications will fill and even overflow your field of view with a bewildering number of stars, shimmering like shattered ice.
When you look at the Pleiades on a dark night, you'll see how astonishingly beautiful it is. Try to pick out stars Electra and the brightest star in the cluster, Alcyone.
Perseus Double Cluster
Lying between the W shape of Cassiopeia and the upside-down Y of Perseus, this deep-sky object will be a stunning sight high in the sky on Christmas night.
Even your telescope's lowest magnification eyepiece will give you a glorious view of the Double Cluster. Higher magnifications will reveal it as containing too many stars to count.
Finding and observing the Double Cluster helps newcomers understand one of the basics of astronomy; just because two objects look close in the sky doesn't mean they are - one of the clusters is much further away than the other.
Sirius
Finally, we come to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. It's easy to find - Orion's Belt points straight down to it - and on frosty winter nights, it looks like a finely-cut diamond flashing above the treetops.
Look for it in the south-southeast around 23:00 UT just below and to the left of Orion on 25 December.
You might think that if you swing your telescope towards Sirius, it'll look bigger, but it'll still just be a point of light. So why bother?
Because through your telescope, the star's twinkling will be greatly enhanced. You'll see it flashing and sparkling like crazy in red, blue, and gold; it's a lovely sight to see. For more on this, read our guide on why do stars twinkle?
It's also possible to photograph the changing colors of Sirius.
Enjoy your glow-up with the universe this Christmas night!
- Stargazers and astronomers, both new and experienced, are preparing to check out the night sky on Christmas night, eager to use their new telescopes.
- New telescope owners might be disappointed if they expect to see breathtaking views similar to Hubble Space Telescope and Voyager images; the actual night sky could disappoint them, or they might not even be able to spot their desired planets due to their positions.
- To help new telescope owners navigate the sky, consider reading guides such as Turn Left At Orion by Guy Consolmagno or using smartphone apps that can pinpoint locations and show what can be seen in the night sky above.
- For those who prefer a traditional approach, star charts can be found in books like Collins' Stargazing or The Astronomer's Yearbook, which provide information about astronomical events and monthly charts.
- Even with the best equipment, your eyes need time to adjust to darkness for better views through the telescope; practice patience, avoid using torches, and use red light if possible.
- On Christmas Night 2024, four planets of the Solar System will be visible to the naked eye, while Uranus and Neptune can be spotted through the telescope.
- The Orion Nebula, a glowing cloud of dust and gas, is one of the most beautiful celestial objects in the sky and can be seen as a small smudge with the naked eye in dark skies.
- The Pleiades, also known as 'The Seven Sisters', will be a real "Wow!" sight on Christmas Night, visible with almost 20 stars in the southeast around 19:30 UT.
- The Perseus Double Cluster, between Cassiopeia and Perseus, will be a stunning sight high in the sky on Christmas night; even low-powered telescopes will give viewers a glorious view of the cluster.
