Seeing Stars: Take up stargazing this year

Start by spotting planets. They are the easiest to identify every night and five are visible to the naked eye at different times during the year. You will see them no matter where you are. 

Then, start to learn some constellations and the brighter stars and try to identify them in the night sky. Once you have a grasp on what is above your head, you will begin to learn more. Colourful nebula, galaxies and meteors can follow in your learning journey. 

I wouldn’t suggest getting a telescope until you really know your way around the night sky, but a pair of 10x50 binoculars are a must. You should try to check out the night sky every clear night, even if only for half an hour, and you will start to see the night sky changing every month.

Kintyre doesn’t currently have an astronomy club but it has several Facebook groups which cater for anyone interested in our local night sky.

Three local Facebook groups to visit are: Stargazing in Kintyre and Gigha, Campbeltown Stargazers and Argyll Auroras. If you have specific questions, don’t be afraid to post them on any of these friendly groups as members will be happy to help you. 

You can also send any stargazing questions you might have to the Courier and we will do our best to answer them here in the Seeing Stars column. 

So wait until it’s dark, then look up and be amazed.

Seeing Stars highlights for 2025

• January 3/4: Quadrantid meteor shower – colourful shooting stars
• January 13/14: Full Moon and Mars close together
• February 19: Venus at its brightest (evening)
• March 14: Total eclipse of the Moon (morning)
• March 29: Partial eclipse of the Sun (10am - noon)
• April 1/2: Moon passes in front of The Pleiades star cluster
• April 22: Venus at its brightest (morning)
• April 22/23: Lyrid meteor shower – sometimes leaving dusty trails
• May 3: Moon, Mars and Praesepe star cluster together (11pm)
• June 10/11: The lowest full Moon in nearly 20 years (morning)
• August 20: Venus, Moon and Jupiter close together (early morning)
• September 7: Total lunar eclipse as the Moon rises (morning)
• October 21/22: Orionid meteor shower – high speed shooting stars
• November 5: Biggest and brightest ‘supermoon’ of the year
• November 17/18: Leonid meteor shower – comet debris in our skies
• December 13/14: Geminid meteor shower – the most spectacular of the year

Answers to last week’s seasonal cosmic quiz:

1 c

2 b

3 c

4 a

5 b

6 b

7 a

8 b

9 a

10 b

11 a

12 c

13 a

14 c

15 c

16 c

17 b

18 b

19 a

20 c