ActiveOutdoorsOutdoor TechWhy this Christmas is the perfect time to get a telescope (and what to buy)Five bright planets will be visible in December’s moonless night skies. Here’s what telescope to buy to see them at their best.When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
ActiveOutdoorsOutdoor TechWhy this Christmas is the perfect time to get a telescope (and what to buy)Five bright planets will be visible in December’s moonless night skies. Here’s what telescope to buy to see them at their best.When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Five bright planets will be visible in December’s moonless night skies. Here’s what telescope to buy to see them at their best.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Mars - Unsplash / Planet Volumes(Image credit: Unsplash / Planet Volumes)
Mars - Unsplash / Planet Volumes
(Image credit: Unsplash / Planet Volumes)
What’s that bright star in the early evening night sky? That depends on where you’re looking. In late December 2022 no fewer than five planets will be visible in the night sky, making it the best Christmas in years to buy one of thebest telescopes for beginners.
However, since there’s no bright moon in the night sky it will be super-dark, making it also a great time to use one of thebest telescopes for stargazingto see faint galaxies, star clusters and nebulae.
This is what to see, when to see it and what telescope to buy and use this festive season.
The night sky with Venus visible to the naked eye(Image credit: Getty)
The night sky with Venus visible to the naked eye
The night sky with Venus visible to the naked eye
(Image credit: Getty)
The Christmas ‘parade of planets’
There are seven other planets in the solar system besides Earth, but Neptune and Uranus are so far away and faint that only giant telescopes can discern much detail from them. Not so the five bright planets – Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and Mercury – all of which will be visible together in the early evening night sky in late December 2022 until early January 2023.
(Image credit: Getty)
(Image credit: Getty)
Best time to look at planets with a telescope
Go outside an hour or two after dark on any clear night in December and look to the east. You’ll see the reddish planet Mars moving slowly higher into the sky. It’s close to its brightest for over two years. Cast your eyes to the south and there’s Jupiter, a very bright object that looks incredible in a telescope or even in binoculars. Move your gaze to the southwest and you’ll see Saturn, a much dimmer object, but equally compelling in a small telescope because of its incredible rings. Saturn is sinking, so is best observed immediately, but Mars and Jupiter are easy to observe all evening.
These three planets – also the best three to look at through a telescope – have been visible for some weeks and months, but joining them this Christmas will be the two inner planets, super-bright Venus and tiny, dim Mercury. These two planets can be seen low in the western sky right after sunset from 23 December 2023. Any night after that until early January will bag you a view of these two inner planets close together, though you will need a clear view of the western horizon.
Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ telescope(Image credit: Jamie Carter)
Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ telescope
Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ telescope
(Image credit: Jamie Carter)
Best type of telescope for observing planets
Which telescope is best for viewing planets? To easily see detail on a planet – and this applies primarily to Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – you need a telescope that can magnify about 100x (though the more the better). However, do not buy a telescope according to what the manufacturer says the maximum magnification is. That can lead to a lot of disappointment when you set up a new telescope and a planet looks tiny.
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
Celestron StarSense Explorer 8" Dobsonian telescope(Image credit: Jamie Carter / T3)
Celestron StarSense Explorer 8" Dobsonian telescope
Celestron StarSense Explorer 8" Dobsonian telescope
(Image credit: Jamie Carter / T3)
Best type of telescope for observing galaxies and nebulae
With a New Moon on December 23, 2022, the entire Christmas period will have dark, moonless night skies perfect for also observing faint deep-sky objects such as star fields, open clusters of stars, galaxies and nebulae. Unlike planets, these objects are dim and generally require shorter focal-length telescopes. Try a Newtonian reflector telescope like theCelestron StarSense Explorer 8" DobsonianorCelestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZor a smart telescope like theUnistellar eVscope 2, which is expensive but can produce incredible images even from light-polluted cities.
Whenever you use it, here are some morethings to aim your telescope at.
Build bigger arms in just 30 minutes with this 5-move dumbbell-only workoutIt’ll leave the biceps and triceps popping!
It’ll leave the biceps and triceps popping!
OMEGA puts the moon on your wrist with its new Speedmaster Moonphase MeteoriteOMEGA adds two new Moonphase Meteorite watches to its Speedmaster line-up
OMEGA adds two new Moonphase Meteorite watches to its Speedmaster line-up
Change my mind: the smaller, the better with portable power stationsPut your portable power station to work when you’re not using it
Put your portable power station to work when you’re not using it
This rugged adventure Garmin is mega cheap in Walmart’s Black Friday saleThe Instinct 2 is a top watch for outdoor and sport enthusiasts
The Instinct 2 is a top watch for outdoor and sport enthusiasts
YETI’s best-selling products are ridiculously cheap in Amazon’s Black Friday saleFancy yourself a tumbler, rambler or cooler? Amazon’s reduced them all
Fancy yourself a tumbler, rambler or cooler? Amazon’s reduced them all
AKASO Seemor 200 night vision goggles review: unparalleled clarity for nighttime adventuresAKASO’s new NVD unlocks the night with cutting-edge colour vision technology
AKASO’s new NVD unlocks the night with cutting-edge colour vision technology
8 must-have hiking gadgets for tackling cold and wet trailsWhether it be wet and rainy, or super chilly, these 8 gadgets can make your outdoor adventure even more enjoyable
Whether it be wet and rainy, or super chilly, these 8 gadgets can make your outdoor adventure even more enjoyable
Vango Classic Instant 300 review: a festival-goer’s dream tentSuper quick to pitch and pull down, this reasonably priced tent is spacious, tall and well-featured for festival use
Super quick to pitch and pull down, this reasonably priced tent is spacious, tall and well-featured for festival use
Is Columbia’s OutDry Extreme the best waterproof-breathable material that no one is using?ODX hasn’t revolutionised the outdoor apparel world in the way its creators expected it to – but that could be about to change…
ODX hasn’t revolutionised the outdoor apparel world in the way its creators expected it to – but that could be about to change…
Best YETI coolers 2025: ice cold excellenceKeep food and beverage frosty with our curated selection of top-rated YETI coolers for every occasion
Keep food and beverage frosty with our curated selection of top-rated YETI coolers for every occasion
