Christmas is a great time for stargazing. Many of us have a long break from our daily routines, the Sun sets early and the sky is as dark as it can be.
It's the perfect period to look up at the night sky with friends and family, as those early evenings mean there's more opportunity to get kids involved in stargazing before bedtime.
Tonight, 26 December 2025, there's a Boxing Day spectacular coming up: a Christmas conjunction in which Saturn and the crescent Moon are close together in the evening sky.
Here, we'll go through where you need to look and when.
More stargazing
How to see Saturn and the crescent Moon tonight
Saturn and the crescent Moon are above the horizon long before the Sun sets on 26 December, so exactly when you'll first see them depends on what time it gets dark where you are.
But generally speaking, Saturn and the Moon will be in the dark southern sky by around 6pm, with the exact timings varying according to your location.
By around 7pm, they'll have tracked across the sky to the southwest.
From the UK, Saturn will be to the left of the Moon, but if you're observing from North America, Saturn will likely be below the Moon.
The difference is a result of how our view of the night sky changes depending on our location, even within the same hemisphere.
Saturn and the Moon will quickly begin descending towards the western horizon, so the pair will be best seen in the south and then the southwest, early evening.
That makes it an ideal stargazing event for young children.
You won't need a telescope to see Saturn and the Moon: they're easily visible with the naked eye.
But a pair of binoculars will get you a closer view of the conjunction and help you explore the crescent Moon.
Take a look at the line where the lit and unlit portions of the Moon meet: that's known as the terminator, and you may be able to spot the shadows of natural lunar formations, like craters, along this line.
Does the unlit portion of the Moon look brighter than you were expecting? You're likely witnessing a phenomenon known as Earthshine.
As Saturn and the Moon disappear below the horizon, no need to head indoors! There are plenty of other things to see in the night sky.
Boxing Night 2026 stargazing
Orion
The most famous constellation in the winter sky, Orion the Hunter is visible in the southeast from about 9pm onwards.
Note the beautiful red colour of its left shoulder (our left, as we're looking at the hunter), which is the red giant star Betelgeuse.
Take a look, too, at the three stars that form Orion's Belt. If you have dark skies, you may be able to see a 'smudge' hanging down from the belt.
Look at that smudge through binoculars and you'll see a large cosmic cloud called the Orion Nebula.
You're looking at a place where new stars are being born even as you read this. It's one of the closest star-forming regions to Earth.
Look back up at Orion's Belt. You can use the belt stars to form an imaginary line, left to right, stretching up to our next target.
The Pleiades
The beautiful open star cluster known as the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters, also looks like a 'smudge' to the naked eye.
Grab a pair of binoculars and take a closer look, and you'll see it's a beautiful collection of blue stars that forms a small 'Big Dipper' shape.
The Hyades
Look below the Pleiades and you'll see a bright red star, Aldebaran, in Taurus.
Point your binoculars to the right of that star and you'll see a side-ways V-shape of smaller stars.
That's the Hyades, another open star cluster that looks amazing through binoculars or a telescope.
Jupiter
If you have a clear sky, you'll struggle to miss Jupiter, which appears as a bright star to the left of Betelgeuse in Orion.
Jupiter is the best planet to see in the night sky in December 2025.
Again, a pair of binoculars or – even better – a telescope will help you explore the gas giant planet in greater detail, see its stripy atmosphere and perhaps even its largest moons.
Look above Jupiter and you'll see two bright stars. These are Castor and Pollux, the twin stars of Gemini.
If you've managed to see even some of the sights listed above tonight, we hope it's inspired you to spend some of the rest of your festive break under the stars.
And if you didn't manage to get out tonight, or were clouded out, you can still see all the same targets over the rest of the Christmas holidays, except, that is, for the Saturn-Moon conjunction.
Share your stargazing photos and adventures with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
