Winter is a time to embrace all of the activities that come with this time of the year – making and enjoying hot chocolates, staying at home and making  Christmassy crafts and winter gifts with knitting kits like this www.woolcouturecompany.com/collections/knitting-kits and of course for Christmas itself and all the festivities that come with it.

However, another thing that these longer nights are really good for is astronomy. The darkness that we have at this time of the year enables us to have a good view of the stars and the planets in the sky at night and if this is something that you are thinking about getting into, the winter is a great time to start.

A telescope is the main thing to get if you are interested in exploring more of the night sky. There are many different types of telescopes around and it is something that you should do plenty of research on before you rush out and buy the first one that you see. It is a good idea to bear in mind the things that you are most interested in looking at in the night sky and the type of telescope that you will need for that.

Once you have your telescope, you should familiarise yourself with the night sky objects that are around when you are wanting to look. As the Earth rotates and moves, the view of the planets and stars that we can see will change. There are some really useful information videos that can help you if you are new to this, such as the Sky at Night on YouTube which gives a month-by-month explanation of all the things that you can expect to see that month and also where abouts in the sky to look for them.

It is also a good idea to find a good place to go and use your telescope. The light that comes from the towns and cities can dull the view of the night sky, so head somewhere more rural on a clear night for the best view. Remember to wrap up warm as you may be there some time and let someone know where you are going to be and how long for.