Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

Saturday, 29 November 2025 12:38

Monday 1st to Sunday 7th December 2025

If you missed the shadow of Jupiter's moon Ganymede being cast on the planet's surface last week, there is another opportunity to witness it from 6am on the morning of Tuesday 2nd. At that time, Jupiter will be located towards the west and you will only have a little window of opportunity before dawn.

Look towards the west again at 3am in the early hours of Thursday 4th to see a 98%-lit gibbous Moon occulting (or appearing to pass in front of) the Pleiades open cluster of stars, Messier 45.

If that's a bit too much of an unsociable hour for you, pop back outside around 7pm on the Thursday evening and look towards the east, where you will find what has then become a Full Moon rising above the horizon. It will be just above the constellation of Taurus and heading towards the Pleiades again. This Full Moon occurs close to perigee, when the Moon is closest to us in its orbit around the Earth, so it will appear slightly larger than at other times, when it is at apogee and furthest away from us.

If you are up early on Sunday 7th, Mercury reaches its greatest elongation and will be 20 degrees away from the rising Sun, so this is an ideal opportunity to observe it. By 6.30am, the planet will have risen above the horizon towards the south east.

Please don't be tempted to use binoculars or a telescope to obtain a better view though, because the Sun will be appearing in the same place shortly afterwards and you mustn't risk catching even the tiniest glimpse of it in your eyepiece!