Orion still dominates the southern night sky and is one of the easiest constellations to spot. Just look for 3 stars in a row – that’s Orion the Hunters belt. These 3 stars are good pointers for finding other constellations.

If you follow the line to the right you’ll reach Taurus the Bull and the Hyades Cluster.

Carry on beyond the Hyades and you’ll find the Pleiades (or ‘Seven Sisters’). This is a tight grouping of seven stars, but if you look through binoculars or a telescope you will actually see hundreds of stars.

Look above Taurus and you will see Auriga the Charioteer, with the yellow star Capella at its top.

The top left hand star of Orion is the red giant Betelgeuse. Carry on up past here to the left and you will reach Gemini,  representing Twins of the Ziodiac signs.

Below Gemini and to the immediate left of Betelgeuse is Canis Minor, one of Orion the Hunters dogs. This small constellation contains the star Procyon which is only 10 light years from Earth.

Mars is the best planet to see this month. It is prominent in the southern evening sky and will be at it’s highest point around midnight. From 9th January it will be in the constellation of Cancer.

Jupiter can be seen early evening in the south-west, but it sets by 8pm. Saturn rises in the middle of the night at 2am and its rings are slightly open for those with telescopes.

John McNally