In the middle of winter the sun is up for only about seven hours in Copenhagen. That is hard on the mood, but it is wonderful for the sky: the stars are out by late afternoon, and a clear, frosty night is as good as stargazing gets. You don't need a telescope. Your eyes, a warm jacket and ten minutes away from streetlights are enough.
Give your eyes 20 minutes
When you step out of a lit room you see only the brightest stars. Your eyes need about 20–30 minutes in the dark to adapt fully, and one look at a bright phone screen resets the clock. Turn the screen brightness right down, or use a red light: red disturbs night vision the least. Then wait. Stars you couldn't see at first will slowly appear.
Start with Orion
On winter evenings, look south or south-east for Orion, the hunter. You'll know him by the three bright stars in a short, straight row: his belt. Above the belt, at his shoulder, is reddish Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star. Below, at his knee, is blue-white Rigel. Hanging below the belt is a faint, fuzzy patch: the Orion Nebula, a cloud of gas where new stars are being born. On a dark night you can see it with the naked eye, and with binoculars it is beautiful.
Follow the line to the Pleiades
Follow Orion's belt up and to the right. You'll pass orange Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus the bull, and come to a tiny, misty cluster of stars: the Pleiades (in Danish, Syvstjernen — "the seven stars"). Most people can pick out six or seven of them by eye. Through binoculars there are dozens.
The stars that never set
In the north, the Big Dipper (Karlsvognen) never sets from Denmark: it just circles the pole through the night. The two stars at the end of the "pan" point almost straight at Polaris, the North Star. On the other side of Polaris is the W-shape of Cassiopeia. Learn these three, and you can find north on any clear night.
Shooting stars: the Geminids
The best meteor shower of the year happens in December. The Geminids peak around 13–14 December, and under a truly dark sky they can produce more than a hundred meteors an hour at their best. From a town you'll see far fewer, but still enough to make it worth it. They are best after about 10 p.m. and especially after midnight. You don't need to look in any particular direction: lie back, look up and be patient. In early January the Quadrantids have a short, sharp peak too.
Northern lights in Denmark
Northern lights are not only for northern Norway. During strong storms on the Sun they can be seen across all of Denmark, as they were several times in 2024. Watch aurora forecasts and the Kp index: in Denmark you usually need a high value. Look north, away from city lights. Often the lights are faint to the eye but show up clearly in a phone photo, so take a picture — night mode helps (see our night photo tips).
Find a dark place
Light pollution hides most of the stars. Even a few kilometres outside a town makes a big difference. Denmark also has official dark-sky places: Møn became a Dark Sky Park and the island of Nyord a Dark Sky Community in 2017, the first in the Nordic countries. On a clear, moonless night there, the Milky Way stretches across the whole sky.
A few more things to spot
- A bright "star" that doesn't twinkle is usually a planet.
- A bright dot moving steadily across the sky for a few minutes, without blinking, may be the International Space Station. NASA's "Spot the Station" lists when it passes over you.
- The Moon is beautiful but washes out faint stars. For meteors and the Milky Way, pick a night near new moon.
Stay warm and safe
Winter nights are cold when you stand still. Dress in layers, take a hot drink and something to lie on, and tell someone where you're going if you head somewhere remote. Our checklist for getting home safely at night is worth a look too.
Seen something special? Share your photo on LatePals — plenty of people are up at 2 a.m. to admire it with you.
