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Hi, I'm Sonia,
 
I have been into astronomy since 1997 when I was 11 years old when comet Hale-Bopp was around. I remember being in the back garden with my dad and he was showing me how to take a photo of it with his old Fujica camera, that I still have now.
 
Ever since then I've been fascinated with space. I started with a very cheap Tasco telescope from Argos to look at the moon, went onto a Meade goto ETX-90 telescope, which unfortunately due to age stopped working.
 
I  currently use a Skywatcher 10" Dobsonian, to mostly photograph the moon and also the planets. I also have a Seestar S50 which got me into deep sky imaging which I love!
 
More recently I have also aquired a Seestar S30 and a Vespera II
 
lastly a Coronado PST for solar imaging.
 
I have two Bsc (Hons) open degrees in "Introducing Astronomy" and "The Planets"
 
Elected in 2023 I am a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
 
Along with my blog for StarDome, I'm also a freelancer for the BBC Sky at Night magazine
and a "Go Stargazing" Astronomer. I am also the director of the British Astronomical Association (BAA) Equipment and Techniques Section
 
Clear Skies
 
Sonia
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NOVEMBER 2026
 

November brings some of the year’s longest nights, making it an excellent month for stargazing. As darkness falls earlier and the air often becomes crisp and transparent after cold fronts, observers have more opportunities to explore the wonders of the night sky.
 

One of the highlights of the month is the arrival of the great winter constellations.

In the Eastern sky, might Orion the Hunter begins to dominate the evening view, marked by its distinctive belt of three bright stars.
Following Orion are the stars of winter, including Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, Aldebaran in Taurus, and Capella in Auriga.

Their appearance signals the changing of the seasons and the approach to winter.
 

November is also a great month to find the Pleiades M45 star cluster, often known as the seven sisters. Located in the constellation Taurus, this sparkling group of young stars is easily visible to the naked eye and becomes a breathtaking sight in binoculars.

Nearby you have the Hyades cluster to add further beauty to the sky.
 

There is also the Leonid meteor shower, which typically peaks around the middle of November. Although the meteor rates can vary each year, those under dark skies may spot bright shooting stars streaking across the night sky. T
hey are famous though for producing spectacular meteor showers, and some years offer a modest display.

For those deep sky enthusiasts, November’s long nights reveal plenty of galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. The Andromeda Galaxy remains well placed for observation

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