Get out under the stars in December of 2024 to see ALL THE PLANETS! Especially on Christmas night. Plus a bunch of close encounters between the Moon and those planets, and the annual Geminid meteor shower.
Hi everybody, I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.
We’ll start by talking about this month’s big events, then highlight the naked eye planets, and finish up with the lunar phases, so you can plan ahead better than me.
BIG EVENTS
7th - Opposition of Jupiter - Basically this means Jupiter will be visible all night and reach its highest point in the South around midnight. Great time to be observing
13th – 14th – Geminid Meteor Shower – The Geminids are usually a good shower, with up to 100 meteors per hour. That means that, even though this is not a great year for them (Full Moon will brighten the sky and reduce how many meteors we’ll see), hanging outside for 20-30 minutes should still bring you some good sights.
When? Really, any time of the night is good.
Where do I look? The whole sky, but note Gemini is where the radiant is - where the meteors will appear to be coming from. Gemini will be in the East after sunset, South after midnight, West in the morning.
But be well prepared…
Dedicate at least 20-30 minutes to being outside and not looking at your phone - this allows your eyes to get dark adapted and reduces the risk of you missing one because you’re going in-and-out. Stay dark-adapted by staying away from light sources or using a red light if you need to look at a star chart or not trip over something.
Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or hammock
Check the weather to see if the skies will be clear
Adapt your eyes to the dark by staying away from light sources or using a red light if you need to look at a star chart or not trip over something.
You never know when a nice meteor will burn up, to take a nice look at the sky in general, noting that the meteors will appear to go from the radiant and outward.
21st - Winter Solstice - Longest night of the year, shortest day of the year.
25th - Christmas - FOUR PLANETS, and MORE! Check them all out in your new telescope!
Venus will still be up until about 8:30pm, in the SW. (In the scope - it’s in its half phase)
Saturn is only 15° up and to the left of Venus, setting before 10:30pm. (In the scope - slightly tilted rings, and a couple of moons like Titan and Dione nearby)
Jupiter. Look in the other direction (SE-ish), right above Taurus’ head for super bright (In the scope - check for all four Galilean Moons after 8:30pm, and the great red spot later after midnight)
After 7pm, Mars will be rising in the ENE between Gemini and Cancer. (In the scope - pretty small, probably just a red smudge)
And, of course, don’t forget the highlights of the Fall/Winter sky such as the Andromeda Galaxy, the Pleiades, and the Orion Nebula.
For an extra challenge, see if you can get Uranus and Neptune in your scope early in the night (sorry, scopes only), and then get Mercury rising low in the SE right before sunrise
Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset
Venus - Starting at sunset about 20° above the horizon, Venus rises to about 30° above the SSW horizon by month’s end. Look SSW just after sunset and find the brightest non-blinking object in that direction. Using a telescope, you’ll see it in its gibbous phase at the beginning of the month, slowly becoming a half-Venus by month’s end. Sets between 7:30pm and 8:30pm.
Saturn - At sunset, Saturn will shine a little brighter than everything around it, about 35° above the S horizon. By month’s end, Saturn gets to within 15° of Venus.
Jupiter - Rises in the ENE right around sunset on the 1st, and is already risen in the East at sunset by mid-month.
Middle of the night
Saturn - Begins in the SE, moves West throughout the night. Sets around midnight Dec 1st, 10pm on Dec 31st.
Jupiter - Rises in the ENE, moves West, highest in the South around 11pm.
Mars - Rises in the ENE around 8:30pm Dec 1st, 6pm Dec 30th. Moves West, and is visible in the morning in the West.
Morning
Mars – Around sunrise, look between Gemini and Leo in the W to find bright Mars. Throughout the month, Mars will move into Cancer
Mercury - Starting mid-month, look SE before sunrise and you might just catch Mercury emerging just 10° above the horizon. But the appearance doesn’t last long, ending right around month’s end.
Lunar Events
LUNAR CYCLE
New Moon – 1st (darkest skies)
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – 8th (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
Full Moon – 15th (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
Last Quarter Moon – 22nd (Visible midnight into the morning)
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
LUNAR CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
The Moon will be traveling across the sky as normal, passing by some planets at particular times.
4th - VERY thin Waxing Crescent, below Venus by 3°, SW sky after sunset, less than 15° above the horizon, sets around 7:30pm
7th - 8th - First quarter Moon about 6° to the right of Saturn, in the S after sunset, setting in the West around 11am. On the 8th, the Moon moves to the other side of Saturn, by about 7°
14th - Find the basically Full Moon just about 5° to the left of Jupiter moving West throughout the night, setting just before sunrise.
17th - Rising in the ENE after 7:30pm, the Gibbous Moon will start the night about about 4˚ above Mars. It’ll move higher into the South and toward the West as the night goes on, but the best part is at 4:45am, when Mars and the Moon are separated by only ½°.
And that’s the sky for this month. If you find this advance notice of the night sky helpful, please support this work by finding Last Minute Astronomer on Patreon, and don’t forget to follow Last Minute Astronomer on Facebook and Instagram. Till next month, I’m the Last Minute Astronomer wishing you fruitful plans and clear skies.
Music was produced by Deep Sky Dude and used with permission.
All pictures simulated using Starry Night Pro Plus 8.
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