In December, Jupiter will reach its best apparition in a decade for sky-watchers, offering loads of details for those with a telescope.
Mars will join Jupiter in the eastern sky on later December evenings, being just a month away from its own best appearance for us in two years.
Saturn will be visible in the early southwestern sky, while Venus dazzles soon after sunset in the western sky.
On Dec. 4, look for the crescent moon just below Venus. Sky-watchers can’t miss either one because they are both so bright.
On Dec. 7, a slightly fuller moon will be seen below and right of Saturn; the ringed planet will be visible until it sets in the west around midnight at the start of December, and around 10 p.m. at the end of the month.
Jupiter reaches opposition on Dec. 7, rising in the east as the sun sets in the west. (They are opposite each other in the sky as we see them.) Jupiter is visible all night among the stars of Taurus the Bull, and above well-known constellation Orion.
Jupiter will be highest in the sky at midnight and will be bright. In fact, it is the brightest thing in that part of the sky, until a nearly full moon above and right of it on Dec. 13.
Mars opens December quite bright in the eastern sky rising around 8:30 p.m., and brightens noticeably throughout the month. By midnight it will be well up among the stars of Cancer the Crab in the eastern sky and it will reach opposition in January.
On the morning of Dec. 28, Mercury and a very slim crescent moon appear very close, rising together around 6 a.m. and very close to the horizon.
The full moon in December is on the 15th.
The annual planetarium Christmas program will be presented for five nights at 7 o’clock at Kent County High School: Dec. 13, 16, 17, 19 and 20. Admission is free; seasonal refreshments will be provided.
Join us for the show, and have a Merry Christmas.