Last Minute Astronomer
Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare
Last Minute Astronomer
December 2023
Some slight changes to Saturn and Jupiter in the sky, the start of a big change for Venus, and even more rocks fall from the sky this December here on the Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare. Let’s start by talking about the naked eye planets visible this month, the lunar phases, and then the meteor shower and other events, so you can plan ahead better than me.
Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset
Saturn – About 30˚ to 35˚ above the horizon in the South. Fairly dim, but still brighter than all the stars around it.
Jupiter – SUPER bright in the SouthEast, about halfway up the sky. Just find the brightest point of light in that direction, and you’ve got it.
Throughout the night
Saturn & Jupiter – With Saturn starting about 30˚ above the horizon in the South and Jupiter in the East, these two march westward through the night. Saturn sets in the West around 11pm at the beginning of the month and 9:30 at the end. Jupiter sets in the West around 4:30am at the beginning of the month, 2am at the end.
Morning
Venus – Venus is on its way out! Getting lower and lower every morning, as it orbits behind the Sun, with Earth trailing it. Probably too low to see starting February, and not really visible in the evening until maybe July. But this month, between 3:30am and 4:30am, Venus will be above the horizon, rising to about 30˚ above the horizon by sunrise, in the beginning of the month, 20˚ at the end. Brilliant, brighter than everything around it.
LUNAR PHASES
Last Quarter Moon – 5th (Visible midnight into the morning)
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
New Moon – 12th (darkest skies)
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – 19th (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
Full Moon – 26th (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
EVENTS
9th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Venus – The Waning Crescent Moon is 4˚ away from Venus. Visible in the East by 4am until the sun rises.
13th – 14th – Geminid Meteor Shower – A VERY good year for this shower, as there is only a thin crescent Moon which sets early. So get out there and take advantage of the possible 100 meteors per hour!
When? Really, any time of the night is good, though the closer you are to dawn on the 14th, the better.
But be well prepared…
- Commit yourself to staying out at least 20 minutes.
- 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
17th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Saturn – The Moon is just 3˚ below Saturn. Visible toward the South after sunset, setting in the SW around 10pm.
21st – Winter Solstice - The longest night and shortest d
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.
