Astroblog: Thursday December 2 to Thursday December 9

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Thursday December 2 to Thursday December 9

The New Moon is Saturday, December 4. The thin crescent Moon is near Mars low in the morning twilight. Three bright planets are seen forming a line in the early evening sky. Venus is readily visible in the early evening sky forming a line with Saturn and Jupiter in the western evening sky with Jupiter dominating once Venus has set.Venus is at its greatest brilliance on the 4th. The crescent Moon visits Venus on the 7th and Saturn on the 8th.

The New Moon is Saturday, December 4. The Moon is at perihelion, when it is closest to the earth, at this time.

Morning sky on December 3 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 5:25 ACDST (30 minutes before sunrise). Mars is close to the thin crescent Moon low in the twilight, you may need binoculars to see Mars clearly.

Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Evening sky on Saturday December 4 looking west as seen from Adelaide at 21:53 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Venus is at its greatest brilliance and is forming a line with Saturn and Jupiter.

The insets shows the telescopic views of Venus, Saturn and Jupiter at this time. Venus is a distinct crescent now. Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Evening sky on Tuesday December 7 looking west as seen from 21:57 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Venus is close to the Crescent Moon and forms a line with Saturn and Jupiter. The insets shows the telescopic view of Venus.

The inset shows the telescopic view of Venus at this time. Venus is a distinct crescent now. Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Whole sky showing Jupiter, Saturn and Venus in a line, Saturday December 4, 21:53 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Orion, Taurus and the Pleiades can be seen above the eastern horizon.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar planetary line up that the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is lost in the morning twilight.

Venus is visible in the early evening when the sky is fully dark. I have been able to see Venus from just after sunset and it is easily seen over 3 hours after sunset, longer if you have a clear western horizon. Venus is at its greatest brilliance, forming a line with Saturn and Jupiter. It is now a distinct crescent in even small telescopes.

Mars is low in the twilight and is close to the thin crescent Moon on the 3rd, you may need binoculars to see Mars clearly.

Jupiter is rising before sunset and is readily visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus, Saturn and Jupiter form a line in the sky. Jupiter is still excellent in even small telescopes, but the window of telescopic observation is closing as it sets earlier.

Saturn is rising well before sunset. Saturn is still excellent in even small telescopes, but the window of telescopic observation is closing as it sets earlier.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky