December 2013 guide to the five visible planets | Astronomy Essentials | EarthSky

From December 2013 guide to the five visible planets | Astronomy Essentials | EarthSky

December 2013 guide to the five visible planets

Venus on Nov. 29, 2013, via Maranatha.it Photography.

Venus pops out at dusk. Jupiter rises at early evening, and Mars comes up after midnight. Saturn before dawn. Info and charts here.

Jupiter rises as Venus sets on December 2013 evenings. Read more

In December 2013, the planet Jupiter shines in front of Gemini, the radiant for the Geminid meteor shower. Read more

Find Jupiter and the Winter Circle on these December nights! Read more

Moon, Mars out between midnight and dawn on December 25 and 26. Read more

 

Only one planet is easily visible at dusk and nightfall throughout December 2013: Venus. It is shining at its brightest now; you can’t miss it. Venus! It’s the beautiful evening star. Plus Jupiter can be seen in the evening sky. In early December, look for the giant planet to rise in the east about three hours after sunset, or at about the time that Venus sets. By late December, Jupiter will be up by dusk or nightfall, or roughly an hour before Venus sets in the west. If you have an unobstructed horizon, you should be able to see Venus and Jupiter shining pretty much opposite of each other at early evening, starting around the second week of December. They are the sky’s two brightest planets, and they’ll be like bright bookends, briefly, enclosing the evening sky.

Meanwhile, if you’re a night owl or early riser, watch for Mars and Saturn and Mercury in the morning sky. Mars shines in front of the Constellation Virgo the Maiden, rising in the east about one hour after the midnight hour in early December, and coming up around midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Mars reaches its highest point for the night at or near dawn all through December. At mid-northern latitudes, Saturn rises about two hours before the sun in early December, and nearly four hours before sunrise by late December. You might catch Mercury before sunrise in early December, but this world quickly sinks into the glare of sunrise each day thereafter, to pass from the morning to evening sky by the month’s end.

Follow the links below to learn more about planets and special sky events in December 2013.