The morning celestial ballet of the moon and planets continues during December.
Looking east during early December, Bright planets Venus and Jupiter dominate the eastern morning sky, Early in the month, the moon appears among these planets. On the morning of December 4, The crescent moon appears near Jupiter (about 4 degrees to the lower left of Jupiter.) Brilliant Venus is lower in the sky, nearly 40 degrees to the lower left of the Giant Planet. Dimmer Mars appears between the bright planets, about 16 degrees to the lower left of Jupiter. This Red Planet has a distinct red hue, although it is not as bright as the other two planets.
During the next two mornings, the moon moves past Mars. On the chart above (December 5), the moon appears above Mars. The next morning it appears below Mars.
On the morning of December 7, the crescent Moon appears 2 degrees (that’s about 4 full diameters) above Venus. The distance between Venus and Jupiter grows to 41 degrees with Mars nearly half way between the bright planets.
For more information about Venus in the morning, see: