2023, December 13:  Look for Planet Uranus

Astronomy, Sky Watching

December 13, 2023: Look for Planet Uranus through a binocular.  Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are visible during the nighttime hours.

Mars and Uranus, January 15, 2021.
Chart Caption – 2021, January 15: Mars passes is 2.8° to the upper right of Uranus.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois:  Sunrise, 7:10 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:20 p.m. CST.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Daylight is nearing its shortest duration.  The earliest sunset time continues for two more evenings.

Summaries of Current Sky Events
Summary for Venus as a Morning Star, 2023-24

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

2023, December 13: Venus is in the southeastern sky before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2023, December 13: Venus is in the southeastern sky before sunrise.

Brilliant Venus continues its show in the southeast before sunrise.  An hour before sunrise, it is over 20° above the horizon.  It is the brightest starlike body in the sky. The planet steps eastward in front of Libra’s distant stars, 5.4° to the upper right of Zubenelgenubi and over 16° to the lower left of Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. Venus passes Zubenelgenubi in four mornings.

2007, December 1: Late winter in the northern hemisphere shows clouds above the northern polar cap and some above the southern cap.
Photo Caption – 2007, December 1: Late winter in the northern hemisphere shows clouds above the northern polar cap and some above the southern cap. (NASA Photo)

Mars is slowly climbing into the eastern sky before sunrise, though this morning it rises only thirty-three minutes before the central star.  Mercury passes the Red Planet low in the southeastern sky on January 27, 2024.  Venus passes by nearly a month later.  Mars passes Saturn during mid-April and the moon joins the pair on April 6th.  The planet does not rise at the beginning of morning twilight until late spring in the northern hemisphere.  On June 3rd, the waning crescent moon is nearby.

Evening Sky

2023, December 13: Mercury is southwest during bright evening twilight.
Chart Caption – 2023, December 13: Mercury is southwest during bright evening twilight.

Mercury is finishing a somewhat disappointing apparition.  It appears low in the sky during evening twilight.  The best sightings are with a binocular about thirty minutes after sunset.  It is retreating into evening’s brighter light and fading in brightness.  At sunset this evening, it is less than 10° above the southwest horizon.  Thirty minutes later, it is over 5° above the horizon.

Tomorrow evening the thin crescent moon is about the same altitude – height above the horizon – as Mercury.  The lunar orb is over 11° to the upper left of the planet, too far away to fit into the same binocular field of view, but it indicates the planet’s approximate location.

2023, December 13: Saturn is in the south-southwest after sundown.
Chart Caption – 2023, December 13: Saturn is in the south-southwest after sundown.

By an hour after sundown, Saturn is over 35° up in the south-southwest.  The planet is slowly moving eastward in front of Aquarius, 10.1° to the lower right of Lambda Aquarii (λ Aqr on the chart), 9.7° to the upper right of Skat, and 8.1° to the upper left of Deneb Algedi.  The Ringed Wonder is nearly 20° to the upper right of Fomalhaut that is slightly dimmer than the planet.

Look for Planet Uranus 2023, December 13: Jupiter gleams from the eastern sky after sundown. Note the location of Uranus compared to Jupiter and the Pleiades star cluster.
Chart Caption – 2023, December 13: Jupiter gleams from the eastern sky after sundown. Note the location of Uranus compared to Jupiter and the Pleiades star cluster.

Bright Jupiter is farther eastward, nearly 40° above the east-southeast horizon.  The Jovian Giant is retrograding in front of Aries until month’s end. Look for planet Uranus, over halfway from Jupiter to the Pleiades star cluster.

The Pleiades star cluster.
Photo Caption – The Pleiades star cluster. (U.S. Naval Observatory)

The Pleiades star cluster is nearly 25° to the lower left of Jupiter. 

Look for Planet Uranus 2023, December 13: Uranus is visible with Delta Arietis (δ Ari), Zeta Arietis (ζ Ari), Tau Arietis (τ Ari) and 63 Arietis (63 Ari).
Chart Caption – 2023, December 13: Uranus is visible with Delta Arietis (δ Ari), Zeta Arietis (ζ Ari), Tau Arietis (τ Ari) and 63 Arietis (63 Ari).

Dim Uranus is about midway from Jupiter to the star cluster.  The planet is visible to the unaided eye in a location without outdoor lighting.  For urban and suburban sky watchers aim your binoculars between the two referenced celestial wonders.  The planet is in the same star field as Delta Arietis (δ Ari on the chart), Zeta Arietis (ζ Ari), Tau Arietis (τ Ari) and 63 Arietis (63 Ari).  The planet is dimmer than the stars and aquamarine in color.  A telescope with significant magnification is needed to see the planet’s globe.

Look for Planet Uranus 2023, December 13: Uranus can be found using overlapping binocular fields of view. Begin at the Pleiades star cluster and slightly move the binocular to the right.
Chart Caption – 2023, December 13: Uranus can be found using overlapping binocular fields of view. Begin at the Pleiades star cluster and slightly move the binocular to the right.

Another way to find the planet is to place the Pleiades in the binocular, toward the lower left of the view and 63 and Tau in Aries to the right.  Move the binocular slightly so that the two stars are toward the left portion of the field.  Delta and Zeta then join the view with the planet.  Either method puts the planet in the field of view.

During the night, the stars and planets appear farther westward. Saturn sets less than six hours after sundown.  Jupiter is south about an hour before Saturn sets and then appears in the western sky after midnight, setting before Venus rises.

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