2023, December 16: Venus Clawed, Evening Crescent Nears Saturn

December 16, 2023: Before daybreak, Venus is above the Scorpion’s southern claw.  After nightfall, the crescent moon nears Saturn.

Venus, Mars, Spica and Zubenelgenubi, December 19, 2015
Photo Caption – Venus, Mars, Spica and Zubenelgenubi, December 19, 2015.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois:  Sunrise, 7:12 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:21 p.m. CST.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

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

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

Venus Clawed. 2023, December 16: Venus is in the southeast, nearing a conjunction with Zubenelgenubi.
Chart Caption – 2023, December 16: Venus is in the southeast, nearing a conjunction with Zubenelgenubi.

Brilliant Venus shines from the eastern sky before daybreak.  The planet rises three hours, twenty-five minutes before the sun and it can be seen in the southeast as the sky brightens.

An hour before sunup, the planet is over 20° above the horizon.  It is stepping eastward in front of Libra.  The Morning Star is 2.4° to the upper left of Zubenelgenubi, meaning “the southern claw.”  Tomorrow the planet passes the star.  The gap is 0.9°.  Venus appears clawed by the Scorpion’s stars.

In two mornings, Venus passes between the claws.  It passes Zubeneschamali, the northern claw in a wide conjunction on the 21st.

Scorpius in the southern sky
Chart Caption – Look south during summer evenings to see the Celestial Scorpion.

In some celestial artwork, Scorpius has two long claws that are part of Libra on today’s star charts.  At this season before sunrise, the Scorpion is crawling into the morning sky with its claws extended westward.  The arachnid’s forehead, Dschubba is nearly 5° above the horizon and almost 20° to Venus’ lower left.  The star Graffias, meaning “the crab,” is to the upper left of the head.  Venus passes this star on New Year’s Day.

Antares, the Scorpion’s brightest star, makes its first morning appearance at Chicago’s latitude around December 24th, depending on local weather conditions.

The Scorpion does not become fully visible until early March when the star Girtab, meaning “scorpion,” in the curving tail, is high enough to be seen.  As spring approaches, the constellation stretches across the southern horizon before sunrise.

The Scorpion’s claws begin to appear in the east-southeast after sunset during early May.  Girtab is again visible after sunset to complete the Scorpion’s shape during mid-July.

The largest canyon in the Solar System cuts a wide swath across the face of Mars. Named Valles Marineris, the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep.
The largest canyon in the Solar System cuts a wide swath across the face of Mars. Named Valles Marineris, the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep. (NASA)

Mars is slowly emerging from bright sunlight into the eastern predawn sky.  This morning it rises thirty-six minutes before the sun.

Evening Sky

Mercury as Never Seen Before
Photo Caption – Mercury as Never Seen Before. (NASA photo)

Mercury is scampering into brighter evening twilight.  At sundown, it is nearly 8° up in the southwest.  The planet sets fifty-four minutes after the sun.  It loses six to eight minutes of setting time each evening until it passes between Earth and Sun on the 22nd.

2023, December 16: Saturn and the crescent moon are in the west-southwest after night fall.
Chart Caption – 2023, December 16: Saturn and the crescent moon are in the west-southwest after night fall.

An hour after sundown, the lovely crescent moon, 20% illuminated, is over 15° to Saturn’s lower right and about 20° above the south-southwest horizon.

2023, May 22: Brilliant Venus and the crescent moon, with earthshine,
Photo Caption – 2023, May 22: Brilliant Venus and the crescent moon, with earthshine,

Look for earthshine on the night portion between the moon’s cusps or horns.  The effect is from sunlight reflecting from Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land.  It is easy to see without any optical assistance, although a binocular accents the view.

The moon, January 15, 2021
Photo Caption – 2021, January 15: The thin waxing moon with earthshine, reflected sunlight from Earth’s features gently illuminates the lunar night.

Photograph earthshine with a tripod-mounted camera and exposures up to a few seconds, depending on the camera’s settings.

2023, December 16: Bright Jupiter is nearly halfway up in the east-southeast after sundown.
Chart Caption – 2023, December 16: Bright Jupiter is nearly halfway up in the east-southeast after sundown.

At this hour, bright Jupiter is easy to see, less than halfway up in the east-southeast.  The planet is retrograding in front of Aries, 11.4° to the lower right of Hamal, the Ram’s brightest star, and 14.2° to the upper right of Menkar, part of Cetus.  The planet is noticeably west of an imaginary line between the two stars.

Jupiter’s retrograde ends in two weeks and appears to move eastward again.  Watch it move eastward and pass between the stars during the next several weeks.

As the night progresses, the moon, stars, and planets appear farther westward from Earth’s rotation.  The moon sets over four hours after night falls, followed by Saturn about ninety minutes later.  Jupiter is south about the time the moon sets.  The Jovian Giant sets four hours before sunrise and nearly forty minutes before Venus rises tomorrow morning.

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