December 25, 2023: For sky watchers with new telescopes, here’s what to look at before dawn or after sunset. Look for the bright planets – Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:17 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:25 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Viewing through a New Telescope
Did you receive a telescope as a holiday gift? A new telescope offers opportunities to open new views of the universe. A telescope’s first light is astronomy lingo for the first object that is viewed on the first night of observing. Use the highest powers for the moon and planets. Never look at the sun without proper filters, and do not use those solar filters that screw into eyepieces. Use the lowest powers for nebulas, star clusters, and galaxies. These targets are large and dim, and even at the lowest powers, they can spill outside the eyepiece, such as the Pleiades star cluster and Andromeda galaxy.
Before sunrise, look for Venus in the southeast. The planet shows phases during its revolution around the sun, from a razor-thin crescent to a nearly full phase.
Try to split Lyra’s star Epsilon into its four component stars. Known as the “double-double,” Epsilon Lyrae is to the lower left of Vega, the bright star low in the east-northeast before sunrise. Low telescopic powers, show a double star, two stars exceptionally close together. High powers split each star into two more stars.
In the evening sky, look for Saturn and its rings. The planet’s rings are easy to see at low power, but are magnificent as the magnifying power approaches 150x. Its largest moon is easily seen to the west of the planet.
Bight Jupiter displays cloud layers and its Great Red Spot. Over a few hours, the four largest moons noticeably revolve through their orbits. At around 80x magnification, the planet is about the size of a number two pencil eraser held at arm’s length. Raise the magnification with other eyepieces to see it closer.
The moon is always exciting, although tonight, the nearly-full orb can leave a temporary afterimage in your vision, like “seeing spots’ after a camera flash. At 80x, the moon nearly fills an eyepiece. High magnifications reveal crater details, mountains, and lava flows.
The moon is best viewed with a telescope when the phase is between new and quarter, whether waxing or waning. The terminator, the line that divides daytime from nighttime displays long shadows and considerable detail.
Find a local group of astronomy enthusiasts to share observing experiences and to get help with the telescope’s operation.
Summaries of Current Sky Events
Summary for Venus as a Morning Star, 2023-24
Here is today’s planet forecast:
Morning Sky
Bright Planets
Two hours before daybreak, the moon, 97% illuminated, is low in the west-northwest. At this time, Venus is about 10° up in the southeast.
At forty-five minutes before sunrise, the Morning Star is over 20° above the horizon. The planet is below Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali, part of Libra, and 9.1° to the upper right of Dschubba, the Scorpion’s forehead. In a week, Venus passes Graffias, meaning “the crab.”
Through a telescope, Venus’ phase is a morning gibbous that is 76% illuminated.
Antares, the Scorpion’s brightest star, is making its first morning appearance. The rosy star is to the lower left of Dschubba and over 5° above the horizon. A binocular may be needed to make the initial identification. Venus passes this star in a wide conjunction on January 5th.
Mercury and Mars
Mercury and Mars are making their way into the southeastern morning sky. The former is speeding into a place for viewing during mid-January. While both planets are quite dim and immersed in bright morning twilight, Mercury passes Mars in a wide conjunction in two mornings. They are together again later next month.
Evening Sky
Cold Moon
The moon shines brightly from the eastern sky after sunset. The Cold Moon is over 20° above the east-northeast horizon at an hour after nightfall. It is 1.8° from Elnath, Taurus’ northern horn, a perilous place to be. Use a binocular to see the star in this moonlight.
Tomorrow evening the moon reaches its full phase, rising around sunset.
Stars’ Opposition Nights
Two other stars in the vicinity are nearing their opposition nights, when they rise when the sun sets. Betelgeuse, part of Orion, is over 4° above the eastern horizon. It rises at sunset on January 2nd. Castor, one of the Gemini Twins, is nearly the same altitude – height above the horizon – as Betelgeuse. It is above the northeast horizon. Castor’s opposition occurs in six nights.
Each night these stars rise four minutes earlier and are higher in the sky at the same time interval after sunset. Consequently, they are easier to see.
Bright Capella is over 30° up in the northeast, while Aldebaran is nearly 25° up in the east and over 15° to the upper right of the lunar orb.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the brightest starlike body in the sky this evening. It is halfway up in the east-southeast after sunset. The planet’s retrograde ends in five evenings. It is in front of Aries’ stars, 11.7° to the lower right of Hamal, the Ram’s brightest star, and 14.5° to the upper right of Menkar, Cetus’ nostril. In this moonlight, use a binocular to see the stars.
Through that new telescope at 9:07 p.m. CST, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is at the center of the planet in the southern hemisphere.
Saturn
After sunset, Saturn is over 30° up in the south-southwest. The planet is not as bright as Jupiter, but outshines most of the stars in the sky tonight. It is nearly 20° to the upper right of the star Fomalhaut, that is slightly dimmer than the planet.
During the night the moon, planets, and stars, seem to march westward from Earth’s rotation. Saturn sets before midnight, less than five hours after sundown. Jupiter follows behind and is south about an hour before Saturn sets. The Jovian Giant sets nearly five hours before sunup and long before Venus rises. The moon is farther west during the night. It is low in the western sky, setting near sunrise tomorrow morning.
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