2024, December 1:  See Planets Uranus and Neptune

December 1, 2024: Planets Uranus and Neptune are visible through a binocular during the night.  They join Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars nightly during December.

Uranus, rings and Moons from NASA's Webb Space Telescope
Photo Caption – Uranus, rings and Moons from NASA’s Webb Space Telescope (NASA Photo)

PODCAST FOR THIS ARTICLE

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:59 a.m. CDT; 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.

Four Bright Planets Parade

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)

During the night, four bright planets – Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars – parade westward.  To the unassisted eye, they appear as bright stars. Venus and Jupiter outshine Sirius, the night’s brightest star.  Mars is slightly dimmer than Sirius, but it grows in brightness as opposition approaches next month.  Saturn is not as bright as the other three, but it is the brightest star in the southern sky after sunset.

See Planets Uranus and Neptune

Besides the bright planets, Uranus and Neptune are visible through a binocular on moonless nights or when the lunar phase is crescent.

See Planets Uranus and Neptune
Chart Caption – 2024, December 1: Two hours after sunset, Neptune is in the southern sky, to Saturn’s upper left.

Neptune is a challenge to see.  It is dim and its visibility is easily affected by outdoor lighting and moonlight.  Additionally, the planet is in an Aquarius’ starfield, to the east (upper left) of Saturn.

At two hours after sundown, Saturn is less than halfway up in the south.  It is over 20° above Fomalhaut, the 13th brightest star seen by sky watchers at the mid-northern latitudes. The Ringed Wonder is slightly brighter than this star.

See Planets Uranus and Neptune
Chart Caption – 2024, December 1: Through a binocular, Neptune is visible against a Pisces starfield.

Neptune is nearly 15° to Saturn’s upper left.  The background starfield has dim stars identified by their catalog names, 20 Piscium (20 Psc on the chart), 24 Piscium (24 Psc), 27 Piscium (27 Psc) and 29 Piscium (29 Psc).  All four stars are distinctly brighter than the modern solar system model’s most distant planet.  The bluish planet is to the upper left of 20 Piscium and above 24 Piscium.

Neptune

This contrast enhanced color picture of Neptune was acquired by Voyager 2 at a range of 14.8 million kilometers (9.2 million miles) on August 14, 1989. (NASA photo)
Photo Caption – This contrast enhanced color picture of Neptune was acquired by Voyager 2 at a range of 14.8 million kilometers (9.2 million miles) on August 14, 1989. (NASA photo)

Neptune’s presence was predicted from Uranus’ slightly erratic orbit around the sun. After the first observation of Uranus in 1781 by William Herschel, the seventh planet from the sun was monitored.  Its position against the background stars was recorded and compared to where it should be when accounting for gravitational effects of Jupiter and Saturn. The differences between the actual and the predicted places were enough for calculations to predict the location of another planet.  The accurate prediction of Neptune’s position led to its discovery on the very first night of observation in 1846.

Uranus Near Pleiades

See Planets Uranus and Neptune
Chart Caption – 2024, December 1: Around midnight, Uranus is high in the southern sky near the Pleiades and Jupiter’s west.

Uranus is relatively easy to see.  It is visible to the unassisted eye in a location free from outdoor lighting, but a binocular assist assures its sighting.  Before midnight, when the planet is high in the southern sky, find the Pleiades star cluster. 

First locate bright Jupiter, the brightest star in the sky after Venus sets.  It is between Taurus’ horns, near Aldebaran, the constellation’s brightest star.  The Pleiades resemble a miniature dipper on the Bull’s back. 

See Planets Uranus and Neptune
Chart Caption – 2024, December 1: Planet Uranus and the Pleiades tightly fit into the same binocular field.

Part of the star cluster and Uranus tightly fit into the same binocular field. Place the star cluster toward the top left of the field.  Locate 13 Tauri (13 Tau on the chart) and 14 Tauri (14 Tau), off center to the lower left.  Uranus is at the lower edge of the field.  Once the two reference stars are located, move the binocular slightly so they are at the field’s center.  Aquamarine Uranus, slightly brighter than the stellar pair, is to their right.

Attempt to look for Neptune over multiple nights during the next week before the waxing moon brightens.  The starfield is challenging to find. In contrast, Uranus is easy to see and nicely placed in a brighter starfield with the Pleiades as the starting point.

RECENT PODCASTS

LATEST ARTICLES