December 16, 2024: During the night five bright planets are visible from after sunset until sunrise the next morning.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:12 a.m. CDT; 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.
During the night the five bright planets are visible from after sunset until sunrise the next morning.
Morning Sky
Mars
Before sunrise three bright planets are visible. At one hour before sunrise, Mars is high in the western sky, to the upper left of Pollux.
The Red Planet retrogrades in front of Cancer. While the moon is bright this morning, look for the Beehive star cluster near Mars through a binocular.
Jupiter
Jupiter is low in the west-northwest. It is bright enough to shine through the atmosphere’s blurring and filtering effects. It is below the Bull’s horns, Elnath and Zeta Tauri. Jupiter is quickly leaving the morning sky at this time interval before sunrise.
Mercury Joins Planet Display
At 45 minutes before sunup, Mercury is entering the southeastern sky for its final appearance of the year. It is best on Christmas morning when it is farthest from the sun.
Use a binocular to look for Mercury, 8° above the horizon. It is brightening each morning, but hiding in the colorful hues of morning twilight. It is 3.4° to the lower left of Graffias and 6.0° to the left of Dschubba, two stars in Scorpius that are making their first morning appearances. Mercury and the two stars fit into the same binocular field.
The all-night planet display ends as the growing predawn light washes over Mercury and the sky.
Evening Sky
Night with the Planets
Five bright planets are visible during the nighttime hours. Four are visible simultaneously if the sky conditions cooperate.
Venus and Saturn
Starting after sunset, brilliant Venus shines from the southwestern sky. It is bright enough to be seen as early as 30 minutes after sunset, earlier if the sky is unusually clear.
Venus steps eastward in front of Capricornus, passing the tail on the 27th. Tonight, the gap is over 12°.
As it moves in front of Capricornus, the Evening Star is overtaking Saturn, over 32° to the upper left. Until the end of the month, Venus moves nearly 17° eastward, while Saturn moves less than 1°. Venus passes the Ringed Wonder on January 18th.
Jupiter with Taurus
Farther eastward, bright Jupiter is nearly 20° above the east-northeast horizon. It retrogrades in front of Taurus, 6.9° to Aldebaran’s upper left, the constellation’s brightest star, and 9.9° to Elnath’s upper right.
At this hour three planets are along an arc over 120° long, this is part of the ecliptic that encircles Earth.
Moon and Mars
Tonight, the waning gibbous moon, 96% illuminated, rises in the east-northeast less than two hours after sunset. As it appears higher in the sky, look for Gemini’s Pollux, 5.2° to the lunar orb’s lower left.
Mars rises in the east-northeast, less than three hours after nightfall, over 15° to the moon’s lower left.
From an open area at 3 hours, 10 minutes after sundown, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars are visible. Venus sets 20 minutes later. A binocular might be needed to see Mars. They stretch nearly 141° along the ecliptic.
As Earth rotates, the planets and moon appear to move westward. Saturn sets about six hours after sunset, although it disappears into the haze near the horizon about 30 minutes earlier.
As the calendar day ends, Jupiter is high in the south-southwest. The moon is in the east-southeast, to Mars upper right.
Tomorrow morning before daybreak, the planets are in similar positions as this morning with the planet display ending as Mercury disappears into dawn’s early light.
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