What’s Up in the Sky – December 2024
December’s Evening Planets: Venus will be in Capricornus the Sea-goat until around 8 PM. Jupiter will be in Taurus the Bull and red Mars will be in Cancer the Crab. Find Saturn in Aquarius the Water-bearer. Uranus will be in Aries the Ram and Neptune in Pisces the Fish.
December’s Evening Stars: Spot the Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp; Deneb in Cygnus the Swan; and Altair in Aquila the Eagle, until 9 PM, setting earlier every night. The Winter Triangle of Sirius (the brightest star viewed from Earth) in Canis Major the Great Dog; Betelgeuse in Orion the Hunter; and Procyon in Canis Minor the Small Dog, will be up as of 9 PM. Find Castor and Pollux in Gemini the Twins, Rigel in Orion, Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull, and bright Capella in Auriga the Charioteer. See the stars of constellations Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Cepheus, Draco, Aries, Taurus, Pegasus, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).
December’s Morning Planets: Find bright Jupiter in Taurus the Bull. Red Mars will be in Cancer the Crab and linger until the morning. Find Mercury in Scorpius the Scorpion as of 6 AM in the second half of December. Uranus will be in Aries the Ram until 6 AM and setting earlier every morning until 4 AM by the end of the month.
December’s Morning Stars: The Winter Triangle of Sirius, Betelgeuse, and Procyon will be up until morning. Find Capella in Auriga, Arcturus in Boötes the Herdsman, Spica in Virgo, and Aldebaran in Taurus until the morning. See the stars of Leo, Gemini, Orion, Hydra, Hercules, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, Perseus, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).
December Skylights
- Dec 1 New Moon at 1:20 AM
- Dec 7 Jupiter at opposition
- Dec 8 First quarter Moon at 10:25 AM
- Dec 12 Moon at perigee (227,000 miles away)
- Dec 12 Jupiter, Moon, Saturn and Venus line up – sunset
- Dec 13 Geminids Meteor Shower peaks- predawn
- Dec 15 Full Moon at 4:00 AM
- Dec 21 Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
- Dec 22 Last quarter Moon at 5:20 PM
- Dec 24 Moon at apogee (251,300 miles away)
- Dec 30 New Moon at 5:25 PM – Black Moon
Times given in EDT.
