The ringed planet is located in southwest Aquarius about 20° above and to the west of Fomalhaut, the only 1st-magnitude star sitting lower in the southern sky. Plan your viewing in the early evening, as it sets by 9 p.m. Saturn is well placed high in the southern sky as twilight falls. ![]() Mercury is visible for the first half of December, sharing the early-evening sky with Saturn and a scattering of bright stars. Mercury reaches inferior conjunction on the 22nd. Soon after this, you’ll lose sight of the small planet. 11, maintaining a similar altitude above the southwestern horizon, but after this date it drops quickly and dims further, down to magnitude 0.7 by the 15th. A close-up view with a telescope reveals a 62-percent-lit gibbous disk on the 4th, which diminishes to just over 50 percent lit by the 7th. It’s gained nearly 1° of altitude 30 minutes after sunset, giving you an extra five minutes of observing time. This narrow window improves slightly by the 4th, when Mercury achieves its greatest eastern elongation from the Sun at 21° east of our star. Shining at magnitude –0.4, you’ll find it low in the southwest. Mercury stands 6° high 30 minutes after sunset on Dec. Uranus and Neptune remain within reach of binoculars, while Venus lights up the morning sky, rising a few hours before dawn. Jupiter is near its best for the year and you’ll have many hours to watch its rotating cloud belts until well after midnight. Both are ideally located for easy telescopic views in the early evening. Once darkness falls, you’ll find Saturn descending in the south and Jupiter high in the east. Credit: Alan DyerĬatch a glimpse of innermost planet Mercury soon after sunset in early December. Here, a setting Venus blazes low in the sky. Start of winter: December 21, at 10:21 a.m.Winter nights offer excellent views of the solar system. The Ursids will erupt between December 17 and 26, with the 22nd as the time of maximum activity. Meteor Shower: The Geminids will be visible from December 4 to 17, with a peak on the 14th. Visible between November 6 and 30, with the 17th being the time of maximum activity. Shortly after, the Oriomids will be visible between October 2 and November 7, with October 21 being when these meteors reach their highest rate of activity. The Dracomids take place from October 6 to 10, with October 8 as the day of maximum activity. Visible as annular in southern Chile and southern Argentina and as partial in the Pacific and southern South America. Visible in America, Europe (Spain) and Africa.Īnnular solar eclipse: October 2. Start of autumn: September 22, at 2:44 p.m. August 12 is the time of maximum activity. July 31 will be the peak time in 2024.Įarth's orbit: maximum distance to the Sun, July 5 (152,100,075 km). The 22nd will be the time of maximum activity in 2024. Visible as partial in North and Central America. Visible as a total in Mexico, the Central United States and eastern Canada. ![]() Visible in America, western Europe (Spain), Africa and eastern Australia. ![]() Peak activity, with up to 120 meteors per hour, occurs during the early hours of Wednesday, January 3, to Thursday, January 4.Įarth's orbit: minimum distance to the Sun, January 3 (147,100,614 km)īeginning of spring: March 20 (at 4:06 a.m.) Starfall: The Quadrantids are visible between December 28 and January 12. ![]() For this last group, we offer the 2024 lunar calendar, with all the phases of the moon month by month, and with the dates of all meteor showers, eclipses and beginnings of seasons. But there are also those who are looking for another type of calendar to know the main appointments with the sky during the next 12 months. These days there are many who consult the holiday calendar for the first time in order to organize the year.
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