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     Get out under the stars in December of 2024 to see ALL THE PLANETS!  Especially on Christmas night.  Plus a bunch of close encounters between the Moon and those planets, and the annual Geminid meteor shower.

I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.  And joining me today is my son, Soccorso.

We’ll start by talking about this month’s big events, then highlight the naked eye planets, and finish up with the lunar phases, so you can plan ahead better than me.  

BIG EVENTS

7th - Opposition of Jupiter

13th – 14th – Geminid Meteor Shower

21st - Winter Solstice - Longest night of the year, shortest day of the year.  

25th - Christmas - FOUR PLANETS, and MORE!  Check them all out in your new telescope!

Venus will still be up until about 8:30pm, in the SW. (In the scope - it’s in its half phase)

Saturn is only 15° up and to the left of Venus, setting before 10:30pm. (In the scope - slightly tilted rings, and a couple of moons like Titan and Dione nearby)

Jupiter. Look in the other direction (SE-ish), right above Taurus’ head for super bright  (In the scope - check for all four Galilean Moons after 8:30pm, and the great red spot later after midnight)

After 7pm, Mars will be rising in the ENE between Gemini and Cancer. (In the scope - pretty small, probably just a red smudge)

For an extra challenge, see if you can get Uranus and Neptune in your scope early in the night (sorry, scopes only), and then get Mercury rising low in the SE right before sunrise

LUNAR CYCLE

New Moon – 1st (darkest skies)

Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)

First Quarter Moon – 8th (Visible until midnight)

Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)

Full Moon – 15th (Visible all night)

Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)

Last Quarter Moon – 22nd (Visible midnight into the morning)

Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)

LUNAR CLOSE ENCOUNTERS 

4th - VERY thin Waxing Crescent, below Venus by 3°, SW sky after sunset, less than 15° above the horizon, sets around 7:30pm

7th - 8th -  First quarter Moon about 6° to the right of Saturn, in the S after sunset, setting in the West around 11pm.  On the 8th, the Moon moves to the other side of Saturn, by about 7°  

14th - Find the basically Full Moon just about 5° to the left of Jupiter moving West throughout the night, setting just before sunrise.

17th - Rising in the ENE after 7:30pm, the Gibbous Moon will start the night about 4˚ above Mars.  It’ll move higher into the South and toward the West as the night goes on, but the best part is at 4:45am, when Mars and the Moon are separated by only ½°.

And that’s the sky for this month! If you find this advance notice of the night sky helpful, please support this work by finding Last Minute Astronomer on Patreon, and don’t forget to follow Last Minute Astronomer on Facebook and Instagram. Till next month, I’m the Last Minute Astronomer wishing you fruitful plans and clear skies. Music was produced by Deep Sky Dude and used with permission.