{"id":38157,"date":"2022-11-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=38157"},"modified":"2022-11-25T12:40:54","modified_gmt":"2022-11-25T12:40:54","slug":"the-planets-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/2022\/11\/11\/the-planets-15\/","title":{"rendered":"The planets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our <\/span>celestial neighbourhood in December<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PICK OF THE<\/strong> MONTH<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Mars <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 December, 00:30 UT
Altitude: <\/strong>62\u00ba
Location: <\/strong>Taurus
Direction: <\/strong>South
Features: <\/strong>Light deserts with darker exposed rock, polar caps, weather
Recommended equipment: <\/strong>75mm or larger <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Around opposition, Mars journeys through Taurus near the beautiful Hyades and Pleiades <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mars reaches opposition on 8 December. Around this time the planet appears at its brightest and largest in terms of apparent size. Mars is closest to Earth on 1 December, when it appears as a mag. \u20131.9 object among the stars of Taurus. On this date Mars has an apparent diameter of 17.2 arcseconds. At this size, albedo features \u2013 features that show different reflectivity \u2013 can be seen quite easily. The most obvious are the dark, exposed rocky regions on the planet that contrast well with the surrounding lighter deserts. In addition, the planet is sideways-on to us at present, potentially giving us a view of both polar regions. The southern polar cap will probably be absent, it being summer in Mars\u2019s southern hemisphere. The northern cap will be augmented by a large cloud shroud, known as a polar hood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The north and possibly even the south polar cap will be visible <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When observing Mars, it pays to be patient and allow your eyes to get used to the view. It\u2019s quite common to look at the planet and see nothing but a bright orange-pink disc through the eyepiece of a telescope. However, as your eye becomes accustomed to the light, the subtle surface features become more obvious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On opposition day, 8 December, Mars will be occulted by the full Moon \u2013 the lunar phase that sees the Moon also at opposition. Mars disappears behind the lunar limb at 04:57 UT, reappearing back into view one hour later at 05:57 UT. On 31 December, although it will have faded slightly to mag. \u20131.2, Mars will look quite resplendent against the stars of Taurus, near to the Pleiades and Hyades open clusters and 8\u00b0 to the north of orange-hued Aldebaran (Alpha (\u03b1) Tauri).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Mercury <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best time to see: <\/strong>29 December, 30 minutes after sunset
Altitude: <\/strong>5\u00ba (low)
Location:<\/strong> Sagittarius
Direction: <\/strong>Southwest <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A mag. \u20130.5 evening object, not well-positioned at the start of December when it sets with mag. \u20133.8 Venus, 30 minutes after the Sun. Greatest eastern elongation occurs on 21 December, Mercury appearing separated from the Sun by 20.1\u00b0. On this date it lies 5.4\u00b0 from mag. \u20133.8 Venus, setting 80 minutes after sunset. On 29 December, mag. +0.6 Mercury and \u20133.8 Venus appear 1.5\u00b0 apart, low in the southwest after sunset. On this date, Mercury sets almost 90 minutes after the Sun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venus <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best time to see: <\/strong>31 December, 30 minutes after sunset
Altitude:<\/strong> 5\u00b0 (low)
Location: <\/strong>Sagittarius
Direction: <\/strong>Southwest <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bright mag. \u20133.8 evening object, slowly pulling away from the Sun. Telescopically, it is at its least optimal, 10 arcseconds across and over 90% illuminated. Venus chases Mercury, catching up with it late in the month. A 2%-lit Moon sits below both planets on 24 December, very low just after sunset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jupiter <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 December, 19:32 UT
Altitude: <\/strong>35\u00b0
Location: <\/strong>Pisces
Direction:<\/strong> South <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A magnificent evening planet. Shining at mag. \u20132.5 on 1 December, it is joined by a 62%-lit waxing Moon 3.5\u00b0 away before they both set in the early hours of 2 December. A second lunar visit occurs on the evening of 29 December, this time from a 46%-lit Moon. It reaches its highest position in the sky, due south, under dark sky conditions for most of the month. On 31 December, it shines at mag. \u20132.2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturn <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 December, 17:15 UT
Altitude: <\/strong>21\u00b0
Location: <\/strong>Pisces
Direction: <\/strong>South <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lovely 15%-lit waxing Moon sits 4.7\u00b0 south of Saturn on the evening of 26 December. By the end of the month, mag. +0.9 Saturn sits 15\u00b0 above the southwest horizon by the time darkness gets underway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uranus <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best time to see: <\/strong>1 December, 22:20 UT
Altitude: <\/strong>53\u00b0
Location: <\/strong>Aries
Direction:<\/strong> South Mag. +5.7 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uranus is well-placed, due south at a dark-sky peak altitude over 50\u00b0. It is occulted by a 94%-lit waxing Moon on the afternoon of 5 December. It disappears at 16:51 UT under darkening twilight and could be tricky. Reappearance should be easier, occurring under darker conditions at 17:17 UT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neptune <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 December, 19:00 UT
Altitude:<\/strong> 33\u00ba
Location:<\/strong> Aquarius
Direction:<\/strong> South Mag. +7.9 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neptune manages to attain an altitude around 30\u00b0 under dark-sky conditions all month. A 36%-lit Moon sits 3.7\u00b0 southwest on 28 December. Mag. \u20132.2 Jupiter remains close to Neptune too, 8\u00b0 east at the end of the month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
\n

More ONLINE
<\/strong>Print out observing forms for recording planetary events
www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/bonus-content\/PF5NNHB<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

The planets in December <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The phase and relative sizes of the planets this month. Each planet is shown with south at the top, to show its orientation through a telescope <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jupiter’s Moons: December<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Using a small scope you can spot Jupiter\u2019s biggest moons. Their positions change dramatically over the month, as shown on the diagram. The line by each date represents 00:00 UT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

PHOTOS: PETE LAWRENCE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our celestial neighbourhood in December<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":38152,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"48","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"48","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_48-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_48-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"December-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"December-2022","purple_external_id":"December-2022-48-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"December-2022-48-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086559||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086559||","purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.211","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.211","purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.211","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.211","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"075fab74-0a21-4201-866a-899d6c41c40c","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[14],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/11\/09db0583-74d1-48b0-9924-a52a479955fc.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/11\/09db0583-74d1-48b0-9924-a52a479955fc.jpg",1396,954,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/11\/09db0583-74d1-48b0-9924-a52a479955fc-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/11\/09db0583-74d1-48b0-9924-a52a479955fc-300x205.jpg",300,205,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/11\/09db0583-74d1-48b0-9924-a52a479955fc-768x525.jpg",768,525,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/11\/09db0583-74d1-48b0-9924-a52a479955fc-1024x700.jpg",800,547,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/11\/09db0583-74d1-48b0-9924-a52a479955fc.jpg",1396,954,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/11\/09db0583-74d1-48b0-9924-a52a479955fc.jpg",1396,954,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Our celestial neighbourhood in December","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38157"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38157"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39517,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38157\/revisions\/39517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}