{"id":26849,"date":"2021-12-01T10:57:04","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T10:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=102567"},"modified":"2021-12-01T11:10:13","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T11:10:13","slug":"see-6-planets-in-the-night-sky-this-christmas","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/see-6-planets-in-the-night-sky-this-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"See 6 planets in the night sky this Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 01 December 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Six planets of the Solar System are going to be visible in throughout December 2021, with a beautiful planetary parade occurring over the Christmas holidays.<\/p>\n

This will be a great astronomical event for beginners, for young astronomers and children, as well as seasoned astronomers and astrophotographers who love a bit of planetary observing and imaging.<\/p>\n

You can catch Jupiter, Saturn and Venus during the first week of December, but the best time to see the 6-planet parade will be from 28 December to 3 January, 30 minutes after sunset.<\/p>\n

For more info, read our guide on how to see the planets in December<\/a> and our guide on how to find the planets in the night sky<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

For regular stargazing advice throughout the year, sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter<\/a> or listen to our monthly Star Diary podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\""Jupiter,\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley) and the OPAL team<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Because these events happen close to sunset, it\u2019s worth remembering to wait until the Sun has completely set before observing: catching the Sun with the naked eye or through binoculars or a telescope could seriously damage your eyesight.<\/p>\n

And for help with our instructions below, remember that 1\u00b0 in the sky is about the width of your little finger held out at arm\u2019s length.<\/p>\n

5\u00b0 is the width of your 3 middle fingers held out at arm\u2019s length.<\/p>\n

And for more on \u2018magnitude\u2019, read our guide on understanding stars\u2019 brightness<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\""Using\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Using your hand outstretched at arm\u2019s length, your fingers can be used to estimate degrees of distance in the night sky.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

See the planets in early December<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A good time to spot Jupiter, Saturn and Venus will be just after sunset on 6, 7, 8, 9 December, low on the western horizon.<\/p>\n

Once the Sun has set, you should be able to pick out Jupiter shining high in the south and Venus low in the southwest, with Saturn in between.<\/p>\n

A slim crescent Moon will make its way through the three planets on successive evenings, visiting Venus on 6 December<\/strong> when 8%-lit, splitting Venus and Saturn on 7 December<\/strong> as a 16%-lit crescent, and splitting Saturn and Jupiter on 8 December<\/strong> while 25%-lit.<\/p>\n

Finally, on 9 December<\/strong> a 35%-lit Moon will be in conjunction<\/a> with Jupiter.<\/p>\n

\""\u00de\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Follow the planets marching across the night sky in early December. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

How to see the Christmas planet parade<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Six planets will be on view in the evening twilight sky towards the end of December 2021.<\/p>\n

Given a good flat southwest horizon, mag. \u20134.3 Venus appears around 7\u02da up, 30 minutes after sunset.<\/p>\n

On 28 December<\/strong>, Mercury and Venus are close above a flat southwest horizon, 40 minutes after sunset.<\/p>\n

Mag. \u20130.7 Mercury can be seen 4.3\u02da below Venus.<\/p>\n

\""How\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

Over the following evenings, Mercury maintains its brightness and improves in position compared to Venus.<\/p>\n

Mercury and Venus need a low, flat southwest horizon and will be best seen through binoculars.<\/p>\n

Take care that the Sun has set properly before looking, though, as observing the Sun through binoculars could seriously damage your eyesight.<\/p>\n

As Mercury and Venus approach the southwest horizon, look further east (up and left from the UK) to locate mag. \u20132.0 Jupiter.<\/p>\n

Midway between Venus and Jupiter lies dimmer mag. +0.9 Saturn.<\/p>\n

\""Jupiter,\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Jupiter, Saturn and Venus as they will appear from the UK at 17:00 UTC on 28 December 2021. Take care when observing planets close to sunset: make sure the Sun has truly set. Credit: Stellarium<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

True darkness occurs just after 18:00 UT and this is the time to look for Uranus and Neptune.<\/p>\n

Extend a line from mag. +2.0 Hamal (Alpha (\u03b1<\/span>) Arietis) through mag. +5.2 Eta (\u03b7<\/span>) Arietis for approximately three times again to locate a pair of sixth magnitude objects.\u00a0The southern one is mag. +5.7 Uranus.<\/p>\n

\""Use\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Use our locator chart to help you find Uranus. Credit: Pete Lawrence.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Neptune is a binocular planet too. Shining at mag. +7.9, it\u2019s currently located 3.2\u02da to the east-northeast of mag. +4.2 Phi (\u03c6<\/span>) Aquarii.<\/p>\n

\""A\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Use our locator chart to help you find Neptune. Credit: Pete Lawrence.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The only main planet that will be absent from the evening sky is the morning planet Mars.<\/p>\n

This guide originally appeared in the December 2021 issue of <\/strong><\/em>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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