{"id":51914,"date":"2023-11-27T12:52:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T12:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/40591a34-ed90-4959-8e35-e2c3866ec16e"},"modified":"2023-11-27T14:32:34","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T14:32:34","slug":"see-uranus-through-binoculars-and-telescope-in-december-2023","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/see-uranus-through-binoculars-and-telescope-in-december-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"See Uranus through binoculars and telescope in December 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Find out what planets are in the night sky tonight and throughout the month of December 2023. <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Monday, 27 November 2023 at 12:52 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Uranus is really well placed for viewing in December 2023, having reached opposition<\/a> in the middle of November.<\/p>

Uranus<\/a> is able to attain a maximum altitude of 54\u00b0 under truly dark skies as seen from the centre of the UK, maintaining this capability throughout December 2023.<\/p>

It\u2019s currently shining at mag. 5.6 and located less than 3\u00b0 south of mag. 4.3 Botein (Delta (\u03b4) Arietis).<\/p>

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

Chart showing the location of Uranus throughout December 2023. Click on the image to zoom in. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
How to find Uranus in the night sky this month<\/strong><\/h2>
Botein is a great navigational tool for finding Uranus, so that’s your starting point when locating the planet in December 2023.<\/p>
Using average binoculars (7×50), locate and place Botein at the centre of the field of view.<\/p>
This should position mag. 4.6 Epsilon (\u03b5) Arietis near the edge of the field.<\/p>
Look roughly one-third of the Botein-to-Epsilon distance from Botein in a southwest direction to locate mag. 6.2 54 Arietis.<\/p>
Move a similar distance south of 54 Arietis to locate mag. 6.1 53 Arietis.<\/p>
Being just half a degree fainter than Uranus, both stars are good candidates for confusion, but identified correctly they work well for locating the planet.<\/p>
$\"View$
View Uranus through a small telescope to catch its green hue. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Uranus December 2023 key dates<\/strong><\/h2>
At the start of December, Uranus is located east-southeast of 53 Arietis.<\/p>
Moving slowly west-southwest, Uranus ends the month in line with 54 and 53 Arietis.<\/p>
The appearance of this distant world doesn\u2019t change dramatically over time.<\/p>
On 1 December 2023 Uranus shines at mag. 5.6 and presents a 3.8-arcsecond disc, this degrading to mag. 5.7 with a 3.7-arcsecond disc by the end of the month \u2013 hardly any change.<\/p>
A small telescope will show its greenish hue as well as the fact that it presents a disc.<\/p>
Imaging under good seeing conditions may reveal subtle bands on the planet\u2019s globe.<\/p>
Extended exposures at high image scale may possibly reveal Uranus\u2019s brighter moons.<\/p>
Just be careful not to over-expose the planet too much, as that may hide them.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><h2><strong>Guide to the planets, December 2023<\/strong><\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/11\/planets-december-2023-1024x335.jpg?fit=800%2C262\" alt=\"The phase and relative sizes of the planets in December 2023. Each planet is shown\u00a0with south at the top, to show its orientation through a telescope.\" class=\"wp-image-143605\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The phase and relative sizes of the planets in December 2023. Each planet is shown\u00a0with south at the top, to show its orientation through a telescope.<\/figcaption><\/figure><h3><strong>Uranus<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><strong>Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 December, 22:40 UT<\/li><li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 54\u00b0\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Aries<\/li><li><strong>Direction:<\/strong> South<\/li><li><strong>Features:<\/strong> Weak banding, colour, brighter moons<\/li><li><strong>Recommended equipment:<\/strong> 200mm or larger<\/li><\/ul><h3><strong>Mercury<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><strong>Best time to see:<\/strong> 31 December, 1 hour before sunrise<\/li><li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 3\u00b0 (very low)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Ophiuchus<\/li><li><strong>Direction:<\/strong> Southeast<\/li><\/ul><p>Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation on <strong>4 December<\/strong>, separated from the Sun by around 21\u00b0. Shining at mag. \u20130.3 on this date, Mercury sets just over an hour after sunset. Despite an improving position, fading brightness towards the middle of the month means Mercury becomes harder to see. <\/p><p>Inferior conjunction occurs on <strong>22 December<\/strong>, after which Mercury re-emerges into the morning sky rapidly. However, it\u2019s dim as it does so, your best chance of spotting it being on <strong>31 December<\/strong> when, shining at mag. +0.8, the planet rises 90 minutes before sunrise.\u00a0<\/p><h3><strong>Venus<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><strong>Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 December, 05:55 UT<\/li><li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 16\u00b0<\/li><li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Virgo<\/li><li><strong>Direction:<\/strong> Southeast<\/li><\/ul><p>Venus is a dominant morning object. On <strong>1 December<\/strong>, shining at mag. \u20134.1, it rises fractionally over 4 hours before the Sun, giving 2 hours to appreciate it against astronomically dark skies. At the start of the month, mag. +1.0 Spica (Alpha (\u03b1) Virginis) lies 4.5\u00b0 southwest of Venus.<\/p><p>At the start of December, Venus shows a 67%-lit, 17-arcsecond disc through the eyepiece, values which change to 77%-lit and 14 arcseconds across by <strong>31 December<\/strong>. By the end of the month, Venus rises 3 hours and 10 minutes before the Sun. The Moon appears close on <strong>9 December<\/strong>.<\/p><h3><strong>Mars<\/strong><\/h3><p>Mars is not visible in December 2023.<\/p><h3><strong>Jupiter<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><strong>Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 December, 21:50 UT<\/li><li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 50\u00b0<\/li><li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Aries<\/li><li><strong>Direction:<\/strong> South<\/li><\/ul><p>Jupiter is a beautifully placed evening planet. Shining at mag. \u20132.7 at the <strong>start of December<\/strong> and \u20132.5 at the end of the month, it appears 50\u00b0 up when due south as seen from the centre of the UK.<\/p><p>A bright gibbous Moon is nearby on the evenings of <strong>21 and 22 December<\/strong>.<\/p><h3><strong>Saturn<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><strong>Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 December, 17:45 UT<\/li><li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 24\u00b0<\/li><li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Aquarius<\/li><li><strong>Direction:<\/strong> South<\/li><\/ul><p>Saturn is reasonably well placed at the <strong>start of December<\/strong>, visible at its highest altitude, due south, under almost true dark-sky conditions. However, by <strong>New Year\u2019s Eve<\/strong> Saturn\u2019s peak altitude occurs when the Sun is still above the horizon.<\/p><p>Through the eyepiece, Saturn\u2019s north pole appears tilted towards Earth by around 10\u00b0. A 28%-lit waxing crescent Moon sits 3.8\u00b0 south-southwest of Saturn on the evening of <strong>17 December<\/strong>, closest as the pair approach setting around 21:00 UT.<\/p><h3><strong>Neptune<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><strong>Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 December, 19:13 UT<\/li><li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 34\u00b0<\/li><li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Pisces<\/li><li><strong>Direction:<\/strong> South<\/li><\/ul><p>Neptune is an evening planet, well-placed and at mag. +7.9 at the <strong>start of December<\/strong>, but deteriorating slightly towards the end of the month.<\/p><p><strong><em>This article originally appeared in the December 2023 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find out what planets are in the night sky tonight and throughout the month of December 2023. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":51915,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/11\/see-uranus-through-binoculars-and-telescope-in-december-2023.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/11\/see-uranus-through-binoculars-and-telescope-in-december-2023-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/11\/see-uranus-through-binoculars-and-telescope-in-december-2023-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/11\/see-uranus-through-binoculars-and-telescope-in-december-2023-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/11\/see-uranus-through-binoculars-and-telescope-in-december-2023-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/11\/see-uranus-through-binoculars-and-telescope-in-december-2023.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/11\/see-uranus-through-binoculars-and-telescope-in-december-2023.jpg",1200,800,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":"Find out what planets are in the night sky tonight and throughout the month of December 2023.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/51914"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}