Monthly Archives: December 2019

Astronomical Events, General Astronomy, Solar System

Planets of the Month: DECEMBER, 2019

by Erich Karkoschka
Planets for December 2019

planet-of-the-month-mercury Mercury will be visible until December 19th, rising just after Mars (15 degrees below) before dawn.
planet-of-the-month-venus Venus is in the evening sky, getting higher and more obvious.
planet-of-the-month-moon New Moon will be at Christmas, last visible in the morning of the 24th and coming back in the evening sky on the 27th below Venus and the 28th right next to Venus, a beautiful pair.
planet-of-the-month-mars Mars rises before dawn in Libra, followed by Mercury 15 degrees below.
 planet-of-the-month-saturn Saturn is to the upper left of Venus in the evening sky until December 10 & 11, when Venus passes two degrees south of Saturn. At that time, Pluto is right next to both planets, but 15 million times fainter than Venus and not an easy target. After Christmas, Saturn will be too close to the Sun to be visible.
 planet-of-the-month-uranus Uranus is well placed in the evening for observers with binoculars or a telescope.
 planet-of-the-month-neptune Neptune is well placed in the evening for observers with binoculars or a telescope.
pluto Pluto is next to Venus & Saturn December 10 & 11 but is 15 million times fianter and not an easy target. The brightest minor planet, Vesta, is not too far from Uranus and only slightly fainter.
32 inch Cassegrain Project, General Astronomy, Star Parties

December 2019 Events

planets-of-the-month-right-column

We have two Tucson public observing events this month.

– Agua Caliente Park (NE Tucson) on December 21st:  CANCELLED
– Tucson Mountain Park Ironwood Picnic Area (SW Tucson) on December 28 from 6 – 8 pm. Follow the Facebook event for real-time updates.

Meteor Shower. The Geminids peak early morning on December 14th or late evening on the 14th. There will be a bright Moon in the sky very close to Gemini which will limit what you can see. If possible put the Moon to your back and look for meteors in the opposite direction.