For the past few months, morning sky watchers have been treated with nice celestial events. December is no exception.

The first half of December, cast your gaze toward the east-southeastern sky about an hour before sunrise to see the planets Saturn, Venus and Mercury. Brilliant Venus will be between Saturn, above and to the right of it, and Mercury, below and to the left of it. Saturn will be bright and its golden color will reveal it from background stars. Mercury will be approximately the same brightness as Saturn, but much closer to the horizon.

As December progresses, Saturn will rise higher in the sky each morning about an hour before sunrise, while Venus and Mercury sink closer to the horizon. Venus and Mercury will be closer to the horizon each successive morning of the month.

The morning of Dec. 10, find a slender crescent Moon just below Saturn and on the following morning, the Moon will be just below Venus.

Mighty Jupiter graces the evening sky all month. Jupiter is at opposition today, which means Jupiter rises exactly as the Sun sets this evening. Jupiter rises in the eastern sky and will be very bright, outshining all other celestial objects in this part of the sky except the Moon. On Christmas evening, find a near Full Moon just below Jupiter.

Upcoming events

The Little Thompson Observatory is having its monthly open house event at 7 p.m. Dec. 21. John Ensworth will present “The (Bethlehem) Star of Wonder.” Telescope observing follows the talk, weather permitting. The observatory is at the northeast edge of Berthoud High School. For more information, go to starkids.org or call 970-613-7793.

The Denver Astronomical Society’s monthly open house will be at 6 p.m. Dec. 22 at the historic Chamberlin Observatory, on the University of Denver campus, 2930 E. Warren Ave. Several telescopes, including the 20-inch Alvan Clark refracting telescope, will be available for viewing, weather permitting. For more information, call 303-871-5172.

Michael Hotka is an amateur astronomer.

Article source: http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/home-life/ci_22101888/astronomy-planets-are-gift-december-skies

For the past few months, morning sky watchers have been treated with nice celestial events. December is no exception.

The first half of December, cast your gaze toward the east-southeastern sky about an hour before sunrise to see the planets Saturn, Venus and Mercury. Brilliant Venus will be between Saturn, above and to the right of it, and Mercury, below and to the left of it. Saturn will be bright and its golden color will reveal it from background stars. Mercury will be approximately the same brightness as Saturn, but much closer to the horizon.

As December progresses, Saturn will rise higher in the sky each morning about an hour before sunrise, while Venus and Mercury sink closer to the horizon. Venus and Mercury will be closer to the horizon each successive morning of the month.

The morning of Dec. 10, find a slender crescent Moon just below Saturn and on the following morning, the Moon will be just below Venus.

Mighty Jupiter graces the evening sky all month. Jupiter is at opposition today, which means Jupiter rises exactly as the Sun sets this evening. Jupiter rises in the eastern sky and will be very bright, outshining all other celestial objects in this part of the sky except the Moon. On Christmas evening, find a near Full Moon just below Jupiter.

Upcoming events

The Little Thompson Observatory is having its monthly open house event at 7 p.m. Dec. 21. John Ensworth will present “The (Bethlehem) Star of Wonder.” Telescope observing follows the talk, weather permitting. The observatory is at the northeast edge of Berthoud High School. For more information, go to starkids.org or call 970-613-7793.

The Denver Astronomical Society’s monthly open house will be at 6 p.m. Dec. 22 at the historic Chamberlin Observatory, on the University of Denver campus, 2930 E. Warren Ave. Several telescopes, including the 20-inch Alvan Clark refracting telescope, will be available for viewing, weather permitting. For more information, call 303-871-5172.

Michael Hotka is an amateur astronomer.

Article source: http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/home-life/ci_22101888/astronomy-planets-are-gift-december-skies