Jupiter, Uranus and the Pleiades line up for a Christmas Eve treat in our weekly stargazing guide, Star Diary 18 to 24 December 2023.
Chris Bramley: Hello and welcome to Star Diary, the podcast from the makers of BBC Sky at Night Magazine. You can subscribe to the print edition by visiting skynightmagazine.com or to our digital edition by visiting iTunes or Google Play.
Ezzy Pearson: Greetings listeners and welcome to Star Diary, a weekly guide to the best things to see in the Northern Hemisphere's night sky. As we are based here in the UK, all times are in GMT. In this episode, we'll be covering the coming week from 18 to 24 December. I'm features editor Ezzy Pearson, and I'm joined by reviews editor Paul Money.
Hello, Paul.
Paul Money: Hello, Ezzy. Looking forward to some more events now.
Ezzy: Oh, fantastic. Please do let us know what we've got to look forward to in the night sky this week.
Paul: Well, unfortunately, we've had a run of early mornings, and this week is no exception. So, we're looking at December 18th, and we're looking at 7am.
It's well worth keeping an eye on Venus. It is surprising how quick it is beginning to drop down. It's moving down through the central part of Libra now. It starts on 18th, just to the upper left of Zuben el Genubi, Alpha Libra, but it moves away towards the centre of the constellation during the rest of the week. And it's, without a doubt, it's now clearly heading back towards the solar glare.
So, we've got it for a few more weeks yet, but it won't be long before we lose Venus in the morning sky. Now, that'll be probably a good thing. Because then it'll move into the evening sky, so that'll be a bit more convenient, but we'll have to come to that next week.
Now, on the evening of the 18th, we've got the Moon lying between Saturn and Neptune. It's a bit of a shallow triangle, to be fair, and it's not quite halfway between Saturn and Neptune. But then on the next evening, on 19th, the Moon is actually to the lower left of Neptune. Now, Neptune, of course, will need, particularly... well, large binoculars, but a small telescope, usually, to see.
It's around about magnitude +7.9, 8th magnitude. So, well, it's not exactly that bright, but well worth having a look at, and you should be able to spot it in binoculars as well. So, there you are.
I always think that's great. So, our Moon, really close to us. And you've got Neptune, so far we're the last planet, officially, in the Solar System.
Now 21 to 24th, the Moon will start to pass several prominent planets. So we've got the Moon for a start over in 21st, to the right of Jupiter. It's actually in Pisces. It's actually in the bit where the two fishes come together. So I think that's the V of Pisces as such. And so that's on 21st.
So it's to the upper, to the, well, yeah, to the upper right of Jupiter. And then on the next morning, on 22nd, it's the upper left of the giant planet. So you've got a brilliant planet, and you've got the Moon next to it. I always think, it and Venus, when they're close to the Moon, that people really do notice those.
They stand out so well. And then, on 23rd, the Moon lies to the upper left of Uranus. And I say, Uranus is a lot easier to see in binoculars, you can spot it a lot easier. But you do need a good star chart, obviously from the magazine, that you can actually spot Uranus, because there are some field stars nearby.
But I always think Uranus definitely looks a hint of green. And technically there are no green stars in the night sky. So if you come across a green object, and it's a dot, it's more likely to be Uranus.
On the 23rd, it lies to the upper left of Uranus. And then on Christmas Eve, the Moon lies to the lower left of Messier 45, the Pleiades star cluster. It's one of those things that we've got Jupiter, Uranus, and the Pleiades. And Uranus is slowly creeping towards the Pleiades. Jupiter will get there quicker.
It'll overtake Uranus in the next year or so. So, you know, they're getting closer, but it's nice to have them in such a... they're quite prominent. I've been looking at myself and even a smartphone. I can capture the Moon, Uranus and the Pleiades in a picture. It's amazing what smartphones can actually now take. You know, there's these completely revolutionizing things.
So during this period, we mentioned the terminator of the Moon sweeping across it and exposing Mare Crisium earlier on. And then what we find is that if you follow this during this particular period of time, 21 to 24th, what you see is the terminator sweeping across the big impact base in Imbrium, Mare Imbrium.
There's lots of details there, like, various mountain peaks. There's that Mount Piton and places like that really stand out as the shadows lengthen as the light comes across it.
And then you've got the dark floored crater Plato as well. The Apennines, the actual mountain range along the bottom edge of Imbrium itself. You've got quite a few large craters, you've got Copernicus as such, Eratosthenes, Archimedes.
So there's a well... this is a really rich detailed area of the Moon, well worth looking at and observing. So, you know, it isn't just about deep sky. There is the Moon as well, and I always particularly like this particular region. And within another few days you'll end up with the Sinus Iridium, the Bay of Rainbows becoming exposed by it.
That's one for next week, as they say.
21st of December, though, just to backtrack a little bit, remember we had Vesta? Now, Vesta was going past the Monkey Head Nebula. It's carried on, and it's actually moving... a lot of people forget about this, that it's actually in Orion.
It's in the top part of Orion, next to the club. And it actually will move past, it's actually at opposition, on 21st. Magnitude +6.1. So it's a tad brighter. You know, so well worth having a look at. And over the next few days, through to the night of 23rd into the morning of Christmas Eve, is close to the star Chi 1 Orionis. So that's a nice way to end the week.
And if you've been doing that project, and you've taken a wide field photograph, you can continue this as the actual minor world passes the top end of the club of Orion. So. There we are, Ezzy.
Ezzy: Thank you very much for taking us through all of those things, Paul, to see in this week's night sky. There's always lots of great things to see. And if you want to keep up to date with the latest stargazing highlights, please do subscribe to the Star Diary podcast so you can always keep up to date with what's coming up in the night sky.
But to summarise those again, we start the week on 18 December in the morning sky, when Venus is going to be dropping quickly through the constellation of Libra. It's a great opportunity to see just how quickly planets can move throughout the night sky. So keep track of that one.
Then on 18 and 19th, Saturn and the Moon are going to be close together, with Neptune phrasing the pair on the other side as well. So a nice little triplet there. Then moving on to 21st, going through right the way to Christmas Eve, 24th December, you can watch the Moon as it passes by Jupiter and Uranus, moving on towards the Pleiades as well.
Both of those planets are pretty close to the Pleiades at the moment, and getting even closer. Ao they're definitely ones that you want to watch out for as they make their way across the night sky.
At the same time, the Moon is going to be very interesting to look at as the terminator will be sweeping across the region of Mare Imbrium, highlighting lots of different features that you can see in that area. It's always best to see features and craters, the topography of the Moon, when that terminator is moving across them.
If you want to look at those up close with a telescope, now would be a great opportunity to do so. At the start of that period, on 21 December, the minor planet or asteroid Vesta is going to be at opposition.
So it'll be opposite the Sun.
And then 21 December as well, the minor planet or asteroid Vesta is going to be at opposition. It'll be in Orion, just above the head of its club. So it's a great opportunity to see that world. And if you've been tracking it across the weeks, then another time to carry on that project as you're tracking its motion across the night sky.
So lots of things to be getting on with. Hopefully you'll be back here next week for another episode of Star Diary. Until then, from all of us here at Sky at Night Magazine, goodbye.
If you want to find out even more spectacular sights that will be gracing the night sky this month, be sure to pick up a copy of BBC Sky at Night Magazine, where we have a 16 page pull out sky guide with a full overview of everything worth looking up for throughout the whole month, whether you like to look at the Moon, the planets, or the deep sky.
Whether you use binoculars, telescopes, or neither, our Sky Guide has got you covered with detailed star charts to help you track your way across the night sky. From all of us here at BBC Sky Night Magazine, goodbye.
Chris: Thank you for listening to this episode of the Star Diary podcast from the makers of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
For more of our podcasts, visit our website at skyatnightmagazine.com or head to aCast, iTunes or Spotify.
Listen to next weeks episode, Star Diary 25 to 31 December 2023, here
