December planets

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32778, 1 December 1971, Page 19

December planets

During December the planet which will attract most attention will be Venus. Throughout the month it will set within a few minutes of 10 p.m. and can thus be seen in the western sky in the early evening. Because of its brightness, which exceeds all celestial objects except the Sun and Moon, there is never any difficulty in distinguishing it. At 5 p.m. on December 20 Venus will be slightly less than a degree from the Moon. This will provide a good opportunity of seeing the planet in daylight. Actually Venus can be seen at midday, when the sky is clear and the planet far enough away from the Sun. In the evening its brightness is such that the shadows that it casts can be clearly seen. Of the remaining bright planets both Mercury and Jupiter will be too close to the Sun to be seen to advantage. Mars is in the constellation Aquarius where it sets at 1.25 a.m. on December 1; at 0.52 a.m. on December 15 and at 0.05 a.m. on December 31. Its effective observing season is now over. As a number of readers have reported it has faded considerably as it has receded from the Earth. Saturn, in the constellation Taurus, sets at 5.0 a.m. on December 1; at 3.21 a.m. on December 15 and at 2.30 a.m. on December 31. It thus crosses the meridian due north about 11 p.m. during the middle of the month. As it is far north of the celestial equator its altitude will be less than 40 degrees. An interesting telescopic event occurs on December : 25 at 6.42 p.m. when the ' asteroid Pallas will pass very i close to the ninth magnitude ' star, SAO 194662. Pallas,

which will be visible to the naked eye as a fifth magnitude object, is in the constellation Eridanus and so is well placed for observation from our latitudes.