Sunset is now just after 5 PM and the stars and planets start popping out roughly 45 minutes after that. The weather this week is rather typical of Ohio this time of year – cloudy and cold. There is, however, a small chance of a clear night Saturday! Nighttime temperatures are forecast to drop into the low 40s and perhaps even into the 30s. So, stargazers, be sure to dress warmly.

This week, if there is a clearing in the clouds, brings us the Moon and its close approach to Mars, stationary Neptune, a soon-to-be historic meeting between Jupiter and Saturn, and winter deep-sky targets.

Wednesday, after the sun has set, the first thing that will grab your attention in the sky will be the bright moon well on its way to becoming full. 30 minutes after sunset you will start to notice a faint star appearing 5° above the moon. As the sky continues to darken this “star” will give off a red glow. It is actually Mars which currently shines at a bright magnitude -1.3. A telescope with a longer focal length and a high power eyepiece may be enough to reveal the Martian polar ice caps.

The Moon and Mars high in the southeast on Wednesday evening.

The most outer planet Neptune (sorry Pluto) can be spotted in telescopes and binoculars due south at 6:30 PM at almost exactly 45° above the horizon (4.5 fist lengths held at arm’s length). It will require a chart to find, as it is shining at a faint magnitude 7.88. Saturday this planet will appear very still in the sky relative to the background stars since it is finishing off its retrograde (“against the stars”) loop and will be resuming its “normal” eastward tracking.

One astronomical event that has been making headlines recently is the close pass between Jupiter and Saturn that will occur December 21st. On that evening they will be separated in the sky by only 0.1° (1/5th the apparent width of the moon!) This meetup of the gas giants occurs about every 20 years, but a separation this close last happened in the year 1623, just 14 years after Galileo made his first telescope. These two planets can be spotted low in the southwest skies shortly after sunset as two bright “stars” separated by about 2° right now.

Jupiter and Saturn are getting closer and closer in the sky. Catch them before they set, not long after sunset.

One of the most famous constellations, Orion, is now fully above the horizon by 8:30 PM. Not only is this constellation easy to spot, but it has some spectacular deep-sky objects to try and spot with binoculars and telescopes alike under dark skies. This constellation is also home to a diverse set of astrophotography targets for everyone: beginners through advanced users and wide-field to narrow-field telescopes. Some of these objects include the Orion Nebula (very bright and can even be seen with binoculars), Flame Nebula, Horsehead Nebula, the supernova candidate Betelgeuse, and Barnards’s Loop. The Orion Nebula in particular is a great object for those just getting in to astrophotography.

Orion comes into view a few hours after sunset on late fall evenings. There are plenty of celestial targets within to attract those with small telescopes and cameras.

The winter does provide the extremely clear night skies and stable atmosphere conducive to great astrophotography and observing, but it can get tricky to deal with frost. In the winter it is best to set your telescope out just before sunset so the telescope and the optics can thermally equilibrate with the outside temperature. Purchasing a dew shield or dew heaters (for the more dedicated telescope users) will help prevent frost from forming on the telescope optics. Frost could lead to blurry images/seeing or leave watermarks on the lens/mirror. Its best to let your telescope warm up slowly after you finish a night of observing so that condensation does not cover the lens/mirror aggressively. With these simple things in mind, your telescope will be much more protected from the frost and water that usually comes with cold-night observing or imaging.  

While this week may not be the best for stargazing, there are some exciting objects and upcoming events in the night sky. But do not worry if you can’t see anything this week, many of these objects and events cycle back around or hang around in the sky for the next several weeks or months. If there is a clear night, be sure to dress warm while you peer between a few light-seconds and several hundreds of light-years into the cosmos.

Clear Skies!