Jared May: What's Up December 14-21

What’s Up this Third Week of December

Sunset this week occurs just after 5 PM, so while the early onset of darkness is ideal for stargazers, the weather this week may not work out in our favor. With the exception of a small dip forecasted in the cloud coverage Monday night, the rest of the week looks very cloudy. This week and the next several days have in store some great astronomical events for stargazers of any skill level.

Tuesday night brought close pass between the already neighboring gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, and Messier 75. They are still close as of this writing.

This Messier object is a dense globular cluster of stars that shines at a faint magnitude 9.18. This object might be difficult to see even with binoculars unless you are in a very dark location, but it might make a good photo opportunity for astrophotographers. This close-pass can be seen deep in the SW skies starting roughly an hour after sunset.

If you haven’t noticed or heard the news already, Jupiter and Saturn are due for a historic conjunction this upcoming Monday (December 21st). The two outer planets will be separated by a mere 0.1° in the sky. A separation of the planets by only 0.1° last happened in the year 1623, nearly 400 years ago! Already, you can look in the SW skies an hour after sunset and see with your naked eyes how close these two planets are. It may appear as a bright “double star.” A telescope or pair of binoculars will help bring out the details of the two planets: Jupiter’s moons and red streaks in its atmosphere and Saturn’s famous ring system.

The globular cluster M75 appears, this week, very near to Jupiter and Saturn in the sky.

Jupiter and Saturn on the evening of December 21

While the skies over Ohio this week aren’t very conducive to stargazing, there are still lots of astronomical events occurring or setting themselves up. If you find yourself outside on a clear night this time of year be sure to dress very warm as the nighttime temperatures will readily drop below freezing. Keep an eye on the skies for meteors, M75, and the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction.

Clear Skies!