Monthly Skywatchers' Page

For London and the UK

Sun And Nine Planets
The Sun and eight major planets (plus KBO Pluto) to scale. Earth is third planet from the left.


Introduction

The location of the stars and constellations can be learnt throughout a single year from books, mobile phone or planetarium software. Each month of the year, the same stars are visible from a given location. Different stars and constellations are visible as the year progresses. For example, in London, the constellation of Orion is always visible in the evenings of winter months of January and February. Scorpius is visible in the summer months of June and July around midnight.

The planets resemble stars except that, generally, they do not twinkle. Unlike the stars whose patterns are fixed, planets wander through the sky changing their positions amongst the starry background. This means that their periods of visibility change as the relative position of the Earth, Sun and planet vary. In one year Mars may be visible in August at midnight. In another year it may be behind the Sun and invisible from Earth during August.

This page gives the details of visibility for the five naked eye planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It also gives information about comets, meteor showers and non-regular phenomena like eclipses, transits and occultations.

The Observers' Glossary explains the terms used. Alternatively run the mouse cursor over terms in maroon.


The descriptions below are for viewers in the Northern Hemisphere, especially London and the United Kingdom.
The planetary information is valid for any location at the same or similar Latitude (51.5°N).
Note that a degree in the sky is twice the apparent diameter of the Moon.

All times on this page are London (UK) times. This is normally GMT (Greenwich Mean Time also known as Universal Time).
In the United Kingdom, the clocks go forward by one hour for British Summer Time (BST) between mid March and late October.
A 24 hour clock is used so that 7pm is written 19:00.


December 2022

Mercury

Mercury

Mercury appears in the evening sky in the second half of the month.

The planet will be setting in the South West about an hour and a half after the Sun and will be visible low above the horizon about 30 minutes after sunset.

Look for the planet on 24th above the thin crescent Moon. In the last week of the month Mercury will be joined by the more brilliant Venus, the two planets being at their closest on 29th.

Mercury, the Moon and three other planets
Looking South West at 16:30 on 25th.
Mercury is to the right of the Moon close to the horizon.
Venus is brighter and to the right and below Mercury. Above the Moon and to the left are Saturn and Jupiter.
All four planets and the Moon are in roughly a straight line.

Venus

Venus

Venus is too close to the Sun to be observable at the beginning of the month.

In the last week of the month, Venus begins to appear in the evening sky close to Mercury. The two planets will be close to the Moon on 24th.

This is the beginning of a good evening appearance of the brightest planet, especially during the Winter and early Spring and will include conjunctions with Saturn and Jupiter, the latter being an eye catching close approach of the two brightest planets.

Mars

Mars

Mars reaches opposition on 8th. The planet will then be visible all night long, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise. December sees the planet at its brightest when it will be almost as bright as Jupiter.

Mars is magnificently placed as far North as it can be among the stars of Taurus and above the distinctive Winter constellation of Orion.

The planet is now unmistakeable with its red colour obvious.

Mars is moving retrograde (from left to right as seen from the Northern Hemisphere) and will be seen to retrace its movement back towards the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters and the brightest star of Taurus, Aldebaran.

Mars will be seen close to the Full Moon on 8th.

Around 5am on the night of the 7th / 8th the planet will be occulted (covered) by the Moon for an hour, a rare event. Mars will take over 30 seconds to disappear behind the Moon. Binoculars may be helpful due to the glare of the Moon.

The entire occultation will be visible in the North West from the UK.

Jupiter

Jupiter

Jupiter is a brilliant object among the stars of Pisces setting at 1am at the beginning of the month. The planet is brighter than any star.

Jupiter will be above the Moon on 2nd.

Even a small telescope will show the four largest of its Moons, changing positions from night to night.

By the end of the month, Jupiter will be setting before midnight.

Saturn

Saturn

Saturn is a star-like yellowish object among the stars of Capricornus.

The planet sets around 9pm at the beginning of the month. Look for Saturn above the Moon on 26th.

By the end of the month the planet will be setting around 8pm.

Sun

The Sun

Since June the Sun has been moving southwards causing the days to get shorter.

This continues until 21:48 on 21 December, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the time of the Winter Solstice. On this day the Sun will be above the horizon for less than 7 hours 50 minutes, less than 30 percent of the 24 hours of a calendar day.

On the shortest day the Sun at noon will be only 15 degrees above the horizon as seen from London. Compare this to 62 degrees in June. The Sun is barely getting above the trees at this time of year. The low Sun and the few hours of daylight are the reasons the days are cold at this time of year.

The time of midday (when the Sun is due South and at its highest) begins December at 11:49. During the month, the time of midday moves forward reaching 12:00 on 24th and 25th. On these days, Sun Time is equal to Clock Time. This only happens four times a year. By the end of the month midday will be occurring at 12:03.

The fact that the time of midday is moving forward during the month has two effects. The shortest day is on 21st but the earliest sunset (15:51) is on 13th, eight days earlier. Also the latest sunrise (08:06) is at the end of December. This happens because the times of sunrise and sunset are almost stationary relative to the time of midday because we have reached the shortest day. The movement of midday forward is dragging these times forward with it.

The Sun begins December in Ophiuchus remaining in this constellation (which is ignored by astrologers) until 18th when it "enters" Sagittarius.

2000 years ago when the current Zodiac constellations were finalised by the Romans, the Winter Solstice began with the Sun among the stars of Capricornus (or Capricorn), hence the name of the Southern Tropic. After 2000 years the dates have drifted back by one day every 70 years. In 2022 the Winter Solstice occurs with the Sun "in" Sagittarius

Note that the astronomical Zodiac dates (the actual Zodiac dates that you can see by observation) do not tie in with astrology as astrologers are using dates from two thousand years ago.

Date Sunrise Midday Sunset Length of Day Sun's Noon Altitude Notes
01-Dec
07:43
11:49
15:54
08h 11m
16.7°
 
02-Dec
07:45
11:49
15:54
08h 09m
16.6°
Moon close to Jupiter
03-Dec
07:46
11:50
15:53
08h 07m
16.4°
 
04-Dec
07:47
11:50
15:53
08h 05m
16.3°
 
05-Dec
07:48
11:51
15:52
08h 03m
16.1°
 
06-Dec
07:50
11:51
15:52
08h 02m
16.0°
 
07-Dec
07:51
11:51
15:52
08h 00m
15.9°
8 hour day
08-Dec
07:52
11:52
15:51
07h 59m
15.8°
Full Moon at 04:08 (Taurus)
Opposition of Mars
Occultation of Mars (UK)
09-Dec
07:53
11:52
15:51
07h 57m
15.7°
 
10-Dec
07:54
11:53
15:51
07h 56m
15.6°
 
11-Dec
07:55
11:53
15:51
07h 55m
15.5°
 
12-Dec
07:56
11:54
15:51
07h 54m
15.5°
 
13-Dec
07:57
11:54
15:51
07h 53m
15.4°
Earliest sunset
14-Dec
07:58
11:55
15:51
07h 52m
15.3°
 
15-Dec
07:59
11:55
15:51
07h 51m
15.3°
 
16-Dec
08:00
11:56
15:51
07h 51m
15.2°
Morning Half Moon
8am sunrise
17-Dec
08:01
11:56
15:51
07h 50m
15.2°
 
18-Dec
08:01
11:57
15:52
07h 50m
15.2°
 
19-Dec
08:02
11:57
15:52
07h 50m
15.1°
 
20-Dec
08:03
11:58
15:52
07h 49m 48s
15.1°
 
21-Dec
08:03
11:58
15:53
07h 49m 42s
15.1°
Winter Solstice at 21:48 (shortest day)
22-Dec
08:04
11:59
15:53
07h 49m 42s
15.1°
 
23-Dec
08:04
11:59
15:54
07h 49m 49s
15.1°
New Moon at 10:17 (Sagittarius)
24-Dec
08:05
12:00
15:55
07h 50m
15.1°
Moon close to Mercury and Venus
25-Dec
08:05
12:00
15:55
07h 50m
15.2°
Midday at 12:00
26-Dec
08:05
12:01
15:56
07h 50m
15.2°
Moon close to Saturn
27-Dec
08:05
12:01
15:57
07h 51m
15.2°
 
28-Dec
08:06
12:02
15:58
07h 52m
15.3°
 
29-Dec
08:06
12:02
15:58
07h 52m
15.3°
Mercury close to Venus
30-Dec
08:06
12:02
15:59
07h 53m
15.4°
Evening Half Moon
31-Dec
08:06
12:03
16:00
07h 54m
15.5°
Latest sunrise

Moon

The Moon

The Moon will be close to Jupiter on 4th.

The Moon will be close to Mars on 8th (occultation).

The Moon will be close to Mercury on 24th.

The Moon will be close to Venus on 24th.

The Moon will be close to Saturn on 26th.

This month's Full Moon occurs on 8th.

The Full Moon is always opposite the Sun. The Sun is at its lowest for the Northern Hemisphere on 21st. This month's Full Moon will be very high in the sky.

The Moon will rise in the North East and will climb very high above the southern horizon setting in the North West.

Moon

Occultations

On the morning of 7th / 8th, the Moon will occult the planet Mars.

Binoculars will be helpful to see the planet close to the almost full Moon and to follow it as it disappears behind the Moon. A telescope will show the red planet "setting" behind the cratered lunar "horizon". The following table lists the times of the occultation from London.

For other parts of the UK the times will vary by a few minutes.

Place Time of disappearance
(GMT)
Time of reappearance
(GMT)
London 04:57 05:57


It is easy to depend on astronomy or CMMS software to perform daily computational activities and to keep track of data. Astronomy enthusiasts can choose from a wide variety of software options, while facility managers may have fewer options if they require CMMS software for their business.


Next Month

Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and Mercury (at the beginning of the month) all visible in the evening. Perihelion.


All times on this page are London (UK) times.

Sources: Astronomy Now magazine, Cybersky, Starry Night Pro, USA Naval Observatory and UK Nautical Almanac Office.

© 2022 KryssTal
All sky images by Starry Night Pro Plus 6
Eclipse predictions (maps) courtesy of Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC


Books From Amazon.co.uk


Observers' Glossary

An explanation of the terms used by sky observers. Includes descriptions of how the objects of the solar system behave in the sky as seen from Earth (especially the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes).


KryssTal Related Pages

Tables and data about the Sun, Earth, Moon, planets, asteroids and comets. All terms used are explained.

An account of how various properties of stars can be measured by studying starlight. Includes brightness, distance, luminosity, temperature, mass, radius, density and an introduction to the H-R Diagram.

A table containing a list of the 20 brightest stars in the Earth's sky. Explanations of all the associated terms like magnitude, spectral type and radial velocity.

A detailed account about eclipses, transits and occultations. These are irregular phenomena that can be observed in the sky. Includes eclipse trips around the world with photos and well as photos of recent transists of Mercury and Venus.

An easy-to-understand scaling of the Universe in space. Distances in space are represented by the time light takes to travel there.

An easy-to-understand scaling of the Universe in time. The chronology of the Universe is compared to a real year.

How humanity came from believing Creation Myths to postulating the Inflationary Big Bang Theory. The key stages in our understanding of our place in the cosmos and the people who broadened our understanding.

What do we mean by the words day, week, month, year? Who invented our calendar? When did the third millennium begin? The relation between time and astronomy.

The force that moves apples and planets. A short introduction to the ideas of Kepler and Newton that culminated with the theory of Universal Gravitation.

A look at the mathematics of a sphere with a section on sundials and the equation of time.


External Skywatching Links

These links will open in a separate window

StarDate Online
An excellent online skywatchers' magazine featuring detailed monthly information about astronomical events.

Astronomy Picture of the Day
A different image each day with an extensive archive and explanations.

Telescope House
A London based source of astronomical equipment, telescopes, software, maps and books.

Starry Night Pro
Superb planetarium software. Simulate the sky from anywhere on the Earth and any time.