The night skies this month are genuinely loaded with goodies. Not only are all the wonderful winter constellations visible, but all five naked-eye planets are also visible this month. Our celestial Christmas tree is loaded with ornaments this year! One of the things that’s so great about stargazing any December is that it’s already dark enough to launch into your stargazing adventures by 6 p.m. Even before evening twilight ends, Venus pops out in the low southwest, and Jupiter just above the eastern horizon. They are by far the brightest star-like objects in the night sky this month.

Venus is the brighter of the two. It’s so bright that it can cast a faint shadow in a super-dark countryside! It’s available most of the evening, setting about three hours after sunset in early December and nearly four after by late month. Unfortunately, even though it’s so bright, it’s not much of a telescope target because it’s completely cloud-covered and is very efficient at reflecting the sun’s light. That’s the main reason it’s so very bright. What you will see through a telescope is that Venus is in the shape of a half-moon. Venus goes through phases just like our moon because its orbit around the sun lies within Earth’s orbit. That’s also why it never strays all that far from the sun in our skies.

(Mike Lynch)

Earth and Jupiter reach their closest approach to each other this month in their respective orbits around the sun, something astronomers call opposition. In early December, Jupiter was only around 380 million miles away, which is considered close for the giant of our solar system. Even with a small telescope, Jupiter is wonderful. Keep in mind that Jupiter’s so large that over a thousand Earths could fit inside of it. It’s best to wait until after 7 p.m to check out Jupiter with your scope. That’ll give it enough time to rise above the blurring effects of Earth’s atmosphere near the horizon. You’ll easily see up to four of Jupiter’s largest and brightest moons with your scope. They continually dance in orbit around Jupiter, changing their positions relative to the planet as you view them from night to night.

Right behind Jupiter in the low eastern sky, Mars is on the rise. Mars rises around 8 p.m. in early December, but by month’s end, it’s up by 7 p.m. It’s not as bright as Jupiter, but you’ll have no problem spotting it with its red-orange glow. Mars and Earth are nearing their closest approach in over two years. That’ll happen next month.

Two other naked-eye planets are available this month. Saturn continues its stint in our evening sky, but it’s not as bright or nearly as close as it was in the late summer. Early in the month, Saturn starts the evening in the lower third of the southwest sky, but by month’s end, it’s much lower in the southwest, a little to the upper left of Venus. Saturn’s a bit disappointing through a telescope because you can’t really see its beautiful ring system right now. The very thin ring system appears nearly on edge from our vantage point on Earth. This is due to where Earth and Saturn are in their respective orbits around the sun. Unfortunately, that’s how it will be until later in 2025. From mid to late December, Mercury, which never strays far from the sun, will briefly appear in the early morning twilight, barely above the southeast horizon. It’ll appear fuzzy through a telescope because it’s so close to the horizon. It’ll be crescent-shaped. Like Venus, it goes through phases.

The fabulous winter constellations rising are a sight to behold this month. The later you stay up in the evening, the more of them you’ll see. The best one is Orion the Hunter. Its calling card is the three bright stars in a row that make up his belt. Preceding Orion is the bright constellation Taurus the Bull, with the beautiful Pleiades star cluster. This month, Jupiter is just to the left of Taurus’ horns. There’s also Auriga, a constellation that looks like a lopsided pentagon. Its brightest star, Capella, marks one of the pentagon’s corners. Auriga is supposed to be a chariot driver turned goat farmer. To the north of Orion is the constellation Gemini the Twins, with the bright stars Castor and Pollux marking the heads of the twin brothers Castor and Pollux. To the lower left of Orion, look for Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky and the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major the Big Dog.

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Mike is available for private star parties. You can contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.

Starwatch programs

Thursday, Dec. 5, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Plymouth, Minn., at Northwest Greenway Park. For more information, call 763-509-5000 or visit www.plymouthmn.gov/departments/parks-recreation.