Best observation conditions for Jupiter, Venus as a bright object in the evening sky, shortest day of the year

Sun and moon

The calendar date for the beginning of winter this year is December 21 at 10:21 am. On this day, the sun is at the lowest point of its orbit in the northern hemisphere. In Zweibrücken, it reaches a maximum height of just 17.25 degrees above the horizon at 12:29.
The sun rises at 8:19 a.m. and sets again at 4:38 p.m., making the day just 8 hours and 19 minutes long.

The full moon will affect the observation of fainter objects around the days of December 15.

Planets

Mercury offers morning visibility in the last third of the month. On the 25th, it reaches its greatest angular distance from the sun at a good 22 degrees. On this day, it rises at 6:29 am.

Venus becomes the radiant evening star on the south-western horizon. With its increasing brightness, it clearly outshines Jupiter, which is also visible in the evening sky. Over the course of the month, its setting times are delayed: On December 1, it sets at 19:35, at the end of the year at 20:50.

The brightness of the planet Mars increases significantly over the course of the month. After Venus, Jupiter and Sirius, it becomes the fourth brightest object in the night sky. In the telescope, its apparent diameter increases to around 14 arc seconds (one arc second corresponds to 1/3600 of a degree). The time of its rise shifts noticeably: Mars rises above the horizon at 20:30 at the beginning of the month and at 18:05 at the end of the year.
Mars reaches its opposition on January 16. In this constellation, the Sun, Earth and Mars are almost in line. Viewed from Earth, the planet is opposite the Sun and reaches a comparatively small distance from our home planet.

Saturn can still be observed low in the south after nightfall, but has already left its opposition time in September far behind. On the last day of the year, it sets at 22:28.

Uranus was in opposition to the sun on November 17. As already mentioned, you need at least binoculars to observe it, or even better a telescope. You should not expect too much when looking through these devices, it has an apparent diameter of only a few arc seconds.

Starry sky

The autumn constellations move to the western night sky. They are followed in the east by the magnificent winter constellations.

On eastern horizon the sky chaser Orion can already be seen. Also the constellation Gemini.

About us is Taurus with the V-shaped horns, the Hyades, which are located south of the Pleiades. The main star of the Hyades is the striking red giant star Aldebaran.
The irregular pentagon of the carter can be found looking high towards the south, to the left above Taurus. The striking main star Capella (Latin for little goat) is the sixth brightest star in the night sky.

The southern starry sky is rather sparsely populated with stars. One of the most extensive but inconspicuous constellations, Eridanus, is located there.

In the West you can still see the striking autumnal quadrilateral, Pegasus and Andromeda. Below it is the constellation of Pisces.

On northern sky the Great Bear gradually rises above the eastern areas.

The following graphic shows the view of the sky on December 15 at 10 pm.

First of all, thank you to the many interested visitors in recent weeks. Children in particular stimulate their own thinking with their thirst for knowledge and their astonishing knowledge.
The observatory opens at 19:00 from November to February inclusive. The sky is dark enough for astronomical observations at this time. Of course, the clear night sky already mentioned several times must prevail.

Sun and moon

Winter is fast approaching. The maximum height of the sun at midday at the beginning of the month in Zweibrücken is only around 22 degrees and decreases even further until the winter solstice, at the beginning of the last third of December.

The full moon will affect the observation of fainter objects around the days of November 15.

Planets

Mercury reaches a reasonable angular distance of 22.5 degrees from the sun on November 16. Nevertheless, there is no evening visibility in our latitudes as the planet, named after the Roman messenger of the gods Mercurius, is very low in the zodiac at -25.4 degrees declination.

Venus is an object for the early evening sky. Its setting is further delayed from 18:51 on November 1 to 19:33 on November 30. It can be seen low in the southwest as a brightly shining celestial object.

Mars shifts its risings to the time before midnight. On 15.11. it crosses the horizon at 21:18. Its apparent movement in the sky heralds its opposition in January. However, it is still rather inconspicuous and appears quite small in the telescope.

Saturn is past its prime, but can still be observed in the evening sky. Due to its increasing distance from Earth, it appears smaller and smaller to us in the telescope. On the 15th of the month, it reaches its greatest height above the southern horizon at 7:45 pm and sets at 1:10 am.

Uranus will be at opposition to the Sun on November 17. However, despite its favorable observation position, one should not expect too much when looking through a telescope; it has an apparent diameter of only a few seconds of arc.

Starry sky

The comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas, also known as C/2023 A3, which was visible in October, has left the evening sky and is moving further into the depths of our solar system.
Deep in the North you can recognize the striking constellation of the Big Dipper, also known as the Big Dipper due to the arrangement of its main stars.
A little later, at around 22:00, the East to free the winter constellations Orion and Gemini from the layers of haze near the horizon.
High about us now stands our neighboring galaxy, the Andromeda Nebula with the designation M31. M31 is already an impressive sight in binoculars. A guide to finding it can be found in the monthly overview of the previous month.
In the South is the inconspicuous constellation of the whale.

The following graphic shows the view of the sky on November 15 at 10 pm.

Astronomy Day on October 19, comet in the evening sky, ringed planet Saturn.

Astronomy Day was held for the first time on 23.08.2003 to mark the particularly close opposition of Mars. Until the beginning of the corona epidemic in 2020, it took place in March/April. From 2022, it was moved to the fall due to the better visibility of the planets.

As a special feature this year, a bright comet is expected in the evening sky. If it continues to develop in this way, it will also be visible to the naked eye. However, predicting the brightness of comets is difficult, which is why David H. Levy, a well-known amateur astronomer, coined the phrase "Comets are like cats: they have tails and do precisely what they want". Due to the loose composition of comets - they are also known as dirty snowballs - they often break up when they come too close to the sun. This was the case with comet ISON C/2012 S1. Here is a time-lapse image of the comet before and after its closest approach to the sun. The individual fragments of the comet after its closest approach are clearly visible.

The ringed planet Saturn is also easy to observe in the evening sky. The special feature is the small ring aperture of just four degrees. In March 2025, we will look at the edge of the rings for a few weeks. They will then be invisible.

Starting this month, we will open our observatory on Friday evenings from 8 p.m., provided the night sky is clear. On Friday 18.10. and Saturday 19.10., the day of astronomy, we will open from 8 pm, also assuming clear skies. Furthermore, two lectures will be offered on Wednesday, October 16 and 23 in the Audimax of Zweibrücken University of Applied Sciences. For more details see point Events.

Sun and moon

On the last Sunday of the month, which this year is October 29, the clocks are set back by one hour at 3 a.m. to 2 a.m., the regular Central European Time.

The full moon will affect the observation of fainter objects around the days of October 17.

Planets

The innermost planet Mercury is close to the sun, so we will not be able to observe it this month.

Venus as an evening star is not yet particularly conspicuous. After sunset, it can be observed low in the southwest. On the evening of October 5, the narrow waxing crescent moon passes about three degrees south of it. However, a clear view of the horizon is essential.

Mars shifts its rises to the time before midnight. However, it is still quite inconspicuous.

Saturn was in opposition to the Sun at the beginning of the previous month and still offers a good observation opportunity in the first half of the night. After dark, it can be found high in the east at the beginning of the month and towards the south towards the end of the month. As already mentioned, the ring aperture is only 4 degrees, a far cry from the maximum of 27 degrees.

Uranus and Neptuneboth exclusively objects for telescopes, can be observed throughout the night. However, one should not expect too much when looking through a telescope, both have an apparent diameter of only a few arc seconds.

Starry sky

The summer starry sky has almost completely receded. High in the east, the autumn quadrilateral, the winged horse Pegasus, can already be seen. Its origins as a hybrid creature are probably oriental. It was frequently depicted in Cretan and Asia Minor art and even on the reverse of Roman coins up until the third century AD. A little further to the east is an object that is already impressive in binoculars, our neighboring galaxy, the Andromeda Nebula with the designation M32.

The following graphic shows the view of the sky on October 15 at 11 pm.