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By Deane Morrison

As December rolls along, some of the most iconic stars and constellations wheel into view during the evening hours.

And that’s just in the east. In the west, the brightest planet—Venus—stages a comeback.

During the first half of the month, however, the moon steals the show. On the 4th, a young crescent moon hangs below Venus above the southwestern horizon, in the sun’s afterglow. As the moon waxes, it climbs eastward toward Saturn and passes the ringed planet between the 7th and 8th. Then, as it approaches fullness, it invades the space where the bright winter stars are making their entrance.

The evening of the 14th, December’s almost-full moon; brilliant Jupiter; and Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus, the bull, line up above the eastern horizon.

Starting on the 19th, though, you can go out at 9 p.m. and see all the bright winter stars, plus Jupiter and Mars, with no interfering moon. Mars will be below the Gemini twins and in line with two stars: Procyon, in Canis Minor, the little dog; and Sirius — the brightest of stars — in Canis Major, the big dog.

As for Venus, our sister planet climbs steadily in the southwest. If you go out regularly at nightfall late in the month, you can watch Venus and Saturn approaching each other. Saturn begins to tumble from the evening sky this month, and in mid-January, the ringed planet will glide past Venus. 

In the morning sky, see if you can spot Mercury low in the southeast about 40 minutes before sunrise late in the month. It will be best on the 25th; look for the red star Antares, in Scorpius, to the lower right of the planet.

Winter arrives officially at 3:20 a.m. on the 21st. At that moment the sun reaches a point over the Tropic of Capricorn and begins its next journey north.

The University of Minnesota offers public viewings of the night sky at its Duluth and Twin Cities campuses. For more information, see:

• Duluth, Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium: www.d.umn.edu/planet

• Twin Cities, Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics: www.astro.umn.edu/outreach/pubnight

• Check out astronomy programs, free telescope events, and planetarium shows at the

• University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/astronomy

Find U of M astronomers and links to the world of astronomy at: http://www.astro.umn.edu.