In winter 2003-04, the planets take over the evening sky. Our neighbor planet Venus slowly gains in height and brilliance all through the winter. Mars, the second nearest planet continues to fade in the southern evening sky as its distance from Earth grows. The giant planets Saturn and Jupiter slowly become more prominent as the winter months pass. In addition to the planets, the brightest stars and groups also come into view. Orion, the Hunter slowly climbs from the southeastern to the southern evening sky. Orion’s belt points to bright stars on either side. The Big Dipper reappears in the Northeast with its cup on top and handle below.

Winter begins on December 22nd. On this date the sun rises and sets farthest South with the lowest sky path of the year. In this area, the sun shines for a minimum of 9 hours and 20 minutes on that day. At mid day, the sun will be less than one third of the way up in the South when highest. For the next six months, the sun will rise a little farther North each day, slowly extending to the amount of daylight. On the last day of spring, the sun will be shining for 15 hours.

The planet that will attract most attention during winter is the planet Venus. Venus is nearly the same size as Earth but covered with highly reflective clouds. Its brilliance is also due to its closeness to the sun. At the start of winter, Venus can be seen low in the southwestern dusk, setting about 7:15 p.m. By mid February, Venus will be setting after 9 p.m. By the end of winter, Venus won’t be disappearing until nearly 10 p.m. Venus’ most striking views will be the time each month when the crescent moon appears near Venus. These dates are: December 25th, January 24th, February 23rd and March 24th.

While Venus blossoms during winter, the planet Mars continues to fade as its distance from the Earth grows from 96 million miles (start of winter) to 170 million miles (end of winter). During this time, Mars will fade from an object that would match or surpass most winter’s stars to an object only one fourth as bright. All though winter, Mars will move from the southern dusk to the western dusk, creeping ever closer to Venus.

The giant planets Saturn and Jupiter will slowly ascend in the eastern evening sky. At the start of winter Saturn can be seen low in the East as darkness falls. Each winter month, Saturn climbs higher into the evening sky. By the end of winter, Saturn will nearly be overhead in the South in the early evening. Jupiter in Leo is about two months behind Saturn. By February, Jupiter will be easily seen in the eastern evening sky. In early March Jupiter will be closest and brightest, hanging in the sky all night long.

Winter sees the emergence of the very bright winter stars and groups. Brightest of the stars is Sirius, which lies below and to the left of Orion. Orion is striking because of his three star belt. On either side of the belt are the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel. (A line from Rigel through Betelgeuse and extended left goes to Saturn.)

The Big Dipper reemerges in the North East with its cup on top and handle below. A line from the two top stars up and to the left takes us to the North Star, a modest star halfway up in the North.

To request more information about the night sky and evening sky charts, call (301) 687-4270 anytime.